For all the successes I've had and enjoyed; I'll be putting most of my regular supplemental regime aside in the quest of my new experiment.

My long term goal/dream is not to supplement at all, but as I've become healthier (based on great lab results and the way I feel), I think it is time to adjust my supplemental regime, cutting back a little on what I think I can do without and adding what I think will help (we all do this based on our own influences).

I'd like to note, this is not an advisable experiment for any diabetic who has not achieved great successes with BG control. I've made a lot of advances, along with some set-backs to get to my current state of health and I am trying this with a lot of monitoring and testing and a willingness to keep adjusting if things don't go just right for me... At some point, I'll post the results I'm having and/or any changes I'm making, but I don't expect any quick changes and I'm not due for another complete blood work up for about another 3 or 4 months.

Spirulina - 3,000 mg 3 times daily with meals

Supplement Facts for 500 mg Tablet
Serving Size: 6 tablets
Amount %DV
Calories 10
Total Carbohydrates 1 g <1
Sodium 20 mg <1%
Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) Yielding Approximately: 3 g †
Protein 2 g 4%
Vitamin A (as beta-carotene) 6,000 IU 120%
Vitamin K 16 mcg 20%
Vitamin B-12 3 mcg 50%
Iron 1 mg 6%
Potassium 40 mg <1%
Phycocyanin 300 mg †
gamma-Linoleic Acid 30 mg †
Linolenic Acid 27 mg †
Chlorophyll 27 mg †
Carotenoids 11 mg †

Link: http://www.healthsession.com/articl...a-benefits.html

Bee Pollen - 1,000 mg 3 times daily with meals

Bee Pollen is a fine powder that composes the male element of the flower. Honey bees harvesting the pollen instinctively gather only that pollen which is pure and healthy. It is then mixed with flower nectar and bee saliva to form an all-natural and highly nutritious food that contains all twenty-two of the elements composing the human body. It supplies vitamins, amino acids, trace minerals and enzymes in a synergistic balance that provides optimum bioavailability.

Link: http://www.bee-pollen-health.com/he...bee-pollen.html


Pu'er Tea - 12 ounce drinks, 5 or 6 times daily

Link: http://purepuer.com/puer_tea/do/page/health

From my regular supplemental regime, I'll continue the following:

Vitamin D3 (gel caps) - 2,000 iu, twice daily
Vitamin C - 1,000 mg, twice daily

Note: I continue to follow this diet...

15% protein with 50% from plant based source & only 30% of animal source from red meat.

35% carbohydrate with 70% from green vegetables (low glycemic) and 20% from fruits and 50% raw & the rest lightly cooked.

50% Fats which comes mostly from olive, canola, sesame & other seed oils and avocados.

My diet includes seeds, nuts, grains and legumes. I eat a minimum of 75 minimum different vegetables & a minimum of 25 different fruits each month.

Note: I exercise a minimum of 1 hour daily and about 2 hours of exercise 3 times a week. I try to enjoy 30 minutes or more of outdoor activity every day, but don't succeed at this in the winter months.

My A1C tests have been in the 5.1-5.8 range for about 2 years and my blood sugars are always in normal range and are very stable. I don't experience highs or lows.

I didn't post links to show that what I'm doing is good for diabetics, but I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe it could boost my metabolism and ulimately help me to continue with good BG control.

and the journey continues.................................

I don't know yet how much impact my motivation is having, but I've been noticing a tremendous increase in my energy level. I actually am getting up earlier, sleeping better and get about my work day a lot quicker than before...

I have adjusted my diet to what I've posted in my opening post; so I've not been carb creeping as I had been lately, but in the last several days, I've dropped my FBG by more than 10 points.

My experiment is not scientific, to say the least, but I can't attribute my BG improvement to the slight diet change/adherence. I have discontinued all supplementation of herbs/vitamins/minerals that I had been using to control my diabetes at the same time that I made the diet adjustment.

I adjusted, more of the quality of the carbs, than the carbs itself. I might have been creeping up to 45% carbs prior to my experiment, and now I'm between 30% & 35% on my carbs.

One observation so far, besides the increased energy. I am not thinking about snacks between meals and I seem to have less cravings. For me, this is a good thing....

