Just over eleven years ago, author Alan D. Raguso was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He spent ten years battling raging A1Cs and ever-worsening blood-glucose readings; two and a half years ago, he started developing the beginning stages of retinal problems. That's when Raguso decided to get serious about his health and resolved to find a way to beat diabetes. In The Diabetes Slayer's Handbook, he narrates his journey with the disease and presents a nonsurgical, nonprescription-drug intervention program that he discovered through his research and study of nutrition. He provides an understanding of the basics of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, excess weight, sugar and carbohydrates, and metabolism, and he outlines diabetes-reversal techniques using everyday healthy foods combined with easy low-impact exercise. The Diabetes Slayer's Handbook dissects the components of diabetes and offers a game plan for attacking the disease to help diabetes sufferers get a handle on their health and their life.

The Diabetes Slayer's Handbook

Preventing or Reversing Prediabetes and Type 2 DiabetesBy Alan D. Raguso

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Alan D. Raguso
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-5003-8

Contents

Disclaimer......................................................................................vDedication......................................................................................viiAcknowledgments.................................................................................xiIntroduction....................................................................................xiiiThe Terrorist...................................................................................1The Assault on Diabetes.........................................................................3Payback.........................................................................................7Change Your Health Destiny......................................................................9Your Doctor.....................................................................................11Diabetes Education Is the Key...................................................................13The Sinking Ship................................................................................15The Metabolic Syndrome..........................................................................17Diabesity.......................................................................................19A Word about Weight.............................................................................21Sleep—or the Lack of It...................................................................23Glucose Spikes and Dawn Phenomenon: Tips to Avoid Them..........................................25You've Got to Pay for the Bus Ride..............................................................27Poker...........................................................................................29The Food Groups.................................................................................31The MAID: Mediterranean Anti-inflammation Diet..................................................35The Economics of the MAID.......................................................................43Counting Processed Carbohydrates and Processed Sugars...........................................45The Quick Reference Guide.......................................................................47Voodoo..........................................................................................51The Four Bs.....................................................................................53The Three Ps "P = (P/P)"........................................................................55Stocking Your Food Arsenal......................................................................57Rewiring Your Brain: Flip the Switch That Kills Appetite and Glucose Spikes.....................61Food Allergies: Wheat, Gluten, and Soy..........................................................63Low-Resistance Interval Training: LRIT ("Lower It").............................................65A Stronger Pancreas.............................................................................69Five Key Hormones You Should Know About.........................................................71Timing Is Everything............................................................................73Do Your Best....................................................................................75Questions and Answers...........................................................................77Wonderland......................................................................................79Health Warriors.................................................................................81Good Hunting....................................................................................83Summary.........................................................................................85Conclusion......................................................................................87About the Author................................................................................89Resources.......................................................................................92Pull-Out Reference Guide........................................................................97

Chapter One

The Terrorist

How can you fight something you don't understand? Defending yourself from something you can't see indeed seems impossible. We can discuss your options.

I had been referred to an ophthalmologist due to my worsening eye condition. As I drove home, I was angry and scared. How did this happen? I wondered. What was I really going to do about it?

I'd been fighting diabetes for about nine years, and my condition just kept getting worse. I'd developed the disease early in 2001, the year of 9/11. It was the year of the terrorist. Then it hit me: Diabetes is a terrorist. It will maim and kill as many people as possible. It had killed several of my friends and family. I then realized you don't negotiate with a terrorist! You take out the terrorist before it takes you out. I decided to declare total war on the terrorist!

I set out on a plan to lose weight and try to control my diabetes. Little did I know that I would stumble onto some incredibly simple solutions, ways to win the war I was fighting against raging diabetes, morbid obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglyceride levels, joint and tissue pain, diarrhea, and fatigue.

Chapter Two

The Assault on Diabetes

How do you fight a condition like prediabetes or type 2 diabetes?

