Based on my research from NIH and various universities on the topic Type 2 diabetes and ways to lower your A1C, I’ve discovered that the most important factor is how you got your start, as well as will power. It may sound simple, but you are who you are because of the way you eat, which began with your first meals as a baby.
Let me give you an excellent example. My son finally has the child he has wanted for so long. Because he has listened to my teaching about how diseases such as Type 2 diabetes begins early in your life, starting with those early childhood meals, my son’s now utilizing what he learned to take care of his 5-month-old son. He makes the baby’s foods from fresh, organic foods only. He never serves the baby processed foods.
A photograph of the combination of vegetables the baby is eating for dinner was a blessing to see. It included baby kale, baby spinach, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, yellow squash, fresh carrots and fresh blueberries. He cooked the veggies in water only, no seasoning. He then uses a Magic Bullet blender to soften the cooked food, then he feeds him. This baby has a very healthy start!
Compare this healthy start with others, where the mother starts the children out by feeding them doughnuts, chips and junk food, because she loves that stuff. The children are overweight and, for them, eating unhealthy is normal.
What am I saying? Remember the poem “Children Learn What They Live”? That poem is so true. I discovered it during my mid-20s, and I believed its messages were true. Now, some 40 years later, at age 69, life experience has proven those words to be true. Here’s a copy for you. Read it, let it motivate and teach you. Copy it, share it and allow those words to sink into your spirit and guide your life, too:
Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.
And I add: If children live with eating healthy from the start, they learn to continue to eat healthy for the rest of their lives.
If your family has a history of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, start your family out by teaching them to eat healthy. My grandson enjoys his meals, with no salt, no seasonings, just cooked, healthy food. He enjoys every meal, and he is happy and peaceful after he has a meal. He won’t take a milk bottle for hours after his meals, because he’s not craving anything. He just lay in his play bed, laughing, playing and enjoying his life.
Why did my son make such a decision? Because he saw how his grandmother, my mother, suffered from Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes and kidney failure, and had to undergo dialysis three days per week.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.