SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF
Chandler resident Larry Kuhlman wants people with diabetes to have hope.
So, he has written a book, titled “Lose Weight and Get Rid of Your Type 2 Diabetes, like I Did.”
The title may be a mouthful but it pretty much sums up his own experience.
“The VA has been treating me for diabetes for about 17 years,” Kuhlman said. “They have been treating me about the same way as my two brothers who both died from complication of diabetes, and I wanted to do something different.”
Kuhlman, 73, was a high school teacher, mostly in government and social studies, in Page for 27 years before he moved to Chandler, where he taught for another 13 years.
Diagnosed in 2002 with Type 2 diabetes, he writes about his struggle with the disease and his frustrations with doctors who described different drugs that only added weight and some who advised that only exercise would help him. In both instances, he said, neither drugs alone nor exercise alone did anything to reduce his blood sugar level.
Stressing throughout the book that readers should consult their physician, Kuhlman discusses in length how he discovered the Keto Diet after reading Dr. Jason Fung’s book, “The Diabetic Code” and discovering a website called dietdoctor.com.
That and some recommendations through acquaintances led him to still more doctors.
Three months after following the advice he gleaned, his condition improved to the point where his blood sugar improved and he now has his diabetes under control – as long as he watches what he eats.
While diabetes is what he calls “the crown jewel of his book,” Kuhlman also provides information on nutritional approaches to Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and obesity.
“The only reason I wrote the book is to let people know they have a choice in the treatment of diabetes,” he said. “There are a lot of medical people that think diabetes can be treated with both nutrition and medical advice.
“I wrote the book for people to know my story and the information that was not given to my brother, or me. When I asked the VA about this, they said it is hard for people to follow this way of eating and that I should have asked for a low carbohydrate nutritionist. How was I supposed to know this ahead of time?”
He believes many physicians “do not share this information with their patients. This book is a starting point with information on how to get started and what resources are available to them. Most of the diabetes books out do not mention the nutritional way of helping with one’s diabetes.”
Kuhlman packs his book with a range of sources, reminding readers that it is only a starting point to a healthier life and lifestyle.
“I do not use the word ‘cure’ but say that my diabetes is in remission, as probably if I went back to my old way of eating, the diabetes would probably return,” he said.
He said reaction to the book “has been pretty favorable.”
“The people who read it say it was a good read, the information is very valuable for them and they are willing to share it with friends and family members,” he said.
“I want you to know that in Canada, England, South Africa, Australia and other parts of the world, people are claiming to halt and even cure their diabetes by eating the keto way,” he writes, adding his book “is a guide to get you started in the right direction.”
The book is available at Amazon.com for $9.99.
