My husband, Clark, was surfing the craigslist “free stuff” section recently one afternoon when he came upon a listing for free glucometers. The address in the post (no phone number) was less than a mile from our winter home in Sacramento. We looked it up on Google Maps and discovered it belonged to a doctor’s office. We hustled right on down! We were happily supplied with two units and a nurse gave instruction on how to use them. I was the “stickee”. Before we left the office, they handed us a couple of copies of the American Dietetic/American Diabetes Associations joint publication booklet/poster titled “Healthy Food Choices”.

As I read the ADA/ADA guidelines on the way back to the house, I became more than a little irked with its bad advice. I calculated that if a person ate to this “healthy” plan, that individual would be consuming about 300 grams of carbohydrates each day! This plan, which is directed toward newly diagnosed diabetics, would guarantee a person remain diabetic and continue to suffer for decades with its complications, until they died. It is basically an insurance policy for keeping that diabetic firmly entrenched in the medical industry– and keep the money rolling in on the suffering of its freshly recruited victim. Of course, the consumption of the SAD (Standard American Diet) as mandated by our benevolent USDA likely was a major factor in the development of diabetes in the first place.

I was already well aware of the misguided American Diabetes Association advice but I couldn’t sit still after seeing this. Doctors were handing this booklet out to their patients! I felt compelled to do something. I couldn’t sit still for how this would keep people ill-informed, sick and getting sicker.

I know about being in this position. I became insulin resistant as I developed metabolic syndrome. I thought we were eating healthy! (Read my story.) Next step: diabetes. I refused to go there! Instead, I sought to learn how to reclaim my health. What I discovered literally saved my life. I did NOT follow my doctors’ advice, nor the advice of the ADA, and I am glad I didn’t. I followed the advice of Dr. Wolfgang Lutz’ “Life Without Bread: How a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Can Save Your Life”. Miracles happened. They can happen for you too. I just wish I had known the truth decades earlier!

It’s really not difficult for any of you to accomplish the same thing, especially if you have recently received a diagnosis of diabetes, or hypertension, or heart disease, or a lot of other things. Gout comes to mind and NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). The list of diet-induced conditions is very lengthy.

Back to the revised food guide…

Using the same design format, I rewrote all the advice to conform to a low-carbohydrate, higher fat, adequate protein plan. For instance, where the ADA/ADA guide says, “Eat less fat.” I changed that to read, “Eat more fat”, listing “wholesome natural fats like butter, lard, coconut oil, and ghee.” I reworked the layout so it could be printed out on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. It “mimics” the original publication in appearance, but the information will actually lead you down the road to better health, not keep you “slip-sliding away”, as Paul Simon sang.

I have titled this new guide to eating “Healthier Food Choices”. It’s available as a free PDF download. Feel free to print it out. Please send copies to your friends and family. I want to get helpful information into the hands of folks who need it. I want to help disseminate the truth as we who live a healthy low-carb, higher fat, adequate protein life know it. A real food diet supports the body’s natural ability to maintain itself, build new cells, and repair damage. Your body has the ability to heal. It wants you to be well. It’s never too late, truly.