On January 8, 2015, Nicole had blood work done at the dialysis clinic. As per her previous lab results, she is still maintaining a 5.2% HgbA1C. Compared to my non-diabetic bloodstream – which scored a 5.4% A1C – I think my type-1 wife is doing quite well. If you were to put both our blood work in front of a doctor and ask who is the type-1 diabetic, they’d probably pick me.

Of course, Nicole’s blood sugar does still dip down to 3.0 mmol/L on rare occasions, so that’s sort of cheating. Still, considering my pancreas works, and her’s doesn’t, I think it’s very impressive.

Not as low as her previous 4.5% – back in her ultra-low carb (quasi no-carb) days. But now that she enjoys a whopping 30-40g of vegetable-based glucose per day, she’s going to have to settle for a typical, healthy A1C. We think overachieving and dipping into the 4.5-5.0% range probably limits plant food too much. Insufficient veggies could lead to mineral deficiencies.

Plus, she just misses those carrots too much. Oh, and cooked onions. Yes, she’s gone from craving trifle to cheating on roots. And considering she eats the carrots well cooked and pureed – as high-glycemic as you get them – it shows a little carb isn’t going to throw her A1C into 6.0s.

–John C. A. Manley

P.S. Nicole says that she thinks she could score lower than 5.0% if wasn’t for that pesky gastroparesis problem. Don’t blame the roots, she says, blame that underactive vagus nerve. For more on the battle against delayed stomach emptying you can check out: Outwiting Gastroparesis With Astronaut Food

P.P.S. In case you, too, would like a 5.2% HgbA1C, Nicole uses the insulin regimens described in Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution.