Management Shmanagement!
When Dr. Chris Dyer, Executive Director for UNM Gallup, asked me to come on board to teach classes on diabetes management in an effort to help lower the rate of this epidemic, I asked him why teach management of a disease that is often curable when the goal is to eradicate it? He fully agreed and said “Let’s find us some Wellness Warriors who want to lead by example so their families don’t have to continue suffering this dreaded disease.”
That led me to start discussions with local residents with diabetes. I spent half my time talking about how constantly eating the wrong foods can lead to a diagnosis of diabetes. I spent the other half speaking with people whose doctors insisted, “There’s nothing you can do about your diabetes except manage it with the proper medications. You’ll be diabetic for the rest of your life.”
I’m here to tell you now: don’t you believe it. People eradicate diabetes every day. Eradicate—not manage. They get rid of it. With the proper attitude and daily habits, the human body will repair itself.
I know. I don’t really want to reveal my age, but I’ve been working for over 30 years with people who made a commitment to themselves, loved themselves enough to make the changes that could alter their life course, and eradicated—not managed—not only diabetes, but multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, crippling arthritis, cancer, and other life-challenging conditions.
If you want to get well, you can. Yes, it takes work—a lot more work than merely refilling your prescriptions and remembering when to take what pill. Eradication requires you to:
- Explore your relationships with food, doctors, and prescription medicines
- Consider what you can/will and cannot/will not accept in terms of personal responsibility and outside authority
- Examine your spiritual/physical/emotional standing both in your personal circle of influence and your connection to the universe
- Confront your discomfort, fears, and guilt—yes, guilt—about changing the fabric of your life to something foreign to your family and friends, your upbringing, and your society
- Learn how various foods, drinks, and medications impact the human body
- Learn how your particular body reacts to the foods, medicines, stressors, pressures, temptations, and pleasures of your life
- Commit to loving yourself enough to improve the quality of your life
- Promise to “start over” every day without beating yourself up over lapses
Yeah, it’s a lot, isn’t it? We’re talking about major life changes, about developing a completely different way to interface with your own life, to understand your connection to God, and to take charge of the life He has given you.
But I promise you, it’s worth it. You are worth it.
You really are.
Applied Knowledge is Power
You may have seen or heard about the diabetes program that the non-profit BASTIS Foundation is offering in collaboration with UNM Gallup and Rehoboth in response to the tragically high diabetes rate throughout McKinley County. Some of you got the impression we are offering a new way to manage your diabetes.
No. We’re. Not.
What we’re offering is hands-on education to help you eradicate your diabetes (or that of a loved one) in a relaxed, comfortable home-based atmosphere in the serenely beautiful Zuni mountains. We want to help you change your life, not simply organize your meds.
Why Manage Instead of Eradicate?
Programs all over this country are aimed toward eliminating cancer, not managing it. Doctors offer chemotherapy or radiation not for cancer management; their hope is to eliminate this horrific threat to life. Diabetes holds just as much threat to life and body parts (loss of limbs, blindness, etc.). So why would you simply want to manage it?
If you want to do more than manage diabetes in your life and you feel you are a qualified candidate for a Wellness Warriors program, call us at (505) 783-9001, and we’ll talk.
There’s Always a Healthful Substitute for Your Favorite Food or Snack
When I attended the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA this March, I went looking for new products to help my fellow McKinley Count-ians who struggle with diabetes. Over the course of the three days, I got to sample numerous snacks that were far more healthful than anything you’ll find in the standard grocery-store aisles. One of my favorites was raw kale chips.
And the chips I sampled came in many different flavors: cheesy, hot and spicy – even chocolate-covered.
That’s right: chocolate-covered. And yeah, I got hooked on them, and the cheesy ones, and even the hot and spicy ones.
Not to mention the chocolate-covered ones. Oh, did I already mention the chocolate-covered kale chips?
As soon as I got home, I went online to order some of these raw kale chips—and reality burst my bubble. At over $10 for 2.2 ounces of chips I would inhale in a little over a minute, my new favorite snack could cost me a few hundred dollars each time I sit down to eat them. Yikes!
I had to find a better way to satisfy my latest craving.
I decided to make my own—and excuse me while I take a bow, but I’m pretty darn proud of the way they came out.
I bought a couple pounds of organic kale (before ours started coming up in the greenhouse) and covered them with flavors I thought I would like. I loved them. Then I ran around asking friends to sample them. Since they all approved, I started teaching my clients to make them, and voila, some have already said they can easily replace their commercial potato chip habits with organic raw kale chips that are actually GOOD for them. Just one of the many treats you’ll learn how to make if you join our program, along with attending cooking classes using organic produce directly from our greenhouse (whole meals, snacks, etc.), juicing, and proper food combining for good digestion. Learn how incorporating these can boost your immune system dramatically, and how detoxing and cleansing can revitalize your strength and energy and help you heal your body.
If I Can Do It You Can Do It
When I grew up I was a junk-food junkie. I still love commercial potato chips, I really do. However, as much as I enjoy the crunchy saltiness of commercial chips, I recognize they are one of the dietary components that contribute to today’s modern plagues: cancer, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
I know they can cause weight gain, bloating, and toxic buildup, partially due to the chemicals added to their manufacturing process. I also know the process of cooking carbohydrate-rich foods at high temperatures, whether baking, roasting, toasting, or frying, produces acrylamide, a potentially neurotoxic and cancer-causing chemical that negatively influences insulin levels.
Since all of us are fighting to lower the instance of diabetes in McKinley County, decreasing or eliminating high-temperature cooked carbohydrate-rich foods is just a smart step. Ideally, we should all eat our foods either raw or minimally processed to avoid these types of toxic byproducts. It’s not difficult – it’s simply a new way of thinking and eating that enriches our lives and satisfies our crunchy cravings.
Other Important Components for Eradication vs. Management
I gave you the list above. It takes work but you’ve heard it before: anything worthwhile takes work. Aren’t you worthwhile? If up until now you have failed to control your blood sugar numbers without making some changes, let’s recall Albert Einstein’s words: “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”
You might have been fighting a disease for a long time and feel that it is hopeless to beat it. As I said above, don’t believe it. You might just need to make a change. But you have to believe you have the power within you. Repeating Henry Ford, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Keep an open mind. There is more than one way to conquer illness. Sometimes your way will be different from someone else’s.
You Have a Choice!
Never believe there’s only one choice when it comes to your life. If you’re tired of your body betraying you, give us a call and we’ll give you a different direction to consider. But only if you’re ready to commit to yourself. Remember, you are worth it.
My prayer for McKinley County is to eradicate diabetes.
Are You a Wellness Warrior with a similar prayer?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Bera “The Wellness Whisperer” Dordoni, N.D.
Specializing in immune system rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance through nutritional counseling, life-style coaching, and the laws of attraction. To purchase I Have a Choice?!, schedule a private consultation, or learn more about her next workshop, wellness retreat, or natural-health class, visit www.bastis.org or call 505-783-9001.