Vicky has been a participant in WISH and was gracious enough to share her experience with diabetes. We felt her experience could be very helpful to others who may need to adjust their diet to help keep their blood sugar in range. Please post any questions below. I think this is an area we will want to be exploring more. xoxoxo Lyn
Hello, my name is Vicky Glisson. I am a 42 yr old mother of five children, 4 boys and 1 girl. Our baby girl Cadence was born at home on July 29th. I would like to share my experience with staying on a raw diet when I developed gestational diabetes during my 5th pregnancy.
Our family has been on a raw diet (75-90%) since January of 2008. When I became pregnant with Cadence I was very excited to have the chance to experience a pregnancy while on a raw diet and give my next child the most nutritious, healthy start I could.
I find out I have Gestational Diabetes….
When it was time to test for Gestational Diabetes I decided not to drink the glucose drink, but to test my blood sugar after each meal with a glucose monitor for one week. My blood sugar tested higher than normal. When I took my results to my midwife she explained that I had Gestational Diabetes and that she could not do a home delivery if I could not keep my blood sugar in a normal range.
I was already on a healthy diet and I had preached the healing benefits of the raw diet and lifestyle to my friends and relatives (One died of breast cancer – or should I say the effects of being treated for breast cancer. Others are insulin dependent diabetics). I was going to have to walk what I talk!
The next challenge – discovering what I can eat….
At first I thought, “Ok, I can do this, I know what to do, I know what to eat.”
Then I got home that afternoon and I panicked a little, I thought “What am I going to eat?”
I wanted to control my blood sugar without taking insulin. I started testing with a blood glucose meter after everything I ate so I could eliminate anything that created too high a rise in my blood sugar. All the fruits, except lemons, and all the grains had to be eliminated.
My general rule became, if it was green or protein, I could eat it. My diet consisted of salads, green smoothies, seeds, nuts and wheatgrass.
Green Smoothies and fruit…
For my Green Smoothies I used Stevia sweetened lemonade for the “fruit” portion. Lemons not only filled the need for fruit in my diet, but they also lowered the Glycemic Index of other foods.
Thanks to my husband, we have the perfect lemonade recipe:
- 2 cups of fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon of alcohol free Stevia
- 1 gallon of water
Quick tip: I then like to freeze the made up lemonade in ice cube trays. I like frozen fruit in my green smoothies and it makes it quick and easy when it’s time to make them.
Another time saving tip: We buy a dozen bags of lemons at Costco, juice them all up and freeze the juice, 2 cups/quart bag. This makes it easy to make up a gallon of lemonade.
I was also able to eat a 1/2 grapefruit at a time, and no more than 1/2 an apple in my green smoothies. These are both low glycemic foods. You can find a glycemic index of foods on the internet to see which foods are low and which ones are high. Anything with a high glycemic index will increase your blood sugar. I had to stick with the low 10’s. There aren’t very many that low, which simplified my diet and kept it easy. I never have to fret about what’s for dinner. For me, it’s a salad or smoothie or when I splurge…both!
A great discovery – Wheatgrass Juice is a diabetic’s best friend!
I found out the miracle of wheatgrass and its effect on blood sugar by accident.
One morning I was eating a bowl of Kamut cereal. About 15 minutes after I started eating it, I decided to test my blood sugar and found it was already 175 and rising.
My husband, who grows our family supply of wheatgrass, was juicing a tray at the same time I was eating the bowl of cereal. He called out to me and asked if I wanted a shot. I drank a 2 oz shot of wheatgrass and exactly 15 minutes later re-tested my blood (mostly out of curiosity, to see if there was any change).
I was totally amazed to find that my blood sugar level had come down to a normal 90! The wheatgrass totally normalized my blood sugar within 15 minutes!
Once I discovered this, I tested powdered barley grass and frozen wheatgrass, to see if they worked the same. I found that the powdered barley grass had no effect but the frozen wheatgrass worked just as well as the fresh. I decided not to take advantage and start eating high glycemic foods and using wheatgrass as insulin, but to stay on my green smoothie and salad diet.
A tip for making it easy to consume Wheatgrass Juice….
To make Wheatgrass use easy (I love easy!), we will grow 16 trays at a time
and juice it all at once. If you are not able to grow wheatgrass, find a place or someone in your area who does. We have a place where we live that grows Wheatgrass for $20.00 a tray.
We then freeze the juice in 2 ounce condiment cups with lids. Each evening I will take out 2 condiment cups or 4 ounces of wheatgrass and put it in the refrigerator to thaw for the next day. (2 servings)
My favorite Wheatgrass drink…
- 2 oz of Wheatgrass
- 4-6 oz of my Lemonade drink
I love my wheatgrass drink, so I have some in the morning and some in the evening.
A happy pregnancy…
Vicky and Cadence
It was all worth it. I was able to give birth at home to a perfectly healthy baby girl on July 29th and I am successfully breastfeeding.
As of September 2010 I am still testing diabetic. I have read that Gestational Diabetes can take several months to disappear, so I have been on my green diet for 5 months now. I’ve never gotten tired of the smoothies or the salads and I have taken the normal supplements for pregnancy. (raw pre-natal vitamins with extra iron)
My eating plan…
My eating plan evolves and changes from time to time. This is what it looks like currently:
- Breakfast I drink a glass of powdered barley grass.
- Lunch is a big salad.
- Mid-afternoon I have a green smoothie.
- Dinner is a big salad with a wrap, burrito, soup, veggies…something like that. Many times we just have a green smoothie for dinner.
For my salads I add sprouts, sunflower seeds, sesamee seeds, pumpkin seeds and some beans – either Kidney or Chick Peas.
For snacks I eat celery with peanut butter, nuts, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds.
My green smoothies usually consist of dino kale, rainbow chard, romaine and mixed baby lettuce, spinach, celery, spirulina powder, dulce, lemonade, mixed frozen fruit (low glycemic fruits) and sometimes frozen wheatgrass.
If anyone has any questions you can post your question below or you can email me at: [email protected]. I am also working on a website to promote a healthy lifestyle with raw foods http://livingfood4life.com
Best,
Vicky
P.S. Let’s have a question of day. Have you had to adjust your raw food diet to help with any blood sugar issues? If so, please share what works for you. xoxo Lyn