I watched this amazing video last night & had to post it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc


I don't never if I could eat the amount of produce she eats, but I know on SB I consume a lot more than the "average" American. What if we all could heal ourselves this way!

Anne thank you for posting that link. Very interesting, I know I have been eating lots more veggies than ever before in my life since SB.

But really, could a family of 4 (or more) even be able to afford to eat what she recommends. I know when we grocery shop our produce portion of our bill is huge. It is so sad that it costs more to eat healthy than to eat processed.

I'll have to get over my youtube aversion and check this out. I've been on a roll with this issue lately, especially as we deal with DW's health challenges. I know diet can't fix everything but I don't understand why people would rather pop pills than assess their diet first and make adjustments then use medicine when needed. I've been able to control inflammatory arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, and hot flashes with diet. At 50 I don't take a single prescription and I credit my diet for that. Both of my parents were on blood pressure and cholesterol meds at my age. I'll get off my soap box now

I've watched my mom's health fail as she gets older - partly because she is getting older, but not feeding herself properly for most of her adult life has caused her all kinds of problems, including Type II diabetes. Even when she was younger, she never seemed to have much energy.

Her health - and my moving into my 50s have been a sort of a wake-up call. I eat way more veggies now, even though I've always eaten lots. Mostly, because of Phase I of the SBD, I've been able to wean myself off of wheat, and I swear that (and lots less sugar) is why I have more energy and sleep better.

I've always believed in the healing power of food, but haven't been the best practitioner. Food has been comfort - not the best food - white flour, sugar sorts of food - that's been my downfall.

Really working to not end up like my mother. My grandmother ate a very basic diet of meat and veggies - started with a big garden, but even in her 80s had a small patch of carrots and strawberries. She was a busy women who lived into her 90s. Guess that says something. She's my role model.

It's a good video and one I agree 100% with. My health has improved exponentially since I began cutting processed foods out of my diet and increasing fruits and vegetables.

I used to think the "sugar and refined grains are poison" authors were fanatics, now I'm not so sure.

The more high glycemic foods I cut from my diet, the better I feel. I don't know that my fruits and veggie intake has increased that much (I always ate a lot of fruits and veggies - though now I am careful to be aware of sugar/starch content even in fruits and veggies).

The biggest chanage was in giving up wheat, and seeing my inflammatory and autoimmune skin issues disappear. I was on a low-carb diet at the time, and didn't know whether all carbs, or specific ones were to blame, so I experimented. I discovered that wheat is the biggest offender, but large amounts of sugars and starches do have unpleasant effects as well.

I'm not sure that I'll ever experience a "cure" or improvements significant to get back to full-time work, but even the quality-of-life changes I have experienced have been remarkable.

Kaplods, have you read "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis? Might correlate with your wheat experience.

Very interesting. I wish she had given us a daily menu! Vegetables and even fruits have always been my major challenge. I've been working on adding them, but shopping and preparation time are still challenges.

I must say, this statement rubbed me the wrong way. Even though I totally get what you are saying and you phrased it perfectly!

I've never had to contend with the usual issues many overweight people have to (I've got low blood pressure, not in danger of diabetes etc.) but sometimes, people have to take meds in spite of or despite their diets. I think a part of the problem, especially here in the US, is that most insurance companies will dole out $$$ for meds but not for nutritionists.

I think CyndiM's quote statement hits the mark for many. True, some people need meds - but fewer than we believe. I've seen a change in diet turn so many around -- I've seen so many overweight people in search of a quick cure. Can't blame anyone -- I was really hoping that wishing would make the extra weight go away.

Am really interested in the connection between wheat and autoimmune conditions. I have a minor issue -- haven't had wheat for quite a while, but having been paying close attention to what's going on there (it's a gum thing). Then again, maybe I stopped paying attention because it doesn't bother me so much anymore.

Bottom line is we are so out of touch with our bodies (at least I have been with mine). The effort to lose weight and get back in shape is reconnecting me.

Originally Posted by CyndiM
I know diet can't fix everything but I don't understand why people would rather pop pills than assess their diet first and make adjustments then use medicine when needed.

Originally Posted by CyndiM
I know diet can't fix everything but I don't understand why people would rather pop pills than assess their diet first and make adjustments then use medicine when needed.

Cyndi I am going to use your quote because this hit home with me several times at work. I work in health benefits so lots of time people come to me with their insurance issues. And feel free to talk about their health (although I do not ask or encourage knowing more than I need to know about anyone)(people tend to share more than they should) I have two people at work that are diabetic and they now believe that since they take pills to control their problem they can eat whatever they want, and just adjust their dosage. I have heard this same comment regarding high cholesterol , that if you are on medication for it, you can eat what you want, the meds will control it.

Where do they get these ideas from, I am hoping it is not their doctors. Scary.

Great discussion

Chickadee you hit the nail on the head for me. Paula Deen is the perfect example, no change in lifestyle just eat what you want and use more insulin as if there were no down side to that.

Jenn - I actually don't think it would help to send people to nutritionists. I had a nutritionist tell me she thought South Beach was a bad plan to follow. Turns out she didn't actually know anything about it but it sounded like a fad and she was opposed to it. We had a nutritionist tell us that giving Julie actual sugar was the same as giving her other kinds of carb because it all turns to sugar. Well, no, not exactly.

Julie came home with three different kinds of insulin so she could use the sugar laden cans they ordered. We are taking her off those and she is getting actual food made with fresh juice carbs, high quality protein, raw veggies, and good fats. We no longer need all those different insulins because her blood sugar has been great. She still needs her regular diabetes meds but she only needs the additional meds if we make lazy food choices.

I'm not opposed to meds, I've actually disagreed with people who think no one needs meds for depression (I took prozac for several years and consider it a lifesaver). I just think we need to explore changes to our diets and routines before we layer drugs on.

Cyndi, working in a hospital around dieticians & Diabetic Nurse Educators, I hear this garbage all the time. It makes me so mad! When I questioned one of them about it, their excuse is "Well, we have to make it workable for the patient", like they really don't expect anyone with diabetes to change their diet. Unbelievable! What are patients supposed to think when they are hearing this from their healthcare providers?

I agree with CyndiM- take for example the #1 Rx in the world right now - Lipitor. There are a *few* people in the world that have hereditary high cholesterol but most people it's diet. My cholesterol was high last summer and my doctor told me "diet and exercise or we're going to have to discuss meds." Well I was already planning to do a round of P90X (a video exercise program) and I cleaned up my diet. In 90 days I dropped my cholesterol 81 points. All my numbers improved. My doctor was astounded and said that with meds you hope for 20 points. With diet and exercise I achieved 81. And I don't think I'm special. I think the bottom line is that the American diet is awful and the food pyramid is awful and what we've been taught is "healthy" isn't and we need to return to real foods and get rid of processed foods and rotate our diets with what is fresh and MOVE our bodies. I think those two things alone would get a LOT of people off meds.

Great discussion ladies.

I am against a lot of drugs, but will add...my daddy has been diabetic for years. Very hooked on candy bars, pepsi, and fast food. Mom is COMPLETELY AGAINST western medicine. Even when he had a stroke, and his blood glucose was over 400, she refused insulin for him...despite them telling her the first 24 hours post stroke made a huge difference in prognosis. I really think if she had gotten him on insulin, gotten his sugar down so he'd FEEL BETTER, we might've had a chance to change his diet (because although he could drive himself to a fast food restaurant, he certainly never made meals at home). I think he and many others probably do better starting on meds, then weaning off.

Interesting enough, his sugar is now controlled on diet alone. He can't walk or talk, so mom feeds him everything.