My exercise routine that seems comfortable for me: 3.5 miles at varying speeds on a treadmill, all done in a slow jog for an hour. Heart rate first 30 minutes kept under 125 and above 135 for the 2nd 30 minutes.... I'm alternating days of jogging on a treadmill and Qi Gong exercises in a large aerobic/dance room. Every 2nd or 3rd day, I add light weight training for an extra 30-60 minutes, depending on how I feel....

If this can continue for 90 days, I'm sure my A1C would end up at 5.0 or slightly less.... That's probably a big "IF" at this time...

I always enjoy reading about what you're trying out Ron and how it's working for you.>>>trying to see if I even know of 75 different vegetables and 25 different fruits

I made a list a few months ago of what I consume in a month and I surprised myself also... Then if I made a list of the berries, nuts & seeds, it would be another surprise...

**Note** There is not a lot of one thing being consumed at one time. My wife says; a "serving" is a "bite" and a "portion" is even less than that... Much of what I eat is in portions....

My energy level is going through the roof....

I jogged on a treadmill this morning at a pace of 4.6 mph for 40 minutes and completed 4.1 miles in 60 minutes. It probably doesn't sound like a great feat, but I do many different grueling things on a treadmill that many people don't try, for example; running as in a sprint by short stepping and lifting knees as high as possible, shadow boxing, keeping hands over shoulder height and several other routines with either legs or arms, all done for 1 to 3 minutes at a time. I use about 6 different running strides. I weighed before and after my exercise of one hour and lost 2 1/2 pounds through sweating.

We're going to be experimenting with making one meal a day to be a salad which includes raw eggplant and several other mixed vegetables. I had my first such salad last night with bell peppers, seaweed & onions mixed with the eggplant, all cut into thin long strips and seasoned with a sauce made of ginger, vinegar, and garlic. The combinations will vary, but the raw eggplant will be the constant. Raw eggplant is supposed to have an effect on breaking down fat and lowering cholesterol, so we'll be checking this out along with our new supplement schedule...

Energy level is still extremely high for me... In addition, I notice that when I sit to eat, I feel full much sooner and I seem to be eating a little less... I'm still eating within my range for total calories, but trending to the lower end of the range and feeling completely satisfied when I stop eating..

Energy, energy, energy and strength!!!!

Today, I amazed myself. I started off on the treadmill at my usual 3.0 walking pace and it felt like I wasn't moving. I reset to 4.0 and started jogging and within the first 5 minutes I had increased my speed to 4.8 and ran at that pace for 45 minutes. I only stopped because I didn't have enough time and had to get to an appointment. My heart rate was between 145 & 155, but I felt very comfortable. My wife teaches Qigong and I've been learning her breathing techniques and I've got my breathing well adjusted for the jog...

Night time -

Before this experiment, I used to get up 1 to 3 times a night and could rarely sleep more than 3 hours without getting up the first time and then I'd get up every 2 or 3 hours for the rest of the night most of the time...

After this experiment, I'm getting up 0-1 times at night and in the last week have not gotten up more than once. I'm realizing today, that is why I feel so much more rested and have so much more energy.....

The reason could be the Spirulina & Bee Pollen, but it could also be the lack of all of those other vitamin pills I was taking.

BG -
I had a few morning readings in the low 80s', but most are low 90s'.. Before; my morning readings were anywhere from 90-110 depending what I ate and the time I ate the night before..

I've been enjoying my eggplant salads at night. Tonight, I just finished it, but a friend brought over a lemon meringue pie and I'm having a small slice of it. I had not had one in a long time. It is as good as I remembered....

I dropped 2 pounds since starting on the experiment and I was not really trying to lose.

and the experiment goes on.....

I'm glad you're experiencing such success with your experiment Ron!

Meringue Pie last night = FBG: 112 (11 hours later) this morning.....

Another slice of Lemon Meringue pie tonight = take some herbal BG pills and keep fingers crossed as it was a pretty big slice of pie...

My overall BG numbers are good considering I've not been taking anything for diabetes. I'm experiencing a little bit higher FBG numbers than when I controlled with herbs. If I get 2 or 3 FBG readings above 110, I'm going to start my Xiao Ke Ling Pian herbal pills again, otherwise I want to continue without herbs to control diabetes till the end of this month. My numbers in the day time after meals and away from meals are fine...

