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Permalink Reply by Mr. Peachy on February 15, 2009 at 9:31am

Hi Bjay,

Congrats on your accomplishments. I'm not sure why you need Metformin to eat fruits. I don't. But then, my BMI is under 25 and I exercise religiously for at least an hour a day. Perhaps you haven't reduced your insulin resistance enough yet. FYI, the hair loss is more consistent with PCOS than it is with Metformin use. I have seen no medical evidence that Metformin use causes hair loss. There seems to be more support that, in PCOS patients suffering hair loss, it does just the opposite.

I don't understand how fruit gives you cravings for carbs. It should do just the opposite. Sounds like your L-glutamine levels might be off. Maybe it will take more time and conditioning. I agree that you should keep up the fruits (in moderation) for their essential nutrients. For what it's worth, I eat one banana, a tomato, and one apple per day. I have no cravings for carbs at all, I eat the fruits for the nutrition. But, (big but) I eat tons of nutrient rich vegetables each and every day. Maybe it's the fiber that holds off the cravings. I don't know. All I know is, I've been off Metformin for fourteen months, and have no plans ever to go back. Toward the end of my years of using Metformin, while out on a vigorous hike, I had an incident with lactic acidosis (thought I was going to die), and it has become my goal to treat my type two with diet and exercise for the rest of my life.

I take a few daily supplements, maybe that has something to do with it. Then again, I loathe "empty" Calories. When I see people eating junk food, I cringe because I know what they're doing to their bodies. I eat to live, most folks live to eat.

Cravings are a tough critter to pin down. Are they mental, or are they caused by a genuine need? I suspect that they probably are a blend of the two. I hope you can sort it out. Your goals are worthy ones.

While I don't know your history, I can tell you this, this getting back to normal thing takes time and a lot of effort. We didn't become diabetic in a few months, it took several years. It took me two years of diligent application of these principles to get where I am. Even today, over a year after quitting Metformin, I'm seeing improvement in my insulin resistance. My fasting numbers are usually in the 90s to low 100s and my post prandial readings seldom exceed 120. For all intents, I'm no longer diabetic. Of course, I'll never go back to my old lifestyle because I know the big D will raise it's ugly head in no time.

Google "Mr. Peachy" for more healthy tips on how to get off and stay off the Metformin.

Here's a pretty good article that summarizes what it took me over two years and countless hours to learn (the hard way): naturalnews.com article

Best wishes,
Craig

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Permalink Reply by Bjay100 on February 15, 2009 at 5:26pm

Craig,

I'll be sure to check out your article. Did you eat fruit from the beginning? I believe I do have PCOS, although it's hard to diagnose. I know I had thin hair due to that. I started to lose a lot of hair after I did a 30-day juice feast but I think it was the shock to my system. Then it started to come back. Then I started Metformin again, and OMGawsh, the hair thinned greatly. It is listed as a side effect. :( I also lead a pretty big community of women with diabetes, and many of them have experienced the same thing.

I think you are right, I haven't lowered my resistance enough yet. I'm at 175 but losing. I'm so happy my BMI has dropped so much too. I actually should have had a party when my BMI dropped a category now that I think about it, haha.

The metformin gives me cravings for carbs, not the fruit. I just crave the fruit period, haha.

I'll check out your article!

Bjay

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Peachy on February 15, 2009 at 5:57pm

No, I avoided fruit in the beginning. In fact, I was just answering a Yahoo! Answers question dealing with misconceptions surrounding diabetes. I went for several years avoiding fruits because of the "sugar" in them. It wasn't until the fall of 2007, that I upped the fruit intake. Lo and behold, my blood sugar went down, not up as expected. Of course, by that time I was low carbing, exercising, and everything I thought I needed... except for the nutrients found in abundance in fruits. Then, and only then, was my BGL consistently low enough to end the Metformin.

After an exhaustive search, I still am unable to find any "official" sites listing a confirmed side effect of Metformin that includes hair loss... other than anecdotal evidence like this "Although there's nothing in the medical literature to support this linkage, some women have reported that hair loss was made worse by metformin". If you have any authoritative articles supporting that it absolutely causes it, please forward them to me. So far, it just seems to be in forums where people who are experiencing it, blame it on the drug anecdotally. To me (a die hard skeptic, btw), it's like saying obesity causes diabetes. Of course, that's ridiculous... the same thing that causes the diabetes, causes the obesity. We both know it's a lousy diet in combination with inadequate exercise that result in the total metabolic meltdown we now know as metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, impaired fasting glycemia, impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, and type two diabetes. All caused by the same thing. We really need to get the word out.

Either way, regardless of what Metformin does or doesn't do, your goal to get even healthier and get off the Metformin, is a laudable one. Keep up the excellent work. I'll be thinking about you while I go out on my four mile walk in the storm we're having here in Sacramento. Rain or shine, sick or fine, nothing stops Mr. Peachy from keeping his insulin resistance down.

See you next time,
Craig

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Permalink Reply by Mr. Peachy on February 16, 2009 at 10:46am

I dug deeper. (too deep?) Craig's post in tudiabetes

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Permalink Reply by Hani on February 18, 2009 at 6:26pm

Bjay and Mr Beachy thank you for sharing your experience. Can you both please tell me where do you get your calories from. Is it from Nuts and seeds? Even if you are consuming one banana, an apple and a tomato per day, that is not realy a significant source of calories (about 200 cal)

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Permalink Reply by hereinwales on June 27, 2009 at 7:11am

Can you put your blood test results up here? I can convert from American to British results.

My first Triglyceride Result was 2.8 mmol/L so look forward to my next result.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Jones on September 3, 2009 at 7:14am

i have been insulin dependant type 1 since may 2006.

i began eating alkaline/raw on 1st july 2009, and i now dont need to take any insulin at all as my blood sugar levels are all normal!
its been amazing, im so pleased to have found others who have had a similar experience.

;-)

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Permalink Reply by haverawcake on September 4, 2009 at 4:37pm

Hi
Although I am not diabetic I am very interested in diabetes as I had insulin dependent diabetes in both my pregnancies and feel that my change to a high raw diet has had a very positive effect on my overall health. I am not planning on having any more children as I do not think at 39 with 2 small children I could face another pregnancy with the risk of gestational diabetes again. I often wonder whether I would have had gestational diabetes if I had gone raw before my pregnancies. I have been inspired by Gabriel Cousens and hope that by eating a high raw diet I can prevent myself getting diabetes in the future. I am interested to see that there are other people here who had gestational diabetes.

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Permalink Reply by Travonda Patton on October 10, 2009 at 8:20am

Hi. Im new to all this raw foods stuff. I would like to get my blood sugar levels under control and just improve my overall health.

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