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A CURE FOR DIABETES With great interest I read the Nov. 8 article (“Trying to get a killer under control,” Illinois Times, by Karen Ackerman Witter) on diabetes and the program sponsored by the Prairie Diabetes Alliance. For many years I was a volunteer with the local chapter of the American Diabetes Association and a member of the advisory board. The ADA was a member and supporter of the Alliance, helping with all of the good work that the Alliance does.
My interest in the treatment and control of diabetes began in 1999 when I was first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I followed the dietary and exercise guidelines promoted by the ADA and the Alliance, and my disease was “under control.” But, as with many Type 2 diabetics, the treatment was not a cure and the disease did progress. Over time I found myself taking daily insulin injections along with five oral medications for both diabetes and high blood pressure. This treated the symptoms and result (high blood sugar), but not the root cause of the disease and did not stop the damage the diabetes causes to one’s body.
There is another tool in the toolbox that I was introduced to in January of this year: Fasting, and the fasting protocol, with regular exercise. As a result of adopting this lifestyle, I am no longer taking any of the medicine for diabetes. Yes, I have eliminated the insulin and oral medications for diabetes and high blood pressure.
What is the faster protocol? No processed foods, processed in any way. No dairy. No grains. No sugar. I eat berries, fruit, fish, fowl, eggs, red meat, nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, all plant-based vegetables, especially rich-colored and leafy greens, and I drink a lot of water. Fasters eat the first and last meal of the day within an eight-hour window and dedicate at least 16 hours per day for fasting, including at least two hours before bedtime. For exercise, I am a member of the longevity group at CrossFit Instinct, and I bicycle spring, summer and fall.
This results for some, me included, being cured. Yes, a cure, not just “management” of Type 2 diabetes. Mark Rabin Springfield
SALES TAX HURTS POOR I was disappointed by Fletcher Farrar’s editorial note last Thursday (Nov. 8), extolling the recent 1 percent increase in the county sales tax to pay for additional school district expenses. I am in favor of better funding of our schools and imagine the additional revenue will be well spent, but I cannot emphasize enough how wrong it is to procure it through an increase in the sales tax.
The sales tax is the most regressive tax we have (other than fixed fees like license plate renewal fees), meaning that it hits poor people harder than others. The wealthier you are, the less you notice the sales tax. In Sangamon County, the sales tax is already 8.75 percent within Springfield and is now on track to reach 9.75 percent when the increase takes effect. Now poor people will be paying nearly 10 percent in tax on purchases of necessary items like clothing, replacement parts for their cars, a new refrigerator, and a host of other things most of us take for granted.
In a wealthy state like Illinois, a graduated income tax is the most sensible way to raise revenue to fund the operations of government. I had hoped Sangamon County voters would reject the increase in the sales tax and pressure their new legislators and governor to reform the income tax so that it can perform the function it was intended to, relieving the need of local governments to maintain such high sales and property taxes. Eric Fisher Springfield
