Kabul, Afghanistan: Afghanistan was the 50th country that I have visited. It was also the 9th country where I resided. Calling Afghanistan home for two years was a bit strange. I lived on a compound with several thousand other Government employees and contractors. We were confined to an exceedingly small area of the city. Therefore, our travels were highly regulated. Due to the active war in the country and the high threat of terrorism really kept all of us on our toes. It was not unusual to hear and sometimes feel explosions. Occasionally we watched machine gun fire into the air at night as we could see tracers as the weapon was being discharged into the night’s sky.
Our working hours were excessively long. We all worked exceptionally long hours (10 minimum), usually 6 days a week. Friday was our day off and we really looked forward to that. Often several of us would get together around a small bonfire, listen to music, and drink beer. In late September of 2020 I received the news that really changed my life. About 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) prior to this diagnosis, I was starting to feel very strange. I was constantly thirsty, and I could not drink enough water. No matter how much I tried to consume it was just not enough to quench my thirst. Every night during this 10-day period I had a series of leg cramps. I never did count the actual number, but it sure seemed like 20-25 times per night for a couple of those nights. Although I liked to see my weight drop, loosing 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) in a week was not normal. “What the heck is going on”? I finally made an appointment to see the doctor at the compound’s medical unit.
A couple days later I was in the health unit explaining all my symptoms. The nurse quickly grabbed a small device, pricked my finger, and with a meter analyzed a small amount of blood. A couple seconds later there was a number on the screen. It was well over 300. The nurse started to tell me that this was a big problem and that she would need to draw another blood sample to complete another test. She completed the HbA1C (this took me a while to say and spell, let alone understand) test and told me that I have Diabetes, Type 2. She mentioned my glucose level was too high. My HbA1C was over 12. I was wondering, “what is glucose”? “What is too high”? I really had no clue. I did not know anything about this “HbA1C,” but she said it was dangerous. Therefore, I could not stay in Kabul with this medical condition. 5 days later I left Kabul, not knowing if I would return or not. I really had the feeling that I would not return, based on the conversations I had with personnel in the medical unit.
It was easy for me to make up my mind and do something. First thing: “No more sugar.” Although this really wasn’t hard, even though the Macadamia Nut cookies were awesome. This would be my first rule. It was easy to stay away from the obvious sources of sugar. However, I would quickly learn just how bad the condition of our food supply. I also knew that I would have to change how & what I could or would consume.
Shortly after I arrived in Washington, DC for medical evaluation and treatment, I was able to get my glucose levels down to 100-120 averages within a few weeks. However, I would get these occasional spikes in my glucose levels. It was a good thing that I was logging my food intake. I started using an app (Diabetes Pal) to track my results as soon as I found out about my condition. One of the first spikes really showed me how bad our food sources are for us. I was staying at a hotel with a kitchenette, which allowed me to cook simple meals. I knew that seafood was healthy, so I decided to make a simple shrimp cocktail. I also bought cocktail sauce. About an hour after I ate, I tested my blood and got a result of over 170. t happened?? I looked at the label, which is something that I never did before, and read it. the lines really stood out to me – “Sugars.” It was in grams – 18 grams, per serving. Well, I did know that that was well above a half an ounce. I threw the rest of it in the garbage. I knew I had to set another goal – maximum level of sugar / serving. For some reason I set my goal as 5 grams maximum of “added sugars.” This turned out to be a suitable goal to use and during a consultation with a dietitian she agreed with that goad. I was going to have to read labels – oh what fun!
I really thought it was a very smart marketing tool to use grams. I was one of the small percentage of Americans that really used the metric system. All the countries that I have visited use the metric system. The US – we tried in the late 70’s, but quickly gave that up. However, companies have adopted the genius method to tell the truth, but no one really understands. Absolutely a valuable marketing strategy.
My wife was staying in Japan during my time in Kabul. However, she did join me in Washington DC for a couple of months. She really helped me get back on to a healthy diet. “DC” is a wonderful place to visit, not sure I would ever want to live there, but there are a lot of attractions. I could find any type of restaurant to satisfy any craving. However, I had to be careful. Most restaurants use a lot of sugar or corn syrup in their meals. There are also a substantial number of museums and parks to visit. I took advantage of this to get my exercise. After about three months I got my A1C down to 6.5 and I was able to return to Kabul to finish my tour. My wife returned to Japan after a longer stay in the Seattle area. It was difficult for her to travel into Japan due to COVID. I remained in Kabul until May 2021 when I was transferred to Warsaw, Poland.
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