Back in September I wrote about my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis and my early impressions with The GI Diet, and then I forgot all about reading the diet book every week and went on to more fun things like writing my novel and blogging about NaNoWriMo. But today I met with my GP to go…
Category: Health
Writings on health and nutrition, the health care system, doctors and therapists, heck, anything to do with health.
The Core of The GI Diet by Gallop: The Glycemic Index
Aside from my rebellious first impressions of The GI Diet by Rick Gallop, I have to admit that this book does one thing very well: makes the glycemic index intelligible and practical. Dr David Jenkins* at the University of Toronto developed the glycemic index as a way to measure how a particular food affects glucose…
First Impressions of The GI Diet by Rick Gallop
It’s been almost 4 weeks since I started The GI Diet by Rick Gallop after my Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. Before my brain injury I had been following a low-glycemic index (GI) diet; but not being able to cook for many years and the other changes wrought by the injury resulted in me having strayed…
What Does it Take for a Person to Change Their Diet?
The Toronto Star today calls the Canadian diet a “dog’s breakfast.” Citing toxic foods and a sedentary lifestyle as the causes of obesity, it looks into how one Québec doctor, Dr. Jean-Pierre Després, is developing a program to counter this trend. I saw two problems with his work: all male — why in the 21st…
Type 2 Diabetes Plays Gotcha
I haven’t blogged about myself in much depth because for years my lawyer banned me from blogging about even the most trivial personal item. I did graze the line when I ranted about raccoons, but I think that was forgivable. No one can withstand a raccoon rant. But today, I turn a new, quivery leaf,…
Experiencing Health Care American Style in Canada
I’ve wanted to write about this topic for awhile, but first a lawsuit prohibited me and then I was just tired. But the current insanity over health care raging south of the border has got me going enough to finally share my experience with American style health care in Canada. Under Ontario law, when you’re…
Blood Testing in Downtown Toronto has Become A Farce
I don’t know about you, but getting a blood test used to be as easy as going to your favourite lab, getting your arm poked (ouch!), not watching the red fluid ease up the tube, ripping off the band-aid, waiting for the test results, getting a copy from your GP, and then reading the name…
Catecholamine Tests: A Moving Target
I have to get my catecholamines measured. A simple blood test, you’d think, eh? Uh no. Problem number one is finding a lab that tests them. I had these tests done almost 20 years ago. Back then, the doctor’s office explained what tests were required and how to prepare for them. They handed me a…
Telogen Effluvium: The Dirty Secret of Stress
There’s a condition doctors won’t tell their patients about. It sneaks up on an unsuspecting person; when you suddenly realise what’s happening, doctors dismiss it, relatives poo-poo it. It’s called telogen effluvium. In short, massive hair drop or the big sink clog or the human hair pillow. Yes, folks, your crowning glory falls out and…