I'm trying to not start up the herbs to control diabetes for at least a month of this experiment, so that means, I'll try to tolerate going till the end of this month. I will start back up on herbs to control at the beginning of March, as I'm just not comfortable knowing I can be keeping my numbers down an extra 10-15 points a day by doing so....

My energy level is good. I seem to be able to bounce out of bed a lot quicker lately and get dressed quicker and accomplish a little more in a day than before. I don't think it is motivation. I feel it is that I'm getting so much better sleep. I'm getting up less and less during the night to go to the bathroom. In the last week, perhaps only twice that I needed to get up just once. Also, I noticed that during the day, I don't get this sudden urge to go and the bladder control is a whole lot better. I don't understand how this is happening and it isn't a result I was expecting, but it is much enjoyed.

I'm running steadily ever other day on a treadmill for an hour non-stop and I put a lot of intensity into my 4.8 mph jog. I've actually drawn a lot of attention from the older guys there and they're all wondering how I can do it and they're wanting to know my secret as they've known me for years and know this is way more than I've ever done before. On the alternate days, I practice Qigong exercises with my wife, who is now teacing a class on it at our local gym.... The Qigong is also another thing that I think is giving me more energy.

Qigong.............I'm interested in this. I notice on my chinese doctors bio he has experience in this but I've never discussed it with him. I have no idea really what it is but I have always imagined it as some like Tai chi....am I right or wrong? I was sent a link a year or so ago from a friend that talked about Qigong and said it was good for diabetics but I never looked into.

I think I'll start a qigong link...

Yes, it is good for diabetes, but it is good for anyone. Qigong has been practiced for about 5,000 years, and now, there are over 250 million people that practice it everyday.

Type "qigong" on any search engine and you'll get a lot of information on it.... There is even some scientific evidence for the skeptics that discuss the proven health benefits. For those like me, I realized my wife is the healthiest person I know and she has always done this. I dabbled in it early on, but never got into it as I should have, because a guy doesn't look macho doing these exercises.

Since I've practiced it regularly (3-4 months now), I can see great improvement in my overall health. I don't have any arthritic pain in my shoulders, hips, back and knees as I had before. I am able to run better on a tread mill. My leg muscles are becoming more athletic looking as the qigong we practice calls for a lot of knee bends and thigh and calve muscle use. I have more endurance. I breathe better, as qigong exercises encompass a lot of breathing techniques. I am actually learning to channel energy in a way to work up a sweat from almost motionless forms of qigong exercises. Also, I'm way more flexible than before as qigong requires a lot of twisting and flexing moves.

My blood sugars are very stable and predictable. My blood pressure is between 115/65 & 120/70 most of the time. My resting pulse rate is never over 75 and usually in the 60s', whereas for most of the last 20 years it was always in the 90s'.

A few months ago, I could only sustain a heart rate from exercise of about 125-130 for 30 minutes. I'm 62 and can now sustain a 145-155 heart rate for 60 minutes and my breathing rythm is relaxed and very comfortable throughout. I feel this is probably a benefit from the qigong, as I've only started testing my running limits a couple of weeks ago, so it isn't like I've had a long time with endurance distance running.

I'm a bit amazed and excited by my recent progress and I consider myself a novice in qigong and probably know less than 10% about it. My wife tells me it is not important to understand it, just important to do it. She does teach me a few new things daily, now that I'm showing a serious interest in it. She's also drawing a crowd with it at the local gym where we work out, so there is a lot of interest in it...

Qigong exercises are referred to as movements and there are probably thousands of different movements that can be done. My wife knows hundreds and we do 18 movements regularly and each day or so, we're doing 3 to 5 extra movements just to keep it interesting. Qigong can be done by old and young alike and everyone can get health benefits from it.

Becky... did your Doctor ever mention anything about Guasha?

And this thread started as bee pollen!

