So, What Do You Eat?

I have eliminated white flour, potatoes, and white rice from my diet. It's not that I don't like baguettes, french fries, and rice, it's because they don't like me, or rather, they cause symptoms I'd rather not experience.

When I make baked goods, or need to replace white flour in a recipe, I generally reach for Quinoa flour. Sometimes I’ll add oat or buckwheat flours, too.

For store-bought breads I stick to sprouted varieties. For rice or potatoes, I substitute Quinoa, Wheat Berries, brown rice, (I eat Basmati rice even though it's white because it is a slow sugar uptake into the bloodstream). 

I avoid dairy, too. I go for the goat when it comes to cheeses, sheep or goat for yogurt, and soy for milk. LaLoo makes amazing ice cream from goat's milk. My favorite is Rumplemint - yum! I love French toast, and by using sprouted bread and soy milk, I can have it. Pancakes, too, by using Quinoa and other flours, and soy milk.

There are some things that I love, but I can't eat because it sends me into a sugar shock, not fun, watermelon, for example. There are some things I eat and it seems like I shouldn't, maple syrup, for example. Maybe because I pair it with food items that are high in fiber and I only use a little bit. It's okay to have things like pasta or rice noodles on occasion, and I enjoy red wine on occasion, too. I simply avoid foods that have a high glycemic index because they either triggers various neuropathies or induces a sugar shock, brain fog, sweating, muscle weakness, or sleepiness. Not so much fun, but totally workable and easy to interact with water, exercise, sleep, or some combination thereof, depending.

To help me figure out what I can or can't have, or discover after the fact why I'm having a reaction, I check out an online GI database.

Related Post:  (non) Dairy Queen, Grains in Focus

Related Links

• Online Glycemic Index Database
• Glycemic Index and Diabetes

Glycemic Index versus Load

Glycemic index and glycemic load helps you understand how foods affect both your blood sugar and insulin levels.

When you eat high-glycemic index foods, you will experience higher and more rapid increases in blood glucose levels. Conversely, when you eat low-glycemic index foods, glucose enters your blood stream at a slower, sustained pace resulting in lower insulin demands.

The lower a food's glycemic index or glycemic load, the less it affects blood sugar and insulin levels. Focus on foods with a glycemic index of 55 or less and learn which foods raise your blood sugar levels, trigger your symptoms, or both.

Oh, and just because a food has a low index or load level, doesn't mean it's a wise choice. Some candy bars have a relatively low index, but their nutritional value is negligible.

Related Links

• Counting Carbs
• Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
• Glycemic index and glycemic load for 100+ foods
• Glycemic Load and Glycemic Index: What's the Difference and Why Does it Matter?
• The Right Way To Lose Fat: What To Eat

Symptomology 101

Throughout these posts, I have mentioned symptoms and associated many of those symptoms with possible root causes. I've made dramatic lifestyle changes and I'm experiencing either a resolution of or a decrease in the intensity of my symptoms.

I call that success!

I decided to take a moment to celebrate my successes and speculate on which life change may have contributed to the improvement of symptoms.

Acne
Significant changes in not only what I eat, but when and how much I eat have contributed to completely clearing up acne breakouts. I'm positive that going dairy free, and eliminating potatoes, rice, and white flour, have contributed to eliminating this particular malady.

Excessive Sweating
While I haven't found the off switch for this lovely symptom, it is greatly reduced. I've noticed that the onset is usually when my blood sugar levels are high that I'm particularly susceptible to sweating. Further, when I'm exercising my sweating is within acceptable limits, so long as I drink plenty of water before, during, and after an activity. I'm fairly sure that eliminating caffeine and drinking buckets of water have been key to alleviating this fun symptom.

Assorted
Some of the following symptoms I know are addressed by using a CPAP. Others depend on my blood sugar levels, amount of daily excercise, and my stress levels. Still, significant improvements overall.

• Anxiety reduced
• Depression reduced
• Daytime fatigue reduced
• Forgetfulness reduced
• Lack of energy during the day reduced
• Loud snoring gone!
• Mood changes reduced
• Morning headaches reduced
• Sleepiness reduced
• Slower reaction time reduced
• Restless sleep reduced
• Recurrent awakenings reduced
• Insomnia reduced
• Vision problems reduced
• Waking up with a very sore or dry throat gone!
• Waking up with a choking or gasping sensation gone!

Related Links

• How lifestyle, daily routine affect blood sugar
• Patient information: Diabetes mellitus type 2: Alcohol, exercise, and medical care (Beyond the Basics)
• Pre-Diabetes&Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Personal Data Collection

Sifting through data can be enlightening. Going through the process of collecting data can be arduous and, at times, a drag. Yet I needed to quickly learn what improved my symptoms and what made them worse. There is only one way for me to gain the kind of insight necessary to achieve my goal of lessening the intensity and duration of my symptoms, and that way is keeping records.

