Do you grow Sweet Potatoes (not Irish)? The LEAVES of sweet potatoes are very high in a substance that lowers blood sugar. There is a lot of research on this. Look into adding sweet potato leaves to your diet.
Quote:
Research published in the Journal of Nutrition found that eating foods high in a naturally occurring nutrient known as myricetin can decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 26 percent. Parsley is one of the best sources of myricetin, containing about 8 milligrams per 100 grams of parsley. The study, known as the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (Epic), was conducted in 26 study centers in 8 European countries over several years.
A subsequent study of 12,403 people with type 2 diabetes showed a strong link between consumption of flavonol (a natural compound found in parsley) and a significantly reduced incidence of the disease.
END QUOTE
Interestingly, when I looked up foods high in myricetin --I found the highest was Sweet Potato Leaves.
In Africa, most stews use Sweet potato leaves as a "green." Makes you wonder that when people were kidnapped to Americas this crucial info was lost.
Now that is Sweet Potato Leaves --- NOT white potato leaves which are poisonous.
http://nutrition.merschat.com/foods-by-nutrient.cgi?Nutr_No=788&Measure=&page=1
Best,
Lili
Maureen Atsali wrote:Reevaluating my goals...
From the start my main objective with the farm was to be as self sufficient as possible. Basically I wanted to feed my family. Last year, we pretty much achieved that goal, eating almost exclusively from what we raised on the farm. I was still buying tea, honey, salt and cooking fat. (If I was really motivated, I could keep bees, plant oil palms, and grow tea... Then all we would really need is salt.). Occasionally the mono diet would make me nuts and I would splurge for store bought stuff... White rice, a loaf of bread, chocolate! We had lots of animals, but since that's my main source of farm income, we were selling them rather than eating them... So my diet had become unintentionally almost vegan.
A little back story here: I have been obese most of my adult life. I was over 300 lbs and a hardcore diabetic when I came to Africa. Within weeks of arrival my blood sugar stabilized, and I was able to go off all medications, and over the course of a year I lost about 120 lbs, effortlessly. I kept it off for 5 years and through two pregnancies.
But last year, I started to gain weight again. And while I am out of strips to test, I think the diabetes is also back. (Ants in the pee bucket probably means sugar in the urine!). I was kind of mystified... I am working harder, physically, than I ever have in my life. Most people would say I have an uber healthy diet.
Then I had the lightbulb moment back before Christmas. The farm diet is extremely high in carbs. Sweet potatoes, cassava, taro, starchy banana and maize make up the bulk of our calories... And I think my insulin resistant body just can't process all that sugar.
So I have been thinking about how to change the farm so that I can still eat... Without overloading on carbs. The answer I came up with is to focus more on livestock. Still grow the starchy veggies, but let the animals convert it into energy I can safely consume. The problem is keeping more animals means we need more infrastructure. Another problem is that we sold off almost all of our animals to pay for Alex's surgery. I have a handful of chickens and ducks left, a couple of goats, one rabbit and one cow. So I feel like I am starting from scratch. When we moved from my mother in laws compound to our own last year we had to leave behind the big chicken coop, the goat house, the pigsty, and the rabbit hutches. So we have to build all those structures. (Currently the chickens and ducks sleep in the chicken tractor, the cow and the goats sleep in the unfinished bathroom!)
Money, money money!
