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I tell you, it's been a real challenge, particularly when a couple weeks ago, Mr. Peel developed a summer's cold, which raised his blood sugar numbers to an uncomfortably high level - we were just about to break down and give insulin again, when his system seemed to settle out. The stroke took out his right side, so finding an exercise that he could do was a challenge. I like to walk - really walk - I like to go on power walks, with a very fast, sustained pace. That is simply too much for him - on one of my power walks, I came across a gent in a recumbent tricycle. What a stroke of luck - we got one for Mr. Peel and he's generally out 30-45 mins at a time at least once a day. The exercise definitely helps, and this is an exercise that he can do, doesn't bore him, and gets him out in the sun.

I read years back, that diabetics have extremely low vit D levels - and during a routine checkup with the doctor, I asked for a Vit D test on Mr. Peel. Turns out his Vit D level was so low, it was barely measurable. He takes a Vit D supplement, but nothing beats sunshine. Sitting out in the sun for 30 mins helps.

My biggest "a-ha" moment with Mr. Peel was when I realized how negative High Fructose Corn Syrup was to his system. I could give him a Hillshires Fram sausage (0 carbs) for breakfast, yet several hours later his blood sugar numbers would be in excess of 200. Slowly, I figured out that for him, the most deadly combinations were HFCS, aspartame, Splenda. I'm adding to this list daily - the number of additives in foods are pretty scary. I made him dinner of poached salmon and his numbers were fine. Two weeks later, I made the exact same dish, with a different brand of salmon and his numbers were through the roof. The difference was in the type of salmon - the last came from a bag I bought at Sam's - frozen salmon fillets, but they were farm raised salmon, grain feed. The previous salmon was also frozen, but it came from SeaBear - wild caught and flash frozen. So, it's getting to the point where I have to know exactly where the food came from before I will buy it or prepare it.