Back in May, I wrote that my continual nosebleeds had mostly stopped since taking large doses of zinc. That's still the case. What I didn't know until a few days ago was that the Flonase my doctor prescribed for my nosebleeds could have given me diabetes. (The other alternative he presented was cauterization. However, I tend to shy away from treatments that remind me of a Civil War battlefield hospital.)
Jenny Ruhl at the Diabetes Update blog reported that a study showed a 34% increased risk of diabetes from taking inhaled steroids. When I asked her if Flonase was one of the steroids, she said it was, and added that a steroid wasn't likely to heal my nose and might have made it worse with time. As I've written here before, there is diabetes on both sides of my family, and I may have genes for the disease. Continuing to take Flonase might have made me diabetic.
Why did I decide to take zinc instead of Flonase? The Flonase helped a little, but not much, and I was already wary of taking medicines I didn't need. No doctor suggested zinc. I only knew from reading and experience that it was helpful in healing. Dr. Robert Atkins, whose advice hadn't led me wrong, believed in optimal doses, not minimum doses, of vitamins--and my own research suggested the minimum daily recommendations didn't mean much.
UPDATE: My mother tells me that someone in our family had a cortisone shot for sciatica. (Cortisone is the active ingredient in Flonase.) This relative, a type 2 diabetic, later had a BG reading of over 500 (yes, five hundred). Yes, I've tried to tell her what little I've learned about blood sugar control, but since she's had diabetes for 20 years and listens to her nutritionist about eating plenty of carbohydrates (read: sugar), I'm afraid she feels I have nothing to add to her beliefs about diabetes. Sigh.
Jenny Ruhl at the Diabetes Update blog reported that a study showed a 34% increased risk of diabetes from taking inhaled steroids. When I asked her if Flonase was one of the steroids, she said it was, and added that a steroid wasn't likely to heal my nose and might have made it worse with time. As I've written here before, there is diabetes on both sides of my family, and I may have genes for the disease. Continuing to take Flonase might have made me diabetic.
Why did I decide to take zinc instead of Flonase? The Flonase helped a little, but not much, and I was already wary of taking medicines I didn't need. No doctor suggested zinc. I only knew from reading and experience that it was helpful in healing. Dr. Robert Atkins, whose advice hadn't led me wrong, believed in optimal doses, not minimum doses, of vitamins--and my own research suggested the minimum daily recommendations didn't mean much.
UPDATE: My mother tells me that someone in our family had a cortisone shot for sciatica. (Cortisone is the active ingredient in Flonase.) This relative, a type 2 diabetic, later had a BG reading of over 500 (yes, five hundred). Yes, I've tried to tell her what little I've learned about blood sugar control, but since she's had diabetes for 20 years and listens to her nutritionist about eating plenty of carbohydrates (read: sugar), I'm afraid she feels I have nothing to add to her beliefs about diabetes. Sigh.
Comments
So that'll be most of the Western world then right? Shocking really. Glad you managed to find a cure.
Traditionally, grains and other seeds were soaked, sprouted and/or fermented, which neutralized the phytic acid. There's more information on vitamin and mineral absorption in this post:
http://relievemypain.blogspot.com/2010/09/vitamin-and-mineral-absorption-stop.html.
From everything I can find, it seems like most of the West is utterly malnourished, and like you say we seem to have abandoned any technique of proper preparation of grains.
Reading through your other posts, you say you've not been diagnosed with celiac but clearly wheat is a problem. Do you find the same problem with other grains too?
No, I don't have trouble with other grains. I use low-carb rice protein powder in my breakfast shake, and one of my party places makes gluten-free cakes and cookies I indulge in once in a while. I don't know what kind of grain they use instead of wheat.
A piece of meat lightly rolled in flour is all the wheat I can stand--any more now gives me a stomach ache.
I imagine quite a few people get a negative test for celiac and their doctor tells them to go ahead and eat wheat.
Interesting about the grains. It's definitely a question of degree rather than celiac y/n. Right on queue dave from DietsandScience tweeted this: http://t.co/UdoX68U.
Not news to either of us by the sounds of it.
The g free stuff is not so bad. Amazingly in the florence marathon they had a gluten free tent at about mile 20 - can't tell you how pleased I was.
Still, it'd be good to see g free come out from the freaky eating section of the supermarket and into the main aisles. We live in hope...
Part of the problem could also be what people AREN'T eating on a junky diet: less meat, veg, eggs, etc. that are full of nutrients that might help with damage control.
Gluten-free isn't considered as freaky as it used to be here. (The party place that serves the GF goodies is pretty freaky, though.) But tell people you're a low-carber, or you can lose weight on fast food, and they'll look at you like you've grown a second head.
Totally with you on the nutrients thing - there's a barber I go to who eats total crap day in day out,but takes a multivitamin daily. When he stops, he gets ravenous and puts on weight. I'm going to interview him before the year is out - I think it's so telling.
Low carb over here = Atkins = heart attack is most people's perception.
Typical!
Also, the GF, vegan, maple-sweetened cake didn't give me any bloating, congestion or upset stomach that wheat gives me.