Toronto
Star
Jan 16, 2003
Help
I’m being chased by a man wielding a sharp pointed object!! The
‘man’ happens to be my loving spouse of 26 years, Sohail, and the
object is a Glucometer. Sohail is a newly diagnosed diabetic who wants
to test his new toy – a blood glucose monitoring system – on me.
I tell him I don’t want to, need to or
have
to and he responds with
nasty words like HDL, LDL, Triglycerides and Omega – 3 fatty acids!
It’s hard to believe that the man who couldn’t spell cholesterol,
can use such terminology.
My Type 2 diabetes, a genetic gift from my parents, was diagnosed four
years ago. I confess that I’m impatient and intolerant of sickness -
it interferes with my busy life and is an encumbrance, so I demand
instant cure. My family doctor diagnosed generic diabetes pills
and gave me lots of material to read and digest. She informed me that
since I’m borderline, there was no need for daily blood-letting and I
could have my blood sugar tested every three months.
I started on the medication but didn’t bother to read the accompanying
literature. Bad move. Few months later, I did read the literature
and saw the contra-indications which appalled me, so I decided not to
take any more medication but control my diabetes with exercise and diet.
I saw an Ayurvedic practitioner who informed me that it’s all about
the food we eat, and put me on a strict regimen. He was cautious to let
me know that sugar is formed not only through intake of sweets but from
other sources which are high in carbohydrates. So I gave up rice and
potatoes, desserts and root vegetables and started walking and
exercising. Within a few weeks my sugar level was balanced and my doctor
recommend I continue with the regimen I’ve chosen. It was quite simple
and no big deal.
Meanwhile my family, which includes two teenagers 17 and 19, continued
to eat normally and was hardly aware that I have diabetes because I had
quietly changed my lifestyle without letting it affect our daily
routine. Actually, they ate everything including a lot of sweets. I
suggested a lifestyle change to my spouse who has a similar history as
mine, and is slightly chubby, but he remained resistant to change,
by virtue of being younger than I am. I reminded him that his
constant headaches might stem from high sugar – no affect. This is
because women are from Venus and men are from the planet
where-they-know-it-all.! So I gave up and handled my diabetes
quietly with dignity and pride, keeping it in control
Not so my hubby. Four months ago, he went for his yearly medical
and was informed that he is borderline diabetic: in-my-face-diabetic if
you know what I mean. No?
Suddenly we’ve discovered diabetes!!!
Wow.
My
mid-life crisis is
his
diabetes. His family doctor
recommended that he see a dietician and attend some seminars on
diabetes. I was against both because I felt the dietician wouldn’t
know about South Asian foods and seminars were just a waste of time!
However Sohail informed me that the new wave of medical awareness is to
educate Canadians
before
they become full-blown diabetics. He was
a willing guinea pig, so off he went to see the dietician and much to my
surprise (and annoyance) returned with a list of recommended amounts of
South Asian food i.e. rice, rotis and curry etc. Following this, he went
regularly to seminars every Tuesday night and tried to spread goodwill
by bringing back reams of paper, which he insisted I read aloud to the
family
Suddenly life has
changed. All our food intake and grocery shopping is under intense
scrutiny, and there is heavy grilling about ingredients. It’s like
we’re living with the food police. “Do you know brown bread has
sugar?” “Yes dear” I reply, “I’ve been buying brown bread for
the past four years.” “Do you know that we’re allowed only
one fruit a day and no juices?” “Yes dear, I don’t drink juice –
you are the one who likes to imbibe.” There are lists pasted all
over our kitchen which give intimate details about food size – a
‘thumbnail’ being the height of indulgence. It’s impossible to
cheat (yes of course like everyone on diets, I used to cheat too!) Just
because Sohail has amazing self control, I’m now totally deprived of
unhealthy foods, because the moral and ethical guilt for swallowing a
piece of candy, is worse than the physical damage. Our friends don’t
invite us for dinner as frequently, because the food has to be low fat,
low sugar, healthy and BORING says you-know-who. I knew we had
become too good for ourselves when my kids complained “there’s been
nothing sweet in the house since months Mom. Could we puleeeze have some
desert?”
In all honesty, I have to say that I’ve learnt a lot. The guidelines
for diabetics from the Ontario Ministry of Health give examples of
healthy eating like spacing meals, not to mix rice and lentils because
both are carbs and inclusion of all food groups in each meal. I
accept this food control from hubby with a smile because I know it’s
good for him, and am willing to ensure that there is balance in his
life. His idea of balance was to have meat, veggies and carbs at
every meal until I convinced him that breakfast doesn’t have to
include meat.
The good news is that with the diabetes diet, he’s stopped getting
headaches (that used to be my call!). The bad news is that I dream about
whipped cream and greasy fries.
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