Public Service Announcement

This week I wanted to provide a PSA. I know, there are so many warnings and ideas about what’s going on in the world, but I think this is something for which we can all make a change. Do you know how much water it takes to make your food?

I hadn’t really thought of it until a friend of mine was talking to me about the the current drought map in the United States. Did you know, it takes 4.9 gallons of water to produce ONE walnut and 1.1 gallons to produce ONE almond?? I’m not trying to “demonize” any one type of nut or food, but stop and think how few people are fed by one nut as compared to a tomato or head of broccoli.

Have you looked at the current US drought map or the current California drought map which I you can find here http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/? California is going through the worst drought they may have likely ever seen. So, one would assume this is due to population or some other identifiable reason like produce growth. Based on population, lets look at New York City: There isn’t even an abnormality. Which leads a person to think it’s probably due to another reason. If you then look at the California produce map, the two are a close comparison. For me and my non-scientific opinion, it seems to mean there is a problem coming from the  multitude of produce created in California.

So where am I going with all of this? We obviously do not want to starve people by cutting off California produce production, but can’t each of us make a conscious decision to eat food that is not only nutritious, but, also, not a water suck? What if you chose the broccoli instead of the almond? Or coconut milk rather than almond milk? How much water  does your favorite food take to create, and is there an alternative? Using just the examples presented in the links above, why not choose coconut milk rather than almond milk, pistachio’s rather than walnuts, or chicken rather than beef. Another point: meat takes a huge amount of water to create.

As always, why not ride your bike, run or walk to the grocery store. And don’t forget your re-usable bag–my friends are going to start calling me a hippie!! I’d love to hear any of your thoughts or ideas and good luck in making Earth friendly choices that are good for you.

Gmail: DiabeticJes@gmail.com
Twitter: @JesMCurtis
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Back to Normal

So many changes have happened since I last wrote about one year and three months ago–my how time flies! I was just getting back to “normal,” and now I’ve started cycling and even rode 85 miles in RATPOD, I’ve been getting back out into the social network, I started a new job, then another, and am happy I am becoming me again, albeit a little different than I was, but still me. I have been yearning to write and have been wondering why: Is it for a sense of belonging? To share my story? To get it off of my brain to make sense of it all? Maybe all of the above? Truly, I have always wanted to create a novel so we will see where it goes.

Unfortunately, Jag’s training has diminished. After I was released from the hospital I was not able to see him for a couple of months. I have down sized to just Jag after having him and another pup, Charlie. We both miss Charlie, but my lifestyle has really limited my time and ability to have two dogs in my care. Part of me is wondering if I either need to let Jag just be a normal dog or get more help from the “professionals.” Training a service dog is a lot of work, which has never sent me fleeing before, but I have not quite decided if I am I comfortable having a service dog either. It takes some getting used to having a service dog between having someone with you at all hours and answered the questioning eyes. It definitely takes some of the inherent independence we all have away! I will say, I will keep writing and discussing diabetes though.

As far as diabetes and brain trauma, I have been doing a lot of research on diet, exercise and supplements. During recovery, I had a great support team, but I found there are a lot of questions about the brain and trauma to it. One article I read stated the brain is a master at repair, even though that was not thought to be true in the past. Other references speak of diet and exercise being important, but not many have clear answers to what is the right thing. there are some studies about items such as MCT oil, Vitamin E and other nutrients. These are just a few articles worth a little research for those of you who are diabetics or recovering from brain trauma. As far as me, every day I get closer to where I know I should be, I am definitely not as quick whitted, have less stamina, emotional control, and am missing some of my smarts, but it turns out I’m above normal and growing more every day.

So many changes in diabetes too! I’ve heard 2-3 big news events on a cure becoming reality. On Facebook I saw a small boy was given an artificial pancreas, which is something I have been hoping for for a long time and I saw a study to test the efficacy of another type of cure. I’ve been hearing a cure is in our future for quite some time but this is the most I’ve heard for a real outcome for it. I’ve been convinced for many years that the pharmaceutical companies were in some way blocking a cure in order to utilize the profits for the huge number of people with diabetes. But alas, there is hope! What do you guys think about it?

Gmail: DiabeticJes@gmail.com
Twitter: @JesMCurtis
Facebook: facebook.com/jes.curtis
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jescurtis