KunstStation

I wanted more dog stories and not endless pages of philosopher thinking.

In 1993, after nearly 20 years as a Type 1 diabetic whose life depended on daily insulin injections, I was struck with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. The treatment drugs that followed quickly destabilized my kidneys and within 6 months I was showing signs of kidney failure that would more likely be associated with having diabetes. Regardless of the cause, the doctors said my kidneys were damaged and not filtering enough protein, causing a deadly form of proteinuria. At that point I simply decided to become vegan and cut as much protein from my diet as possible hopefully to avert kidney dialysis, or a potential kidney transplant, or death. My diet became extremely “green“ and roughly 6 months later my primary care doctor was confused by my related kidney test results and ordered new tests and a second doctor‘s opinion. The second test results showed that my kidneys, once near failure, had been repaired to roughly 90% full function. Both doctors were astonished and asked me if anything in my life had changed during the previous 6 months. I said that I had become a vegan and restricted my protein intake to only what was in vegetables. And I felt quite fit, much like my pre-diabetes youth (which, by the way, was also full of bad sugary junk foods). I continued the vegan diet for about 10 years while typically having good heath-related test results and feeling physically “full force.“ But this diet also resulted in excessive low blood sugar (hypoglycemic) diabetic reactions that landed me in hospital with broken bones nearly once every 6 months, and doctors said I needed more fat and protein in my diet to help avoid the insulin reactions. So I added cheese proteins and some related dairy products, and the ER visits decreased but my arthritic joint pain quickly increased. Now, just over 20 years after changing from vegan to vegetarian and eating too much processed food, my kidneys are still just under fully functional but my arthritic joints really hurt, my weight is too much, and I‘m clearly suffering from similar diet (and age) related problems. Recently a physiotherapist suggested that I read “How Not To Die“ and it triggered my thinking back to 1993! We are what we eat.