Diabetes & Sikhism

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danamorgan
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Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by danamorgan »

Sat Nam Everyone!
I have a problem that I REALLY could use some help with. Today I went to my doctor because I was suspicious of some funky blood sugar results I've been seeing on my meter lately. (I was born with Hypoglycemia & been spot checking my blood sugars since I've been on my own). Well lately they've been very elevated (in the 200s). So my doctor started me on Metformin for blood sugar control. Sometimes I go to the Sikh Society of Central Florida for Gurdwara services. & towards the end they serve the Gurprashad just before lungar. I tried it once & found it to be way too sweet. Now that I'm Diabetic I need to know how to politely turn it down without either offending anyone or jeprodizing my health. Also they serve chai sometimes & even that's too sweet for me. Can anyone here give me some advice on this? I REALLY could use some help & would appreciate any help you guys can give me. Sincerely,
Dana Morgan a.k.a. Amrita Kaur
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by Guest »

I have wheat and milk intolerance and early on I would simply say no to kara much to the disdain of the person handling it. To overcome this later I learnt that if you gesticulate a small amount and say the word "soiya" you are given a very small amount which you can keep in your hand and later offer to family or friend explaining your circumstances. This saves any awkwardness during the ceremony. I don't know what soiya means as my punjabi is not very good but this works. The only thing I hated was even after explaining to people that I have been genetically predisposed to react extremely badly to milk and wheat since birth some would still turn around and say eat it, it is guruj's parishad...amazing!
Nihal Singh Kanakpuria
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by Nihal Singh Kanakpuria »

Dana Morgan ,

Is it too sweet for your taste buds or is it too sweet for your diabetic condition .

Either way, if you dont want , its quite acceptable to refuse it, its not mandatory to have it. when they are serving you just fold your hands and say thanks and shake your head , or communicate you dont want it.

The prasad served is metaphorical to Guru's prasad or blessings so people have it , its suited , evolved for the indian taste that's why Indians and kids tend to happily have it . If only people (including me) were so enthusiatic to have Guru jis actual blessings

-Nihal
danamorgan
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by danamorgan »

Sat Nam everyone!
Just wanted to give you guys an update I solved the problem by when I notice the sevadars passing out the napkins for the gurprashad I just politely excuse myself, go to the ladies room to check my blood sugar & then go downstairs to the Lungar Hall. I've encountered a couple challenges there as well, but figured out how to handle them with God & Guru's help. For one thing they make so much food that it's enough to feed an army! Well I can't eat all that at one sitting so I just carry a small container that I brought from home & put half of what I eat in there & take it home with me for another meal. If & when someone asks me why I do that I explain that it's not only what I eat but also how much that has an impact on blood sugars. I had another experience that a couple days prior to going to my gurdwara I went to my doctor's appointment. Well my blood sugar was near 500 mg/dl. Anyway my doctor was really close to admitting me into the hospital. I told her that I was uninsured could't afford a hospital bill. I also didn't feel that it was necessary & please just tell me what to do & I'll do it. Well all that weekend my affirmation, mantra or whatever you want to call it was "I'm able & willing to do what it takes to stay out of the ED. (Emergency Department) & hospital with God & Guru's help. & by golly they did just that. I swear I feel the presence of Gurus Ram Das, Har Krishan, & Gobind Signh in the room @ all times. Every couple hours I'd get a nudge & a sense of "you better check your blood sugar, drink or eat something, or take a shot. On Sunday when i went to gurdwara I packed my pen in case I needed it but forgot a needle. I also packed my blood sugar meter & a small bowl to take leftovers home. Well I checked it before lungar & it was a little high. So after lungar I climbed up & down the stairs in order to help "burn the excess sugar" & one of the ladies kept saying "sit sit!" I told her I couldn't I needed to move DOCTOR'S ORDERS! Nothing more needed to be said. Well when I got home I checked my sugar again & went ahead & gave myself a few extra units. Later that night I got a nudge from God & Guru to increase the dose from 20-30 units as my blood sugar was still pretty high. Around 250 mg/dl. So I did. The next day when I did my fasting blood sugar it went from 250 mg/dl to 148 mg/dl WAHE GURU!
imhappyyy
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by imhappyyy »

Either way, if you dont want , its quite acceptable to refuse it, its not mandatory to have it. when they are serving you just fold your hands and say thanks and shake your head , or communicate you dont want it.???
SurinderKiwi
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by SurinderKiwi »

Dear Amrita Kaur
Sat Sri Akal
Panji you never need to worry!! Its pershad! The Guru's gift. If you have enough of faith it can only help you and you have to trust it. Its the best tasting gift you can get after prayers.
Jesica1
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by Jesica1 »

Diabetes has hidden peril that begin before diagnosis and continue to worsen if certain steps are not taken to prevent the complications that are the true, "killers" in terms of diabetes.
swarn bains
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by swarn bains »

i put my two pennies to diabetes. i am an old man who got diabetes at age 70. i am a physical man. i still do lot of exercise and still i am diabetic. the cause of diabetes is the fat which accumulates around the pancreas and reduces the function of it to regulate sugar. Best cure is to eliminate that fat. in order to do that one has to starve and then do physical exercises to maintain that regimentation. any sugar is bad for diabetic people may it be fruit, honey, real sugar or any other type of sugar, as well as the fat. now coming to karah or deg. it has sugar and fat both which are bad for diabetic people. so refuse it tell the person who is distributing it. the times are changing and so should the sikh realm with it. the bhog should change to something else which is anti diabetic such as nuts. any species or religion which does not change with time dies like any other thing in society. the doors to the houses change, the type of houses change, the crops change and the habits of human beings change with time. the thinking changes so should the religion. keep the fundamental of the religion intact and change with time otherwise the religion will die. that is the sign of sikhism. although it has the best religious scripture in society. God bless the society
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Yuktanand Singh
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Re: Diabetes & Sikhism

Post by Yuktanand Singh »

It appears to me that we are quick to want to change the traditions that were established by the Gurus themselves, when in reality we lack the wisdom to know the reasons behind those traditions.

Some people want to cut hair because they have a rash, or headache. Others want to eliminate the Parsad for "healthier" substitutes (carrots and broccoli, I would guess).

What we really need to do is change our entire lifestyle, eat healthy foods and have regular exercise, etc.

We all eat sweets, ice cream and various other desserts quite frequently. Extra calories and fat in the Karah Parsad eaten once a week, even every day, can do no harm if we ate a small quantity and adjusted the rest of our diet accordingly.

For type II (adult onset) diabetes the most important diet factor is total daily calorie intake. If you understand this, a bite of Parsad once a week is not going to make any significant difference in diabetes control. I can guarantee it.

Even if you ate (a small amount of) Parsad every day, you should adjust for the added calories by skipping some other food, by skipping the dessert, or by eating one less roti.

One mouthful of Karah Parsad thus, is a non-issue, really, unless you suffer from a food sensitivity.

A type I diabetic is sensitive to each meal and thus, will need to change the insulin dose accordingly.

So, please stop fretting over a bite of sweet and greasy Parsad. Just ask for a very small serving and accept it for what it was meant, a token of Guru's grace.

The faith in the Guru's grace will make us healthier. I can guarantee this also because gurbani says so.

Yuktanand Singh, MD
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