The first nutrition counseling session I ever remember doing about 15 years ago was with a man with Type 2 diabetes.  He told me that his doctor had diagnosed him that same week, and when he went to his “diabetes educator,” she told him that this was an incurable condition, and that eventually, he’d likely have to take insulin shots.

 

We met, laid out a plan, and three months later, his doctor officially deemed this man, “Cured.” 

 

What happened in three short months?  Doug spells the word out nearly every week on Know the Cause:  C-H-A-N-G-E.  Let me tell you which changes he made.

 

DIET FIRST

 

As someone guilty of this myself, I understand why almost everyone who comes to me asks, “Which pills do I buy at the health food store to help me with (fill in the blank)?”  We’ve become so conditioned by the medical community to “go get a prescription from your doctor” that a pill is the first thing we think will help give us relief.

 

As someone who LOVES supplements and the supplement industry, I’m telling you that supplements are always Step #2.  Step #1 is always diet.

 

Doug’s Phase One Diet knocks out sugar, grains, certain nuts, seeds – and even some fruits and vegetables - known to contain mycotoxins.  This is exactly the diet I put this man on and, being extremely motivated, he never, ever cheated.

 

I was impressed with how this guy planned everything out.  He planned every meal, and packed snacks to take  along with him.  He didn’t wait until he was hungry to decide what to eat because, he knew that if he did, convenience might win over commitments.  He simply would not step into a restaurant unless he knew they had something that was on the plan.  He executed the plan flawlessly.

 

One word about organic food:  I am a huge fan of organics, and when my checkbook ever gets to the point that I can afford to eat exclusively organic, I plan to.  Until then, I have to make compromises.  This man happened to be a blue-collar worker who decided that his meat was going to be grass-fed/finished, his fish would be wild caught, and his water would be pure.  Outside of that, he was constrained by economics.  He did what he could, and didn’t sweat the rest. 

 

This is what you and I have to do, too.  If we can get an organic item here and there, let’s do it.  If we can get everything organic, even better.  But let’s not sweat it.  Let’s just do what we can do.  I love the old book title, “All You Can Do Is All You Can Do, But All You Can Do Is Enough!”

 

STEP #2 – SUPPLEMENTS

 

Told you I loved supplements!  And why wouldn’t I?  After selling pharmaceuticals all those years, I learned that much of what our drugs were doing was just masking the problem and simply making the symptoms disappear.  But with diabetes, this is a potential disaster.

 

I have a family member with diabetes.  Years ago, when he was diagnosed, he was scared like everyone else.  He bought all the right books and the right foods and decided to “only take the medicine for a while, just to get over the hump.”  (I think this is a terrific philosophy for how to take prescription medicine, by the way.  Use it as a bridge, not as a permanent crutch, if you can help it.)  The problem is that the medicine did such a terrific job of eradicating his symptom of high blood sugar – even when he cheated on the diet – that he began to think that he didn’t even have the disease anymore.

 

This turned disastrous.  He gave up eating well, supplementing well, and exercising at all.  Ten years later, his eyes are deteriorating, he has burning neuropathy in his legs and feet, and is taking new medicines for these symptoms, while continuing to “up” the dose of his diabetes medicines.

 

(NOTE:  I am NOT recommending that you break your doctors’ orders to take certain medicines, and I am NOT recommending that you stop taking medicines you’ve already been prescribed.  I am asking you to a find a doctor who will give you an exit strategy from the prescriptive medicines to the natural.)

 

Contrast that with my client.  We put him on a good multi, some probiotics, and fish oil for starters.  From there, we threw in chromium picolinate, alpha lipoic acid, conjugated linoleic acid, l-carnitine, and gymnema sylvestre, among others.  Nowadays, I’d also throw in cinnamon, glucomannan, coffee berry, (the supplement, not the drink), and a few other well studied herbs and spices.  Believe me, these are powerful.

 

The dietary supplements he took did his body nothing but good.  He had zero side effects.  He felt better than ever and, when he began Step # 3, looked better than ever, too.

 

STEP # 3 – UNCOMPLICATED EXERCISE

 

He walked.  That’s it.

 

(Now, I know you’re wondering about all the specifics, but what if that’s all you knew – “He walked.” Do you think you could figure out some way to begin with a little walking, and keep going longer and faster over time?  If you think you could, then you’ll understand what this man did.)

 

This guy really took his health into his own hands.  I was going to really give him a lot of exercise options and plans, but he stopped me and said, “No need.  I’ll do what I can, and I’ll do more when I can.”  (This is another one of those mottos you should write down…)

 

So, he did what he could.  For him, it meant wearing whatever sneakers he happened to have, with jeans and a regular button-up shirt and walking around the block.  In Oklahoma, you’ll see a lot of us walking around like this and, we may even be wearing boots and a straw hat.  But the point is that he didn’t even pretend to be fancy with his “workout gear.”  I don’t know if he ever bought new walking shoes, but every time I saw him out and about, he’d be walking in whatever he happened to have on at the time.

 

Eventually, he walked twice a day.  Then he’d walk for an extra long time on Saturdays and on Sundays, before church.  He’d walk around his office building for half an hour during lunch.  Every chance got, he walked.  He did what he could.  His weight dropped, and so did his blood sugar and A1C.  He stayed on his medicine a grand total of 30 days and was deemed “cured” by his doctor within 90 days.

 

REAL WORLD

SO many people I visit with are unwilling to start a new program unless everything is perfect, and they have the right gear and the right budget for organics, and on and on and on.  Stop all that!  Just get after it!  I just so admire people like this first client who decided to do whatever it took to get healthy.

 

That first client showed me some important things about diabetes.  Type 2 diabetes goes where your habits go.  If you’re in love with the sugar, don’t depend on any medication to help you fall out of love with it.  You’re going to need some old fashioned grit, along with some support.  Know the Cause is a great way to get the support you need, as is this newsletter.  Another way is with like-minded people who will keep you in check and encourage you.  Doug’s book on diabetes is excellent and provides a strategy for success, and his cookbook is required for anyone using the antifungal strategy for perfect health, (the only strategy I recommend).

 

I tell every diabetes client about my very first case.  It’s an encouragement because they’ve likely heard that “nothing can be done.”   What a tragedy!  But the story I’ve shared here, along with the countless stories Doug tells about on his show and in his books, realize that there are countless others we’ll never be able to share.  Taken together, you’ll understand why we, on Doug’s side of the fence, are confident that you’ll make greater strides than you’ve ever dreamed if you’re just willing to C-H-A-N-G-E.