Joel Fuhrman - Eat To Live

Eat to Live 163

cose in the morning was averaging 115, and his blood pressure was

down to 125/80. Other than checking his blood test and doing an

EKG for the record, I made no changes in his program. He was en-

joying the diet and following my advice to the letter.

At Gerardo's third visit the next month, he weighed 221, a loss of

thirty-five pounds in fifty-two days. He had just returned from a

cruise, where he continued to follow his healthful diet. His morning

glucose was averaging around 80 (completely normal), so I stopped

the Glucophage. His blood pressure was 88/70, so I discontinued the

Accupril, his blood pressure medication.

Ten months after Gerardo's first visit, he weighed 190, a loss of

sixty-six pounds, his cholesterol was 134, his blood pressure 112/76.

His hemoglobin A1C, a measure of diabetic control, was 5.3, in the

nondiabetic range. He was on no medication.

Rather than controlling his blood pressure and diabetes, he chose

to follow my advice and gel rid of his medical problems altogether.

Advice for the Diabetic Patient

The general advice given in this book is sufficient for most diabetics.

The most important goal is how much weight you lose, not whether

your glucose is a little higher or lower in the short run. Follow my

guidelines for aggressive weight loss in the next chapter. If you

follow my program to the letter, it will not be necessary to make

your diet complicated by following diabetic food exchanges and

counting calories. Most people do not have to measure portions,

either. Your goals are the same as the patient with coronary artery

disease: get thin and aggressively treat your risk factors. With time,

your body will normalize your numbers. Keep the following guidelines

in mind:

1. Refined starches such as white bread and pasta are particularly
   harmful; avoid them completely.


2. Do not consume any fruit juice or dried fruits. Avoid all
   sweets, except for fresh fruit in reasonable quantities. Two or
   three fruits for breakfast is fine, and one fruit after lunch and
   dinner is ideal. The best fruits are those with less sugar —
   grapefruit, oranges, kiwis, strawberries and other berries, mel-
   ons, green apples.


3. Avoid all oil. Raw nuts are permitted, but only one ounce or
   less.