It takes some time and patience, but the payoff is well worth it. You have to "pay for the bus ride," but, man—what a ride!

I came off of all my diabetes medications in ten months, after being on them for almost ten years.

The keys to your victory over prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and excess weight are to have

• the means;

• the will; and

• the knowledge.

In World War II, two famous tank commanders faced off against each other. Each was determined to annihilate the other in battle. One was General Erwin Rommel of Germany; the other was General George C. Patton of the United States.

Eventually, General Patton defeated Rommel in battle. Why? I feel that there were three key elements of General Patton's success: First, he had the means. The third army was at his disposal. By far, it was the top-of-the-line fighting group. Second, he had the will. He didn't get "blood and guts Patton" fame by being weak or giving up.

Finally, he had that final element that is so necessary in defeating a strong enemy. That element is knowledge. He studied Rommel's writings and learned how the German general thought. Patton found Rommel's weak points and exploited them.

Find your enemy's weak point, exploit that weak point, and hit the enemy from all sides! Once you know how to defeat diabetes, you can proceed to do so.

Learn all you can about your diabetes condition. Ask your doctor about getting plugged into diabetes education, support groups, workshops, and other specialized diabetes exercise and education programs. Only about 26 percent of prediabetes and type 2–diabetes patients attend diabetes-education programs. Train yourself for war. Whether you realize it or not, you are at war. Attend as many educational training sessions as you can. You—and only you—have to decide how well you want to be!

Victimized

Do you feel intimidated and embarrassed about having prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? I felt victimized by this cowardly disease. It attacks soft targets such as nerves, blood vessels, eyes, feet, and kidneys. The majority of amputations in the United States are diabetes related.

One place to start is by looking at your diet. Your body is designed to be a racecar. Your muscles are your high-powered racing engine. What are you going to put in the fuel tank—high-octane racing fuel or stove oil? The stove oil will plug up your fuel lines and eventually seize up the engine. Processed carbohydrates and sugars are like stove oil. Naturally dense carbohydrates and natural sugars such as fructose that is found in fresh fruits are like high-octane fuel for your body.

Once you understand what's going on with your body and the simple things you can do to help make yourself well again, you can set out to do just that: Get well again. You will be able to successfully engage in nutritional and exercise warfare against diabetes and obesity!

So what if you don't produce much insulin? You won't need much insulin if you make minor adjustments in your lifestyle. So what if you have insulin resistance? You can fix that problem too!

My system promotes a healthy lifestyle "transition." I spent ten years taking prescription drugs to force my pancreas to squeeze out extra insulin. My pancreas has been on vacation for two years now! If only I'd figured out years ago what to do, I could have stopped taxing my pancreas with all those medications.

Chapter Three

Payback

Fellow patients have often asked me why I'm so passionate about destroying diabetes. It's simple. Diabetes has killed some of my friends and family. I was not able to help them, and I felt sick and helpless. My passion is a desire for payback! I want other diabetes patients to get well and to join in the war against diabetes. We have a responsibility to help ourselves and then move on to help others.

What often gives me the strength to continue on with my war on diabetes is the enthusiasm I see in other patients when they understand what their problem is and learn solutions for their problems.

I realize that we are all different. No two patients have the same health conditions. But deep down, we all want to be healthy and happy.

Diabetes is one of the most confusing and misunderstood diseases in existence. But being diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes is not a death sentence unless you ignore it or aren't diagnosed with it until you're seriously ill and have serious medical complications.

I want to see the day that diabetes is eradicated from the face of the earth.

Chapter Four

Change Your Health Destiny

I spent eight years believing that my type 2 diabetes was a result of heredity, that my weight condition was hopeless, and that, at best, I could only hope to barely contain diabetes. Slowly this disease would "chip away at me" until eventually I would face serious medical complications.

Faced with the early stages of retinopathy, I had to make a decision. I could roll over and submit to the concept that I couldn't defeat diabetes—or I could do something dramatic to fight and reverse this disease. I chose to fight! You can do the same. Many of you can do things to take back your health and be in command again of your life.

