Seventy
cups of tea daily ... with bhajiya / pakoda of course.
(Diabetes resulting from
such bad habits in control since several years -
but no need to control now an
occasional plate of bhajiya)
Sweets are the last and final root cause of
diabetes, stress being the first and foremost one. Swami Hariprasad ji of Hari Dham
(Swaminarayan sect) has made a sharp observation about diabetic patients: “They
have no time for exercise, no time for chewing food leisurely and peacefully. This is because their nervous system has become weak. … But the moment there is a
chance to make money, these patients with weak nerves stand up and
run with full vigour. Once again they become lazy and sluggish when it
comes to taking care of their health”
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Those who have toiled hard in Ahmedabad have been
richly rewarded - as though they had taken a job abroad. Shambhubhai is a typical person of this
category. He has toiled for years, carrying 80 kg load on a bicycle over 50 km.
distance, every day. Eighty kg load comprised of tobacco and supari (betel
nuts).
With this type of daily routine, dinner time can be
only after 10 pm. If the journey takes him too far some day, lunch will be
sacrificed. And some snacks will fill the gap.
Bhajiya is perhaps the second most consumed item in Ahmedabad, next only to drinking
water. Any Ahmedabadi worth his name will remember bhajiya as soon as he feels hungry. More the toil, more acute
the hunger. Shambhubhai would coolly finish off one kg bhajiya,
single-handedly. Such opportunity came to him two-three times in a week.
Fried food is not at all kind & easy for digestive
system & only Gujaratis are
blissfully ignorant about this harsh reality. Snacks fried on high flame & high temperatures
develop an upper crust which our liver can neither crack nor break. Digesting Meat can be tough but fried food digestion is tougher. As if
this is not enough, it is difficult to shunt out undigested fried food from our body. That is why see bulky, spare-tyre like tummies of bhajiya-hunters..
But they have ruined their health with uncontrolled use of edible
oil and cosmetically processed, double polished rice for which they pay high price also. Added
to this damage is their habit of not exercising . As a result, 10%
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Shambhubhai too could not escape from the clutches of
‘oily’ mafia. Life was going on - like a rough ride - supported by tablets and
injections which were driving his sick engine. From 1995 to 1998, this went on. One of
his relatives, Jivrambhai one day told him about a clinic in Ranip (a suburb of
Ahmedabad) where patients are cure through naturopathy treatment, with the help
of dietary changes, light exercise and herbal ingredients. And yes, no medicines.
So, in February 1998, Shambhubhai and Jivrambhai both
arrived at Nihar…Well before he stepped out of his
home Shambhubhai had determined that, come what may, I will follow all their instructions and will definitely
bring my disease under control.
Shambhubhai did not know the meaning or spelling of
exercise before coming to us. Today, after almost 15 years, not a single day
passes without exercise.
Our hardworking hero Shambhubhai went for diabetes
checkup first time in 1995. His blood sugar level two hrs after meals (PPBS)
stood at 429, which normally should be in the range of 160-180.
This was real rowdy diabetes and doctor prescribed 20
units of insulin injection two times in a day. Also one tablet to protect the
heart and one tablet to keep the blood thin, both two times a day. So, his
prescription was: total four tablets,two insulin injections and total restrictions on sweets.
Much before he came to me in February 1998, he had mentally
prepared himself for diet control & exercise etc. For
next two moths, we made some changes in diet, in habits and exercise – nothing more.
And Shambhubhai followed it with full devotion – no questions, no arguments.
And result? He was successful!
When he started with us, his weight was 103 kgs. At
the end of two months, he had reduced 14 kgs.
No weakness. I had insisted that he should continue going to his shop
daily. After 14 kg weight loss, I looked at this strongly built Patel and felt
that this much reduction in weight is ok for the present. For two moths, no
cereal grains were permitted. Only boiled moong, fresh lemons in water 2-3
times a day. Some naturopathy treatment in morning and evening and some exercise. That is all.
With dietary changes and exercise, sugar levels
started falling. Even with 20 minutes of daily exercise for joints, peripheral
level sugar starts burning. Twice a day injections of insulin – total 40 units
were taken. Insulin was first one to pack up and go.
Insulin had to find a new address now because it was no more
required by Shambhubhai. Diabetes is a VIP disease. It is very busy. It has no time. But
people on their own invite diabetes and embrace it with open arms. So ok, go to someone else. There is no shortage of new addresses for insulin . If not Shambhubhai, some
‘other’bhai !
From 4 tablets for BP problems, doctor himself
cancelled three and continued with only one tablet for Shambhubhai. Insulin injections
for diabetes had already been stopped totally. He was now taking only half a
tablet for diabetes at lunch time. After two
months, Shambhubhai returned to the original normal diet.
But by now, his blood had been , so to say, modified. Now his blood was full of strong bacterias for doing daily exercise. Every morning, he will go to a garden
nearby with his exercise mat and for one hour, he did ( and still continues to do
) various exercises as per our prescription.
You may ask: how did such a hard working man got VIP
diseases. There are two reasons. One, daily intake of 70 cups of tea. After cycling for
long years, Shambhubhai had now his own shop where customers came to buy
betel nuts and tobacco, Shambhubhai will sip half cup of tea himself and half
will go to the customer. Customers will come and go but Shambhubhai remained unbeaten not out, with a cup of tea held by his fingers forever. If seventy cups of tea is
poured daily in to the body , its tannic acid will harden the internal walls of our
intestines.
Moreover, toxins in tea damage our sensitive nerves. Greatest negative effect is on digestion which gets totally disrupted. In addition, every alternate day, he would smoothly finish off a parcel of one kg bhajiya. Pancreas was overloaded and bombarded
excessive and un-natural junk food. And thus Shambhubhai got his diabetes. Heart
disease and diabetes go hand in hand. They are both are VIP & also very close friends.
Even today, he takes only two tablets in a
day: one for diabetes and one for BP.
And yet his sugar level two hrs after meals (PPBS) is maintained at around 160
only. Fasting sugar level is also normal. After almost 14 years of our
treatment, Shambhubhai follows our exercises very devotedly and with great joy.
There is wedding time, festival time and also lazy
time when exercises are given a short holiday. Ever since 1998, Shambhubhai has
fully relished the royal fruit - mango every summer. Every week, he tastes bhajiya also. But don’t
worry, he takes just 100 gm each time. Now, it is no longer in kilos.
Shambhubhai is 1955 born. At the age of 43, when he
came to us he weighed 103 kgs. Now at 57, he weighs 85 kg. He is blessed with a
simple life and straight forward nature. No crookedness. Shambhubhai is a shining star & a living example for all those are
struggling with diabetes.
Shambhubhai S Patel
10, Janakinandan Society,
Near Bhimjipura Char
Rasta, Nava Wadaj
Ahmedabad-380013
Phone: 079 (Offi) 276-
41570 , (Res) 276- 40285