Skip to main content

How Long does it Take to Heal?

It takes anywhere from seconds to years. It depends on the issue, the person, their diet, and their lifestyle. Lierre Kieth, for instance, felt better the instant she started eating meat again--the tuna was like prana in a can. (Sadly, her back pain from the damage caused by long-term B-12 deficiency will never go away.)

There have been a lot of 30-day challenges out there: 30-day paleo, 30-day Whole 9, even 30-day gluten-free from Dr. Guyanet. (He actually had a terrific blog before he started going on about food reward.) I think these challenges last long enough to get allergens out of your system and let you see if re-exposure bothers you, yet they're short enough to seem manageable. Thirty days is more than long enough to begin clearing up GI problems caused by food. My GERD disappeared within a few days of starting a low-carb diet, and two days on a fat fast cleared up my gastritis.

Some issues can take much longer. Almost a year ago, two of my teeth were knocked out of place in an accident, and they've only recently stopped being sensitive to pressure. This, on a high-nutrient diet of weekly liver and oily fish, red meat, green veg, 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 400 micrograms of K2 daily. In other words, a diet high in the nutrients Dr. Weston A. Price found in the traditional diets of people who suffered little or no dental problems. When I had my accident, my dentist warned me that those teeth would be compromised: it would be weeks or years before they'd die and need a root canal. On the standard American diet, that's no doubt the case. On a "heart-healthy," low-fat, low-calorie diet, you might as well start saving up for a root canal. (Fat-soluble vitamins A, and K2, which your teeth need, are best absorbed with, well, fat.) My teeth are still alive and crunching and feel like they've healed.

My left shoulder is another thing that took longer than 30 days to heal. In January 2010, it was so sore I saw my doctor. It was just muscle strain, but I'd suffered with it for years, probably from carrying 20 pounds of photo equipment for three years, then 20 pounds of books for four and a half. It wasn't from lack of exercise (I lifted weights at the time); yet I couldn't carry a purse on that shoulder. Why didn't I see the irony? Around the time I say the doctor, I started a wheat-free diet and soon after, gave my diet a radical carbectomy. Eight months later, my shoulder was well enough for me to ditch the backpack and buy a chic new handbag.

My mother can top this. She started a low-carb diet about the same time I did to control her blood sugar. In spite of this, she had to start taking insulin--a sudden diet switch isn't going to correct the damage from 20 years of out-of-control blood sugar levels. Think fasting blood glucose levels in the 300s. Seventy to 100 is normal, sustained levels above 140 lead to tissue and organ damage. The new diet did bring her blood sugar levels down immediately, and her mood, energy and mental function improved remarkably. This year--three years into a low-carb diet--her kidney function became good enough to go back on metformin, a safe drug that helps control blood sugar, and her fasting blood sugar has gotten so low that she's going to try skipping her evening insulin shot. I read on the Diabetes Update blog that neuropathy can take three years to heal as well. We'll see if this happens for her.


Comments

Anonymous said…
You've done SO well, Lori!

Love 'radical carbectomy'!
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Carole. On a "healthy" diet, I'd be ready for the glue factory.
Galina L. said…
My mom normalised her blood pressure, and her mioma and an ovarian cyst are gone after 2 years of a LC diet, she also stopped having seasonal flues. She didn't became thin, especially around the middle, however more than 20 lb were lost.
Lori Miller said…
Outstanding!
Great post Lori quite thought provoking.
You've done very well and I think your mother has too.
Just wish more people would realise the damage that they may be causing to themselves, and start being more open to a different lifestyle

All the best Jan.
Lori Miller said…
Thanks, Jan.
Amy S. Petrik said…
Hi. I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in Feb 2008. Can you tell me the diet (or show me the link) that your mom went on to lower her sugar levels please? I'd love to try it. Thanks, Amy at kirtepa@gmail.com

http://bohemianburble.wordpress.com/
Lori Miller said…
Amy, my mom simply whacked a lot of carbohydrate out of her diet. Since she's 83, in a wheelchair and has little appetite, she doesn't eat very much, either. Your needs may vary, as they say.

Here's a resource to get you started: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/ At the bottom left is a sheet describing how to lower your blood sugar.

Since diabetes is a disease of carbohydrate intolerance, I suggest you get an up-to-date book on low-carb diets. It should be low-carb high fat; your body can't run on protein, and natural fats aren't going to harm you. We've been eating them for over two million years.

You can check out New Atkins for a New You, The Diet Trap, or Wheat Belly. My diet (see link at top right) would be appropriate for many diabetics. Pretty much any blog I've linked to will steer you in the right direction. Tom Naughton has made some great videos; you can look them up on Youtube. You can probably find low-carb recipe books by Dana Carpender at the library.