At age sixty, I'm in better health in some respects than I was at age thirty. I've been off all diabetes medication for two years now. For that matter, I'm actually off of all medications.

For economic reasons alone, this bear's shouting out! I am no longer standing, hat in hand, waiting in line for my drugs, and I'm eating everyday foods! The cost savings are fantastic.

Chapter Five

Your Doctor

Really talk to your doctor. Ask your doctor what it will take for you to get well. Don't just discuss "controlling" diabetes. Talk about reversing it. An A1C level that is just under 7.0 may not get you well, and maintaining that level could put you at risk for diabetes complications. Ask your doctor about getting your A1C below 6.0 percent. Of course, you always should consult your physician before starting any diet or exercise program.

Do not ever change or stop taking any of your medications without your doctor's permission. I recommend following your doctor's instructions, as I do.

Chapter Six

Diabetes Education Is the Key

Talk frequently with your doctor, certified diabetes educators (CDEs), and dieticians. CDEs have extensive medical training and medical experience.

CDEs must have many hours of training and extensive medical knowledge to be certified to work with prediabetes, type 1–, and type 2–diabetes patients. I salute the CDEs; they're in the trenches in the war against diabetes.

Work with your doctor and CDEs. Take a team approach for success in beating diabetes. Tell your doctor what you want.

Only about a quarter of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes patients attend even one education class.

This is unfortunate and leads to misconceptions. I've heard the comment from diabetics that "there isn't anything I can eat." This is far from the truth; there is an incredible range of foods you can eat. Education classes can help you find out what those foods are.

Although the general guideline used is aiming for an A1C of less than 7.0 percent, I suggest that you ask your doctor about getting your A1C under 6.0 percent. Push to get yourself under prediabetic levels—that means 5.7 percent or lower.

A1C to eAG Conversion Chart

Use this A1C to eAG conversion chart as a reference. You can't know where you're going if you don't know where you are.

This table shows the relationship between A1C and eAG (estimated average glucose).

Three points on your glucose monitor equals a tenth of a percentage point on your A1C level. If my monitor were to register 111, I would know that the A1C equivalent is 5.5.

If, for example, you had two separate glucose readings of 120 and 140, you would add those together and divide by 2. You would get an average of 130, which is about a 6.2 A1C equivalent.

CH7[ The Sinking Ship

The year 2012 marked the one hundredth anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. We remember the horrific tragedy and that many lives were lost. We forget that a sizable number of passengers survived.

Let me ask you a question. That evening, if you had sensed that something was seriously wrong, would you have sat down in the lower section of the ship arranging silverware and waiting for the midnight buffet? Would you instead have opted to leave the warmth of the ship interior and wind your way up numerous stairs out into the cold air to find a life jacket, put it on, and wait for the possibility that a lifeboat would be unlashed and lowered so that you might be lucky enough to get into it? Remember, it was very cold out. You'd have been cold and uncomfortable—but you might have felt the need to do this to survive.

Imagine that you did this. Other people would still be down inside the warm ship. Standing there by yourself, would you have wondered whether you had made the right decision? What if, just then, you heard the scraping of an iceberg against the side of the ship? Somehow, you'd know you were right.

Taking action before it is too late may just save your life. ]CH7

CH8[ The Metabolic Syndrome

Prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, excess weight, high blood pressure, high LDL (bad cholesterol levels), low HDL (good cholesterol levels), and high triglyceride levels—together, these create the "metabolic syndrome."

Basically, it means that you're getting painted into a corner with multiple risks to your health.

I have found that the majority of prediabetes and type 2–diabetes patients who are referred to diabetes counseling, diabetes workshops, diabetes support-group meetings, and prediabetes combined exercise and education programs have been newly diagnosed with their condition, have control problems, or have risk factors, a term that generally refers to the metabolic syndrome.

