Special Thanksgiving:
· I’m getting stronger every week! I would be getting stronger every day if it were not for my battle with gout, but praise God this round of drugs plus my own special diet* seems to be taking effect. In fact, I just got done taking a short walk around my living room without a cane! My speech is getting faster and less slurred all the time. I’m even seeing some small improvements in my left hand. Right after the stroke, all I had in my left hand was a two centimeter movement in my index finger. I gave myself a challenge yesterday and even managed to open our front door with my left hand. Of course, my grip strength is still not there, but I can actually hold an empty water bottle and if you listen carefully enough, you can actually hear the faintest crinkle when I squeeze my very hardest! God is good.
Special Prayer Request:
· I would like the cooperation of my diabetes doctor. Ironically, before the stroke, I had lost 40 lbs in a relatively short period of time. I did this through a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet with intermittent fasting. I was inspired by some best selling books, The Diabetes Code and The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung. Unfortunately, my diabetes doctor wants me to get on a plant-based diet. I have a problem with this. For starters, a strictly plant based diet is not Biblical (Gen 9). Secondly, and most frustratingly, he suggests that I get my protein from plants. The problem with this is that plant protein always comes with carbs, and when I’ve tried even whole grain foods, such as quinoa and brown rice, my numbers always go up. I would like my diabetes doctor to work together with me in accordance Dr. Fung’s Intensive Dietary Management (IDM) Program. Please pray that he will have an open mind and work with me in this endeavor.
* I’ve been trying to eat as many “brain healthy” and acid-reducing foods as possible such as nuts, avocados, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, chia seeds, etc. Surprisingly, the gross generalizations that we have been taught concerning gout do not hold true when you isolate individual food items. For instance, did you know that a 100 g portion of tuna has 290 mg of uric-acid producing purines? Even chicken breast and salmon have 175 mg! Contrarily, beef brisket has only 79 mg, and pork shoulder has only 81 mg. Tofu, our family favorite, has only 68 mg.