The Link Between Brown Rice and Sleep.

Last night Mary and I celebrated my late father's birthday at Goode Company Seafood.  I had the usual two martinis, the grilled shrimp dinner and a we split a slice of chocolate pie.  Oh, that was good.  I miss deserts. That was his favorite desert and my mom would make it for his birthday.  We left full but not stuff. 

I got up this morning actually a bit hungry.  The BG was not too bad, considering.  My weight was a bit up, but I did have a big eating splurge weekend.  Too much eating out.  Have to get back on the modest, sensible diet routine starting today to be ready for the coming holiday weekend.

The numbers:

1. Blood glucose:  132 mg/dl.  I am not as sensitive and I thought.  Could be worse, however.
2. Weight:  192 lbs. To much splurging these last few days.  Have to get back on the program.
3. Exercise:  45 minutes on the trainer. 
4. Mood:  6.  Been slacking and eating too much this past weekend and now I am paying for it.

Menu:

• Breakfast:  Banana, oatmeal flavored with cinnamon and craisins, a kiwi fruit. Good source of vitamin C, kiwi fruit. 
• Lunch:  Hummus, pita bread, cucumber and sliced tomato
• Dinner:  Hamburger and a salad with a bit too much ranch dressing.
• Snacks:  A few sour cream and habanero pretzels from Pretzel Pete and soy yogurt and applesauce.  The pretzels are really not that bad in terms of calories, carbs and fat.

One of the first things we did when I found out I had type 2 diabetes is switch to brown rice and to eat more whole grains.  That turned out to be the right thing to do: Brown Rice vs. White Rice.

While my internist left it up to me, one of the choices I did have was taking medication to get the BG down.  Another choice was to control it with diet and exercise, and that is route I chose.  One reason was cost.  Diet and exercise demand little, if any, extra money from the budget.  The other is a little nagging fear I have of taking medications long term.  Turns out my little nagging fear was well placed.  A popular diabetes drug is linked to stroke, heart attacks and death.  That is not good.

Before my diagnosis, I would get so very sleepy late in the afternoon, sometimes to the point I would nod off.  This went on for several years and I really got used to having to fight to stay awake.  There were many times I would get to work and just want to fall asleep. I dreaded long drives during the afternoon because of the struggle to stay awake. Dangerous when you think about it.  I frequently found a reason to pull over for a break. 

I just chalked it up to any number of things, including getting older or Mary not sleeping well and therefore me not sleeping well.  I was also getting up a couple of times a night to urinate.  I didn't think much of that, either, chalking that up to age as well.  What I had and didn't know it was a classic symptom of  type 2 diabetes.  Apparently, lack of sleep can both cause and aggravate diabetes, the proverbial vicious circle.  

Since I have been exercising and dieting, I have been sleeping much better, better than I had in years.  I usually sleep through the night and I don't have to fight to stay awake in the afternoon and more importantly on long drives.The exercise, I thought.  Partially right.  Now I know it was getting my diabetes under control, which is diet and exercise. 

See, brown rice helped me to sleep better.