JEDDAH, 31 January 2007 —What do you do when your sugar or cholesterol levels shoot up above normal levels? Would you become resigned to your fate and gobble a collection of tablets to bring your blood counts back to normal or would you choose the tougher way of naturally driving abnormal levels down? Many of us opt for the easier road, the former one. However, swallowing a handful of tablets would not cure your disease unless you seriously change your lifestyle habits to complement the treatment. I shall tell you how Jack Challem, the health writer, who successfully dealt with pre-diabetes, lowering his blood sugar count as well as cholesterol by replacing bad lifestyle habits with healthy ones.
While Jack was on an assignment in a health center to investigate vitamin supplements, he was asked to undergo blood tests to understand the clinic’s healing methods. The results shocked him; his blood sugar test indicated pre-diabetes. Though his antioxidant levels were high, his mineral levels were low. Low chromium, zinc, and magnesium levels were responsible for blood sugar imbalances. His cholesterol levels were high along with his blood pressure, predictors of heart disease. His intraocular eye pressure, indicator of glaucoma, was elevated. The tests also revealed that he was genetically predisposed to diabetes.
After seeing the disturbing results, he began evaluating his lifestyle pattern. He noticed that he bypassed breakfast, an important meal to jumpstart the metabolic rate and control the appetite all day long. He also realized that his weakness for pasta and French fries expanded his waistline to 38 inches; a concentration of fat around the middle is a predictor of diabetes type 2 and heart disease. Because his mineral levels were low, his body was unable to metabolize sugar. In other words, he was unfit and on his way to a health disaster if he did not take the proper measures to correct the imbalances. A strenuous divorce procedure overwhelmed him emotionally; stress wrecks havoc in the body. So he made the decision of modifying his lifestyle habits instead of going on medication for the rest of his life.
His first step was to start his day with a healthy breakfast in order not to overeat during lunch and dinner. Jack eliminated junk food (fats, sodas, sugars, refined and processed foods). At first, change was difficult, but after the divorce things started to fall into place. Living on his own pushed him to cook his own meals. Surprisingly, he lost his fancy for pasta and French fries. Instead, he added good portions of vegetables, salad, and whole food to fish or chicken. He cut on refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta, pizza, and pastry) and sugar (colas, soda, drinks, ice-creams, shakes). Following to the clinic’s recommendations, he took supplements of chromium, 1000 mcg; magnesium, 400 mg; and zinc, 60 mg in the absorbable forms of citrates and aspartates. He also included alpha-lipoic acid, 400 mg to help glucose breakdown.
Jack added cycling to his daily walk. At first, increasing activity was strenuous, but with healthier lifestyle habits, energy crept into his body and he began to enjoy both activities. After the divorce (a traumatic experience), stress became more manageable. He began to regain health balance. He revived an old hobby, fine-art photography, which helped him furthermore.
Guess what was the outcome of these lifestyle changes? Jack Challem lost 20 pounds in three months. His 38-inch waistline shrank to 34 inches. As for his blood count tests, his fasting glucose dropped to normal levels along with fasting insulin, a predictor of diabetes. Hemoglobin A1e, a marker of glucose intolerance, returned within normal range. His nutrients reached ideal levels. With regular exercise and a healthy diet, his cholesterol and triglyceride levels decreased by 15 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
Several years of good lifestyle habits gave Jack yet another bonus. His eye pressure returned to normal. He not only reversed a pre-diabetic condition and decreased blood fat levels as he was growing older; he also got healthier and more energetic at the age of 55 than he was at 47. By simply taking a few health-promoting measures and following up progress with regular testing, he was able to arrest and reverse a genetic tendency to diabetes. If Jack can do it, why can’t you?
• Jack is the author of Feed Your Genes Right (Wiley, 2005) and The Inflammation Syndrome (Wiley, 2003).