I'm very much into technology and as I always carry my smart phone, I saw no reason why I couldn't find apps to aid me in record keeping. 

First things first, I downloaded the My Symptoms food diary and symptoms app. Within a few days of record keeping, I began to see patterns emerge. I could pinpoint correlations between activities or foods and how my body responded. Specifically, I wanted to minimize or eliminate completely the excessive sweating symptom - that one drives me nuts!

Not long after, I received a blood testing kit (glucose meter). After grumbling a bit at having to use two separate apps to track my personal data, I downloaded the Glucose Buddy app. That was a huge eye opener for me. It was through tracking my blood glucose levels at the onset of any symptom that I made a huge leap in understanding what was happening to my body and what I needed to do to minimize a symptom's intensity and duration. 

While the My Symptoms app gave me correlations and insights, it didn't give me calories or a breakdown of fat, proteins, and carbohydrates. I also wanted a running total of the number of calories I burned while exercising. More data with which to fine tune the positive changes I'm incorporating into my life. 

I was referred to SparkPeople to track my foods and fitness by the facilitator of a pre-diabetes class I attended. Wow! Neat program that links an online interface with apps. So, I can do the bulk of my entries, or define frequently used entries, online, and then enter updates in real time via my smart phone. Pretty nifty. Further, you can sign up for various types of support and network with others who have faced or are facing similar issues to ones with which you may be dealing. I choose not to be quite so connected, as my goal isn't to lose weight, per se, but to be symptom free. Loosing weight just so happens to be a benefit of my goal. 

I track everything, even the three squares of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate with Hazelnuts that somehow slipped from my fingers into my mouth. Yeah, if I'm not honest with myself and track everything that passes my lips, tracking doesn't help. 

It does take a bit of time and trial-and-error to find the tools that work best for you. I can assure you that becoming an expert on you, your body, and your health is well worth the investment. 

Related Links

• Quantified Self (This is a little over-the-top. The one below is well worth viewing.)
• Show me the data -- becoming an expert in yourself

Reverse Symptomology

It's time to explore this sweating symptom again. All the medical sites I have searched relate the excessive sweating symptom with low blood sugar. Fortunately, I came across a message board where members talked about becoming hot and sweaty when their blood sugar levels were high. Quite the opposite of what the "expert" sites cited, and exactly what I am experiencing.

Welcome to the world of "weirdness"... Both my sister-in-law and myself seem to get flushed and sweat when our sugar is up a bit. If my sugar is low, then I will get a bit light headed, very pale and might break out in a COLD sweat and get shaky. Everyone is different and I guess you know your own body. ~JJ

I think that it's important to begin with the experts. Absolutely, you should take your symptoms and concerns to your doctor. However, I don't stop there. I want to know what the people who are dealing with any particular malady are experiencing, and how they approach and minimize their symptoms. It's fantastic that there are so many content creators and various technologies to share information and experiences. Sometimes the sheer volume of information can feel overwhelming, and much of the content needs to be examined with a critical eye. Yet sifting through and reading posts, blogs, and forums is invaluable for spotting trends that can shed light on your concerns.

Now that I know I will sweat when my blood sugar spikes, which foods have a high GI, and I have the tools to monitor my glucose levels, I feel much more in control over this particular (embarrassing) symptom.

Similar topics: 

• One Hot Mama
• System Flush

Related Links

• Get Off the Blood Glucose Roller Coaster
• Hyperglycemia (High Blood Sugar)
• Sweating and High Blood Sugars
• Sweating With High Sugar?

One Hot Mama

I began having hot flashes when I turned 32. That seems young, doesn't it? I thought so too, at first, until I realized that I began menstruating when I was nine. Young, I know, right? Anyway, I remember having a few night sweat episodes after the birth of my youngest, but nothing like the drenchings that began around 40. 

I thought that I was experiencing peri-menopause. You know, all those things that we once

heard word-of-mouth, doctors thought women were crazy and referred us to mental health specialists? Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, our collective voices are heard. Turns out, we're women and things like mood swings, headaches, night

sweats, and hot flashes are part an parcel of being female. I know, sucks, right? It's easy to collect these symptoms together and label them "the change of life," except, of course, when we just accept the easy collective reality we might miss the exceptions and individual symptoms that might belong to another, more challenging collective reality. 

So, here's the thing: excessive sweating, hot flashes, and night sweats can be peri-menopausal, or they can be something else entirely. If I knew then what I know now, I would have insisted on a complete hormonal panel blood test be ordered often and frequently. The whole kit-and-caboodle. 

In fact, when my daughters begin their first annual girly parts exams, I will insist that they get hormonal panels done, too. Period. 



Similar topics: 

• Reverse Symptomology
• System Flush

Related Links

• Excessive sweating: Symptom
• Hyperhidrosis
• Sweat