Diabetes: A Self-Help Battle to the Death

One of you is going to win, but only one of you have the conscious enough to leave a survivor in the end. So, the battle of good and evil begins. Will you walk away from this alive? Or will the dreaded Diabetes defeat you both?

17 Foods to Lower Your Blood Sugar

1. Broccoli and broccoli sprouts

2. Seafood

3. Pumpkin and pumpkin seeds

4. Nuts and nut butter

5. Okra

6. Flaxseed

7. Beans and lentils

8. Kimchi and sauerkraut

9. Chia seeds

10. Kale

11. Berries

12. Avocados

13. Oats and oat bran

14. Citrus fruits

15. Kefir and yogurt

16. Eggs

17. Apples

Do you like any of those? You’re in luck! You can eat them if you’re a diabetic! There are plenty of other foods that you can eat too, and I will be sure to mention them later on.

For now, however, let’s speak from the heart. Have you ever heard that your arteries can get all gunked up with plaque? I always imagine dirty teeth when I hear this, personally. And imagine a shark! With those rows of teeth and never brushing, I bet the plaque would just fill in the gaps between rows and make one solid new tooth. Food would never get stuck between them anymore! But with your heart, we are speaking about blood. Now picture diabetes as though it were #3 on the most important organs list. Diabetes, as a caricature, would act similarly to the heart in function, but instead of blood flowing through the channels and chambers of the organ, it is sugar.

Typically, this organ functions normally. The younger we are, the better it does. Do you remember being able to eat whatever you wanted and never having a problem? That’s because our Diabetes was brand new, strong and healthy. But as time went on, you started getting the farts! By this point in life, you were doing lots of important things, like growing in your profession and making whoopy, so the farts weren’t funny like they were when you were a kid. Though embarrassing, you continued to try to eat as many kinds of different things as you could. All the while, secretly lurking inside the tubes and whistles of diabetes, those ooey, gooey sugar molecules that your body was creating from all those wonderful nutrients was starting to get sticky and sludgy.

That was okay with Diabetes though. It knew that it had great responsibilities. Even though it was working slower than it used to, and the sugars were beginning to form a line waiting, Diabetes had a plan. It would start working overtime to let you keep being happy. Sugar, after all, made you happy. The sugars that you consumed through the years varied. Some didn’t bother Diabetes a bit, like apples, grapes, and even oatmeal and yogurt. But things like sugary drinks pumped with the already sludgy form of sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, also were part of your diet. You didn’t know it at the time, but that ice cold soda was just sludging up your diabetes. Mmmm, that makes me thirsty. Ironically enough, thirst is a sign of high blood sugars.

The years passed and the build-up of excess sugars began causing Diabetes to fatigue. It worked hard trying to absorb and process all that excess sugar. Do not blame yourself, entirely. the modern world makes it easy to have too much. Diabetes never had time to calm down, relax, or take a break because its job wasn’t done until it had processed all those sugars. Diabetes eventually couldn’t keep up with the added weight and restraints that the excess sugars had demanded of it and decided that you should sit down and think about the situation. So, Diabetes sent a message to its supervisor, #1, which got lost in all of the damn emails in its inbox. Eventually though, #1 (your brain) sent #2 (your heart) a message to let you know that #3 (diabetes) had a concern. It’s just like business really. This makes sense, being that traditionally most people seek out a profession or lifestyle that they enjoy or that makes them most comfortable. Everything we do relates to everything we do, even the way our bodies are functioning. By this point though, Diabetes had been working so hard for so long that it didn’t know how to handle the sudden change of heart once you did finally open that message in your inbox. Diabetes has lost its trust in you.

You must have felt devastated, dumbstruck, and desperate. After all, in the message your heart had reminded you of all the things you have to live for and could loose if you do not handle Diabetes properly. Full of renewed life and passion from the threat of loss, you started eating better, thinking keenly of your Diabetes. You wanted to make up for all the pain you had caused it. It responded by lowering your blood sugars. However, because Diabetes has lost trust in you, it has a hard time believing in the longevity of the changes that you are making for it. It is hesitant, and it is leery. It became sensitive to everything you do, every thought you have, and everything that your heart has to say about the matter, and both Diabetes’ and your feelings have been intensified as a result. Because it has become so sensitive, it sometimes burst out in tantrums as a reaction to you and what you do; a sudden spike, a roaring dip, a sharp turn that you weren’t expecting. I suppose it is still a little bitter. Worry not. If you love yourself, than just keep trying, and never give up.

Don’t do something wrong just to say you tried something. If you’re not doing it right, your Diabetes knows. Even thinking about sugar, at this point, can cause your Diabetes to react in unpredictable ways. Your heart panics, and you can’t differentiate between what is good and what is bad. This is where the challenge begins. How can you help your Diabetes understand that you intend to repay its favors? It has been working overtime for you nearly all your life without asking for much at all in return. How can you help it gain your trust again? After all, you have told it in the past that you were going to be more conscious of your health and failed to follow through, so what does it have to base trust on this time? How can you learn to trust yourself to take care of yourself according to yourself?

There is hardly a thing we can do to fix a part of ourselves overnight. We don’t heal that quickly. Lately, you have been having trouble focusing, you feel fatigued, your heart is aching, your mind is uncertain of what you mean by your actions. You are confused, scared, and feeling alone in a new world quite unfamiliar to you. Does this sound about right? If so, remember that these are all the ways your Diabetes has been feeling for years. You now relate to Diabetes. Because you spend so much of your time thinking about it, you have become emotionally involved with it, just like a new relationship. Be tender though, because this one begins in a fragile state. You need to work together with your Diabetes, join hands, and take this one step at a time.

As you continue to do better and improve on staying positive in your thoughts and actions, Diabetes will follow your lead. Trust can be regained. It will take time before you no longer have to think about which foods you should eat, but it is absolutely possible. Think of it like being a child again. It took time to learn what to eat, how to behave, and even how to control your actions. The same applies now. This is new to you, be patient with yourself. The learning experience expands your mind. You continue forward because of it. You happily enjoy the journey. Diabetes will follow your lead, as it always has, and once it is certain that you do not plan to give up, neither will it. It will do what you want it to do; what it was always meant to do, and it will allow you to expand your life my multiples greater than those that brought you to this state of reset. You can win the battle.

Amanda Jackson

Jan 29, 2024

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