A few other indispensible books for diabetics: Blood Sugar 101: What they Don't Tell you about Diabetes by Jenny Ruhl. She's a diabetic, programmer, anthropologist, amateur researcher, and she's wicked smart. Also, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution. Former engineer, current MD, T1 since 1946. He pioneered blood sugar testing.

Good luck!

Popular posts from this blog

My New Favorite Sweetener

If you're looking for a low-carb sweetener with no aftertaste, no franken-ingredients, and that doesn't upset your stomach, try monk fruit (also known as luo han guo). This is what Quest bars were sweetened with when they first came out. Monk fruit is Dr. Davis approved. You can buy monk fruit in powdered or liquid form; both are super-concentrated. They might seem expensive, but you use the powder by the spoonful (even in baking recipes) and the liquid by the drop. The baking recipes I've made with the powder have turned out well. Available from Amazon . Beware monk fruit sweeteners with erythritol.  The package of powdered monk fruit sweetener I bought says, "Use 1/8 teaspoon to create the same sweet taste as 1 teaspoon of sugar." But it's so sweet that I use 1/10 the amount. To replace a cup of sugar, I would use 5 teaspoons of monk fruit sweetener. Tip: hand-stir this in before using the beaters. It's such a fine powder that it flies up and out of the ...

Mince Meat Pie Recipe, low carb

The star of Christmas dinner this year was made of unlikely ingredients. Fruit and beef tongue sound high carb or unpalatable, but mince meat pie was so popular 250 years ago that it was in many cookbooks from the time--and it wasn't just for Christmas. My version cuts the carbs by using tart cooking apples, cranberries, monk fruit sweetener and a nut flour crust. The main flavors are orange and slightly tart fruit; the meat and fat make it filling. Have it for dessert or with coffee or tea for breakfast. Make some soup with the collagen-filled broth and discover how tender and tasty the rest of the beef tongue is. Worth the time and effort. IMPORTANT--start this recipe the day before. Links in the recipe go to hard-to-find ingredients and directly to the cookbook with the recipe for the pie crust. (I made the almond flour variation of the crust.) Recipe 1 beef tongue (I get mine here ; look for farms or ranches in your area that sell directly to consumers) 2 Granny Smith apples 1 ...

Is the NIH Privately Helping Patients with COVID Vax Injuries?

In a recent letter from several attorneys general (AGs) demanding an explanation as to why so few vaccine-injured people have received so little compensation, the AGs asked a curious question: We have been told by constituents that NIH [National Institutes of Health] is privately helping patients across the country with COVID-19 vaccine–related injuries and is even bringing patients to NIH for study and treatment. Is that correct? Why have these activities not been better publicized? What sorts of studies of these patients is NIH currently conducting? What treatments is NIH administering? Photo from Pixabay . Most of the letter focused on compensation for COVID-19 vaccine injuries. As you know, vaccine manufacturers in the US have immunity from lawsuits, but people suffering from vaccine injuries can be compensated by the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). But among the 10,000 COVID vaccine related claims, only 20 claimants have received compensation. "And but for...

Magnesium Tea: Peachy, Minty, Refreshing

Most readers know that magnesium supplementation is important, especially on low-carb diets. Magnesium deficiency is common, and low-carb diets require more magnesium--a mineral that's important for heart, muscle and digestive function and helps regulate blood sugar.  Photo from Unsplash . The magnesium powder in this recipe is the best form I've found--I had a lot of trouble with magnesium supplements during the pandemic not working, or giving me diarrhea, or (in the case of all the milk of magnesia) being contaminated with bleach. This magnesium powder doesn't require a carbonation machine, unlike some other powders. The peach flavor is only mildly sweet.  Note--limit servings to two per day, preferably spaced out several hours apart. Too much magnesium at once can have a laxative effect.  4-5 mint tea bags filtered water (enough for 1 medium pitcher) Doctor's Best magnesium powder, peach flavor Boil a cup of the water and add tea bags. Let steep for five minutes. Add...

How would Dr. Oz Treat the DTs?

"You let me in your house with a hammer." -"Candy Shop" by Andrew Bird Low-carb proponent Gary Taubes appeared on the Dr. Oz Show March 7. In one entertaining segment, Dr. Oz spent a day eating a low-carb diet and complained of the greasiness of the sausage, feeling tired, constipation and bad breath. That's a drag, but when I stopped drinking Coke in 2007, I felt even worse: stomach ache, headache, tiredness, and mental fog. Should I have gone back to drinking Coke? If you quit a bad alcohol habit and start seeing snakes, do you need a drink? If my legs hurt from working out Monday night for the first time in two months (which they do), maybe I should resume my exercise hiatus indefinitely. I respect Dr. Oz for having Gary Taubes on his show and letting him share his ideas. I'd respect Oz even more if he looked into low-carb diets more carefully. What he didn't seem to consider regarding his one-day low-carb diet was that he spent a day...