Bitter Melon to Lower Blood Sugar

I'd like to start a conversation about blood sugar. It has been documented by several sources that bitter melon reduces blood sugar levels, and however effective this may be for type 2 diabetics, as a T1D mom, we know that T1 and T2 are not the same condition.

The reason I want to talk about bitter melon is because there is something deep inside my soul that says, "God has an answer for diabetes", and not just to prevent it. I don't want to get into all the potential causes, but until she is completely healed, I personally want to explore some possible blood sugar reducers which can possible reduce the amount of artificial insulin. 

So first, I want to ask, have you heard about bitter melon? Have you tried it? Well, to the average American it tastes N-A-S-T-Y. So what we did was juiced it and took "shots". Then I let my daughter chase it with milk or something else. We didn't notice anything dramatic, but over the course of the two weeks she was taking it, we did get some lower bs readings. It was hard to use my daughter as a "control" subject though because at the time she was sneaking food a lot and we just had so many other issues to combat. 

So we took a break from raw bitter melon then a few months ago we bought some over the counter Bitter Melon in capsules at Sprouts. (What a fabulous grocery store this is!) She began taking one with each meal, and keeping track of her food intake (which has really helped the sneaking). Since the consistency, we are noticing more "regular" bs readings, which mean less "correcting" and less insulin.

I would LOVE to hear from you! Have you tried bitter melon for diabetes? What were your results? Do you have any good articles you can post on this? 

Thanks for sharing!

Oh! here's a link if your looking to purchase the capsules online: 

http://www.ayurvedicherbsdirect.com/product_info.php?products_id=82&gclid=CMOL_7yLhL0CFSISMwodp3EApg

Junior Type 1 Diabetes

Junior Type 1 Diabetes is a long, and winding road.

When it comes to Junior Type 1 Diabetes, I've always been a closest conspiracy theorist, meaning, deep in my heart, but afraid to admit it in public. I guess this is "coming out of the closet" so to speak. As the case of most medical conditions, I believe diabetes is one of the greatest money making industries. I recently read the book The Cantin Ketogenic Diet for Type 1 Diabetes and Cancer, and in it she noted the "average diabetic will contribute 1 million dollars to the medical industry in his/her lifetime". While I want to be supportive of the diabetes research foundation, etc, I cant help but feel that instinct deep in the pit of my stomach that my little girl who has type 1, is a pawn in a game of financial gain by pharmaceutical companies.

Maybe you have had that feeling too? So how do you dive into the JDRF, the JRF, etc.? I haven't even mentioned the spiritual end of it.

I know there is no sickness in heaven (Revelation 21:4) and we know that it is God's will for it to be "On earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10) so how can we cloud our minds & life with illness when the higher reality is that God desires us to be free from all disease, even on the earth!? You see my dilemma as a mom of a T1D.

Well, last year, we took matters into our own hands, with God's help of course. And though we haven't made any extreme breakthroughs yet, and though my daughter is still pretty sick with her BS not under control, we have made some neat discoveries we would like to start some conversations about.

Are you a faith-filled diabetic? Or parent of one? I would love to hear from you.

How do you balance the not getting consumed with the "diabetes" and keeping your faith alive and hopeful?

mamaOFaT1, gina

Life with a Type-1 Diabetic Child

I have never written, or really talked about my life as a Mom to a Type-1 diabetic. I thought it would be good to start a forum for discussion, maybe there are other parents out there who can relate.

My daughter, "Sissy", is nine. She was diagnosed at age 6. At first it was such a shock to us, our lives kinda shut down for a couple months while we tried to figure things out. We were very thankful to have great resources in the area we lived, but slowly, life kinda got back to normal, and we didn't focus too much on it. It is not that we are in "denial", but we really haven't allowed the disease to control us. There are things that we would love to do someday, like the Bearskin Meadow Camp, but it feels like we are still in that early part of just trying to "live".

For us, the hardest part is watching our daughter struggle with desiring food, feeling like she cant have it, feeling like she has to "sneak" and "hide". We don't want her to grow up feeling like "life revolves around food".  We are doing everything we can to cultivate the philosophy that your "Eat to Live", rather than "Live to Eat".  It is hard having to tell her to "wait", or "take your blood sugar first", or "maybe you can have that later".

If you are a parent to a Type-1 Diabetic, I would love to hear the struggles you have and maybe share your ideas and things that life morale for your family.

- gina