Adopting and adapting – A writer in the pre-diabetic zone

I write stories and I am a story.

I’ve fiddled with plots to make them mine. The world of writers is a wonderful place in which although we’re uniquely different, we’re also the same. Or is it insane? After all, we slog away fully aware that there could be very little reward, if any.

The non-writer in me started adopting and adapting recipes in my twenties when I developed allergies. At the time I had no idea why. Turned out it was because I went from eating mainly Indian food to nothing but British food. What was that line in ‘Goodness Gracious Me’? What’s the blandest thing on the menu? Well, that’s what was on my daily plate after I left my parents – no more spices.

The change has continued.

Recently my blood test ratted on me to the GP, and I was summoned by the nurse dietician who questioned me on my consumption of alcohol, sugar intake and smoking. She told me my readings showed I was heading towards becoming a diabetic. Flabbergasted is too mild a word to describe how I felt. Bemused perhaps? After all, I don’t smoke, I’m not overweight, I rarely drink and when I do have the odd glass of cider, I can’t hold a conversation let alone a glass.

The nurse advised me to reduce my sugar to prevent becoming a diabetic. I love most things sugary; cakes, puddings, sweets, chocolates, ice cream, biscuits, jalebi, ladoo, barfi, baklava, fruit juices, fresh fruit etc. I’m not convinced the nurse was looking at my blood test results. Medical staff are human after all and she may have made a mistake. After giving me pamphlets, some powdered sweetener to try in my baking and a follow up appointment, she looked pointedly at the door.

Since then, I’ve reduced my sugar and often substitute it with Natvia or Xylitol. I’ve tried other sweeteners but they’re, erm, all I can say is that I’d rather not.

Occasionally, my future blogs will be about the results of my experiments with tweaking food, and I would love to hear from anyone who is pre-diabetic or knows about peddling backwards away from diabetes.