Thank you for your experiment and your careful documentation. I am 62 and just started the treadmill a couple of weeks ago. I am trying to go every other day, but have a 90 year old mother to take care of, not to mention a 14 1/2 year old Malinois, so I am run pretty ragged in general. For starters I am doing 25 min. per session on treadmill starting around 2.5 mph and moving to 3.0 mph after about 5 min., then tapering off the last five minutes. The machine says my heart rate averages around 105 to 110. I have no idea if this is good or bad since I was very sedentary before. I used to be active in horse and dog sports when I was young and before I got chronic Lyme which led to scleroderma. I have a LONG way back to go, and I am so much older now. As to diet and supplements, I am only taking my D3 at 4,000 units a day, plus thyroid, minicycline (for the scleroderma), a B complex and to reduce ocular pressure I am taking 100 mg of Pycnogenol and 160 bilberry. I read that this regimen (of the bil. and pyc.) can reduce your ocular tension by several points in a matter of 6 months! The doctor wants me to go on those drops, but I don't want to put chemicals into my optic nerve (read that "into my brain") unless I absolutely must. So this is "my" experiment! I had a stroke in my retina a couple of years ago, but it may have been caused by naproxen sodium that I took lots of for a couple of years during a bad flair with my rotator cuffs. I go back for a check up on my eyes the end of March, and that will have been 2 months on it.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com...-glaucoma-study

I hope to see a change. About a week ago I went cold turkey on the wine, no alcohol! Also got very strict on my carbs, trying to limit to 30 to 40 grams a day. Have not lost even a pound of weight yet, even with the stringent diet and the exercise. But maybe I will in the long run. It's hard to exercise because of the pain, but I am doing it anyway. My ANA is off the wall, at 1,150 or thereabouts. I do believe you can change things, so I am trying to do it. You have proven you can change your health, and other people have, so there's hope for me, too!

Check with your Doctor if you think what I'm about to tell you is something that is too extreme to try on your own...

We all have a resting heart rate and a maximum heart rate. Charts that tell us what those two figures should be usually take into our account our age, perhaps some even consider height and weight, but our level of fitness varies quite a bit also and is not so easily determinable, so these charts are guidelines, not rules....

There is another heart rate that is important to learn and that is a sustainable heart rate. If you can do an exercise 30 minutes or longer without getting winded or feeling your heart is pounding too hard, or your muscles giving up from exhaustion, you're most likely exercising at a sustainable heart rate and unless you have some cardiac disease or have had a stroke or heart attack, it is probably safe to exercise at that sustainable heart rate, especially if you stop after a period of time because you choose to stop, not having to stop because you can't go another minute.

I'm 62 y/o also, and I think a 105-115 pulse rate is what they refer to as "fat burning range" and around 128 for our age is the 80% of maximum range which is referred to as "cardio heart rate"... That kind of chart was probably pretty good to determine at what rate I needed to exercise a couple of years ago, but since then my fitness level has changed. Not only do I have to do a lot more to get my heart rate to 128, but it doesn't even feel like I'm doing enough at that heart rate. I'm very comfortable at a 145 pulse rate now and can easily sustain 155 most of the time for about an hour.

The one thing about a good sustainable heart rate is that it isn't a fixed number. If you're tired, not hydrated enough, etc... it will vary on how much you can comfortably do.

It is good to exercise to heart rate and in so doing, it is good to challenge yourself a little bit, but always stay within that range of sustainable. Also, if there are knee, hip, back issues, stay within a comfort zone that won't cause injury. Example: I was evaluated as needing a Knee replacement in 2005 and I refused it and opted for orthoscopy to clean the knee out and then my wife helped me do therapy and exercise to strengthen my knee. I went from barely walking to where I am today, but along the way, I was careful to not over extend my knee. Even at a 4.8 mph pace on a treadmill, I try to keep from extending my right knee too far out in front of me, even if I know my knee has not given me a problem in a long while now. As we're aging, we need to keep doing but we need to play it safe or we'll just complicate matters.

It's good you're trying natural supplements and I hope you're eating a natural diet, avoiding refined & processed foods and trying to eat fresh foods and balanced nutrition, not too much or too little of any nutrient source.

Keep trying, always willing to be flexible and change things up when you're not making progress and monitor yourself often and realize it is all the little things that add up, not one or two things that you experiment with... Yes, this thread started out as Bee Pollen and Spirulina, but look at all the things I'm mentioning that I'm also doing. They say it takes a village to raise a child, well, in the same way, it takes a multitude of things to improve our health.....