Originally, I sought to lose weight and assumed that I would have to lose a certain amount of weight to get my diabetes under control. What I didn't realize was that the system that I developed attacked the metabolic syndrome—battling most of our major health concerns—like a vicious junkyard dog! ]CH8

CH9[ Diabesity

Diabesity is a term used by diabetes experts to refer to the combination of diabetes and obesity. It acknowledges the connection between obesity or morbid obesity and diabetes.

Controlling the absorption of refined sugars and carbohydrates is the key to controlling both diabetes and excess weight.

I hate the term obesity. The word makes me feel like something that was scraped off the bottom of somebody's shoe. Instead of calling excess weight obesity, we should use a numbered rating scale, as we do with hurricanes.

The principle is simple: excess sugar absorbed into the bloodstream leads to weight gain, and a decrease in sugar leads to weight loss.

Some people can be overweight and not have diabetes, while others may have diabetes and not be substantially overweight.

I realized that the same thing that is responsible for excess weight—excess absorbed sugar in the bloodstream—is also responsible for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. That sugar has to be burned up as fuel in the muscles or stored as energy in the fat cells. Otherwise, it remains floating in your bloodstream, causing problems for your blood vessels.

I fought excess weight all of my life. In our society, an unspoken phrase that often comes to mind when we see seriously overweight people is "they're fat and lazy."

But when I see a morbidly obese person, the first thing that hits me is a wave of sadness. The second thing that occurs is that I think, "That person's cell system is poisoned." Finally, I have the realization that the problem can be fixed. ]CH9

CH10[ A Word about Weight

Not all prediabetics and type 2 diabetics are significantly overweight, and not all overweight, obese, and morbidly obese individuals are prediabetics or have type 2 diabetes. We need to remember that we are all different, and we all have different combinations and degrees of medical conditions.

Regardless of what you're fighting (excess weight, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes) you will find the sugar connection. Sugar absorbed into your bloodstream must be burned for energy; if it remains in your bloodstream, it will eventually cause health problems or be carried to your fat cells to be stored as—you guessed it—more fat.

Don't try to lose weight to satisfy your ego. Don't try to lose weight for a special event, such as a high school reunion. Lose weight to improve your health.

Initially, you may lose weight rapidly, but eventually the weight loss will slow down. You may even hit a plateau where your weight doesn't go down for some time. You might also experience a "weight rebound"—which means that you might gain some weight back after losing a lot of weight. Relax and be patient. You eventually will start losing weight again.

You need to lose your weight slowly. The weight loss will be more permanent if it's done slowly. I'd rather take five years to lose all my excess weight than lose it quickly, only for it to come back and stay with me forever. Ask yourself where you want to be one year, two years, and five years from now. Adopt a long-term weight-loss plan. And don't give up! You will win!

You need to burn an extra 3,500 calories to lose one pound of weight. Conversely, weight gain occurs when you consume too many calories. Just a net change of 100 calories per day can add up to ten pounds in a year.

Many obese individuals can easily reduce their daily calorie intake by 1,000 calories without feeling deprived!

There's an arsenal of delicious foods available—inexpensive, everyday items that you can easily find right in your grocery store. 0

CH11[ Sleep—or the Lack of It

Studies indicate that most people should have eight and a half hours of sleep every night for good health. It's very hard to get that much sleep every night and still balance work, family, hobbies, errands, and, last but not least, exercise. I try for seven and a half hours of sleep per night. It's not perfect, but we are not in a perfect world.

Without proper sleep, our minds can't reorganize and our bodies can't heal properly.

Lack of sleep can adversely affect your blood-glucose levels as well. When you are tossing and turning in bed, getting up and down through the night, or just plain staying up too late, you pay a price when it comes to diabetes and excess weight.

Our body puts out hormones early in the morning to activate us, but those hormones can interfere with our processing of insulin. Many prediabetics and type 2 diabetics have their greatest glucose control problems when they wake up in the morning.

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