By Mary Rainwater
When Huntsville resident Marilyn Cummings found out her blood sugar was a little high, her first reaction to the news was not out of the ordinary — she panicked.
Cummings’ first move was to call her sister — who had been diagnosed with diabetes for quite some time — and ask her to come for a visit and bring her glucose monitor.
“My sugar level was at 123, higher than the 121 my doctor had told me the previous day,” Cummings said. “I was frantic thinking I could have diabetes. I was sure I was going to die.”
Amused by the situation, Cummings husband David asked to have his sugar checked, too. Testing at a very high glucose level of 374, his family panicked and urged him to see the doctor on the following Monday.
“His fasting sugar level was 357, and he was categorized with Type 2 Diabetes,” Cummings said. “While sitting with the doctor we committed to try and control his diabetes with as little medication as possible.”
Their first priority was to change the way they ate; so in seeking advice from their physician, Dr. David Ficklen recommended they try the Glycemic Index diet.
“I panicked because we had done some research about the diet before and ended up giving up on the complicated information,” Cummings said. “Luckily by now, several ‘dummies’ books had been written on the diet.”
The Glycemic Index measures the way carbohydrate foods behave in the body by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on blood glucose and insulin levels.
Switching to eating mainly low GI carbohydrates that slowly trickle glucose into the blood stream keeps energy levels balanced and means one will feel fuller for longer between meals.
“In doing research and learning all these things, I was starting to feel overwhelmed,” Cummings said. “And we were having trouble finding recipes we thought were edible.”
With continued encouragement from her doctor, Marilyn Cummings took matters into her own hands — developing her own recipes using substitutions that included low GI foods.
“It was a lot of trial and error,” she said. “We began experimenting with foods and kept a diary of the things we did and did not like, as well as food substitutions we could live with.
“As I came up with recipes that my husband and I liked, I took pictures of them and made a book for us to refer to.”
The proof of the diet’s effectiveness was in the sugar-free pudding, so to speak, as the Cummings continued monitoring their blood-glucose levels and watched the numbers drop.
“I went back and had another full blood workup along with three more glucose meter tests over the course of one and a half weeks, and we were happy to find my blood sugar was a consistent 88 to 89,” Cummings said. “We could tell by the numbers it was working on me.
“After four weeks, my husband’s sugar level hovered between 155 and 190 — his numbers were cut in half,” she added. “Before his three-month checkup, his fasting sugar level was between 140 and 165; his afternoon sugar level was between 105 and 125.
“We’ll take that in a heartbeat!”
Once the Cummings got a handle on their GI choices, and saw that the plan was working for them, they decided they wanted to share their “closer to real food” recipes and menus with others.
“Along with those recipes I had developed, we also had created a running list of do’s and don’ts and gathered other information relevant to our eating plan,” Cummings said. “I showed it to Dr. Ficklen and he encouraged me to go forward with a book.”
In the mean time, Cummings was asked by her doctor to participate in a local Diabetes Intervention Community Education, or DICE, group; and in May she helped start a local diabetes support group.
“I sent the final draft of my book, titled ‘Our Journey Battling Diabetes Through a Low Glycemic Index Lifestyle’ to Dr. Ficklen,” she said. “And he showed so much support for what I had done that he wanted to write the forward for it.”
Ficklen has been pleased with the Cummings’ progress, calling it a rarity to see patients tackle their health issues with such enthusiasm.
“It is exciting any time you have a patient that heeds advice and then takes it to the next level,” Ficklen said. “Both have done an outstanding job with it. They did their homework and taught themselves what they did not know.”
The book, Ficklen said, is a great opportunity for the Cummings to help others by sharing with them what they have learned from their own experiences.
“There is a big market for practical approaches to diabetes,” he said. “Diabetes is becoming an epidemic in the United States, and we all have got to change what we are doing and change that trend.
“The GI diet is not the only answer,” he said. “But it is based on solid principals developed over 25 years ago. It has been refined, studied and polished, and is good, well-accepted science.”
“Our Journey Battling Diabetes Through a Low GI Lifestyle: Recipes for a Healthy Lifestyle (and Almost Eating Normally)” includes the Cummings’ story, a basic overview of the Glycemic Index, tips for snacking and eating out and many recipes with pictures.
The book retails for $39.95 and is available for purchase locally at Hastings in Huntsville; or online at www.amazon.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.alibris.com and other online book sellers.
For a 30 percent discount, visit http://outskirtspress/battlingdiabetes and click on “Contact Author”; or call Cummings at (936) 291-7346.
Marilyn Cummings is a systems administrator at Huntsville Independent School District. She resides in Elkins Lake with her husband, David, who is a network administrator at R&M; Energy In Willis.
The couple have four grown children and eight grandchildren.
