Althought it is unconfortable to ponder this harsh truth, thank you for the reminder and this article!
It is hard to not fall into the rabbit hole when confronted to our child health issues. My baby has eczema. Her dad and I have allergic tendencies, he has eczema, so it is not such surprise. I also wasn't the healthiest during pregnancy, and it's been hard living with this guilt "if only I had done such and such, she would not have eczema etc". Fell down the rabbit hole of nutrition, GAPs protocols, Weston price blabla etc looking for THE solution, THE magic fix that'd cure her... althought it pains me, I think your article is a good reminder that maybe, all the bone marrow, fermented cabbage juice or homemade yogurt won't FIX the issue, maybe only alleviate the symptoms... It is so hard to reckon that we control very little in our own life, in a culture obsessed with control and optimization...
I resonate with this, having lived the crunch lifestyle for myself and always looking to optimize, which was really just a road to pathologize. There’s this idea that if you just dial in a bit tighter, you’ll finally have some relief or optimal outcome. But it becomes this search for always finding what is wrong rather than surrendering to life and what it is supposed to to teach each of us. Blessings to you and your amazing family and son—and what it is that you have and will continue to learn from this!
Also, there is an inhaled insulin called Afrezza, which actually helps resensitize the pancreas, and enables the individual to use less insulin overall (with of course, wise food decisions). Just thought I’d share other options than injectable.
A great reminder and point of view. We live the same way as you and I have a similar perspective and experience, although I don’t doubt the power whatsoever of eating and living the crunchy way. There’s a lot to it. Namely, and not to place blame AT ALL on parents, but what we do in the years before we get pregnant has a great impact on our offspring. Not only are we born with nutritional stores inherited from our parents, but we can build those up and change what genes are expressing themselves before we get pregnant. Ive never drank or done drugs or smoked and the years leading up to pregnancy I ate strictly animal foods probably 75% of the time or more: raw milk, raw kefir, butter, cheese, smoked fish, raw and cooked beef, cured meats, loads of eggs and raw oysters and sashimi. During pregnancy I did the same thing. I think I have my child the very best shot at receiving the very best genes I could offer (and the father did pretty much the same thing I did), and I gave him my own breastmilk and also that of two other trusted women since he was delivered by cesarean (not my choice to birth in hospital- I knew it was a bad idea- forced/ coerced by the father at the time and was lied to by my midwives and was induced for no reason at all.. of course it ended in c section). Because of the c-section and my son’s father letting them inject him with things after birth, I think those were enough to predispose him to the couple of issues he has: excema and whenever he gets sick it hits his lungs BAD and sometimes he needs oxygen. But there’s more to it than all that.. consider dirty electricity, wifi, chemicals sprayed on us from the sky, water quality, circadian rhythm, stress levels, sunlight exposure, and so on. It is an uphill battle no matter what we do but the very best thing we can do is STAY CRUNCHY. That is 75% of the battle right there. But other than the couple issues, he was off the charts with head size, weight and height and shoe size and way ahead with all of his milestones (walked by 9 months, running with abandon by 11 months, 25 lbs by 3 months old, 50 lbs by 1 year, 75 lbs now at 4 years old and he’s 4 ft tall size 2 shoes and perfect jaw/bite and wide face and straight teeth, his hair has never been cut and is down past his bottom, he was born with some teeth and long hair, so… I know first hand what a good lifestyle can do. I have an underbite and had many health issues growing up and I firmly believe I switched certain genes off and he inherited the best I had to offer. He loves raw beef and liver and eggs and raw milk and fruit but hates vegetables so I think we’re doing great). If the world wasn’t so far gone then perfect health might be possible but it simply isn’t. There is only so much we can do but we have the duty to do whatever we can for our children and ourselves. God bless your family and the miracle of life and the beauty of family and raising children!
On supplements, never trust anyone trying to sell anything- supplements are also not checked and may not contain what they say they do. The best thing I think is focus on getting the most nutrient dense and bioavailable diet-cornerstone foods you can (good eggs, any kid of beef and ruminant meats, raw dairy, and oysters or other clean seafood for more minerals as a good foundation), getting sunshine, staying away from modern stuff life wifi and electricity and tech as much as is feasibly possible, and just be grateful and keep moving forward.
I hope you don't put this behind a paywall. There is a necessary balance between modern and holistic–radicals on either side need stories like yours to see the harm in their rigidity and supremacy. I'm so happy your love for your child trumped all else so he could get the treatment he needed.
Thanks! I think I’ll keep it free! I’m still figuring things out here on Substack - everytime I publish I think “gosh no one will want to read this” and am so pleasantly bowled over when people do, in fact, read and appreciate my writing! I’m glad this essay has struck a chord with so many readers
That was my exact thought. The pendulum can sometimes swing far to either side of all-of-medical-science-can-save-us or all-of-mother-nature-can-save-us. Realizing, as parents, we can only do and offer our best and leave the rest to God is so important.
Thank you for this. We lost a son due to a heart defect coming up on six years ago. He was 19 weeks in utero. If he hadn’t been our seventh child, with none of the older ones with that issue, I would’ve spent too much time trying to “figure out” why his heart wasn’t as it should be.
I keep thinking how your main point here is also true of pious families; how sometimes we can fall into a “if that family had just done more devotions/received the Sacrament more frequently/etc” when a child leaves the faith. But the truth is that God is the One who is always faithful, not us. Of course we try to raise our kids in the Christian faith and model piety. But we pray that God keeps our children in His eternal care, and that He forgives us for our many sins as we raise them, not that we do everything right, which is impossible. But our trust should be—can only ultimately be—that He will remain steadfast to them. That’s all that matters in the end.
You are so right! I’ve found myself thinking similar things in regards to people we know leaving the church, or just petering out as they grow up. It’s so tempting to look for connections, for reasons, when in reality it’s all so unknowable for certain.
I’ve done the same thing. I think it’s instinctive, to some extent. We’d rather have reasons, whether logical or not, to pin blame upon when bad things happen. And there are reasons, many times. But not always.
Great read. Thanks for sharing so vulnerably! I think this topic is really important. The crunchy voices online are loud and very, very certain about what's what. I've had a similar post drafted for many months and will be sure to link to this one when I finally finish it!
For me it came down to how much mental bandwidth was being used on trying to do everything in an optimally healthy way, to the detriment of myself and my family. The irony is that holistic health involves our mental well-being as well, and so many people - mothers in particular - really trying to live the crunchy life are full of anxiety. My goal is to be present in my body and attuned to my family, and when I was constantly reading and researching and thinking about all the things we still needed to do, I couldn't do those things very well. So I unfollowed all the crunchy accounts on Instagram except a few choice ones. That was a big step, stopping the constant flow of information and opinions about how eVeRYthINg iS kIlLinG uS. We still live pretty healthy but my life was drastically changed for the better by getting for the most part out of the online crunchy space!
Looking forward to reading your post! I agree re the inordinate amount of mental space that striving for “optimal health” seems to require. I have a companion post to this one in drafts detailing many of the same topics you’ve mentioned above…. Similar travelers on a similar journey 😎
This was such a great read. Thank you for sharing your experience. As a Christian who also makes similar health choices for my family, I’ve noticed lately how this crunchy movement can be so focused on prolonging life, when like you said, it’s not guaranteed. We live in an anti aging culture focused on attaining some form of immortality. But we know we have true immortality in Christ and can rely on Him for comfort, and still honor Him by making decisions to steward our bodies well in this life.
Thank you for sharing this! I think one element that is often missing is the huge impact that mental health has on our physicality. It is possible that relaxing and enjoying (key word here) some less than perfect ingredients or environments may give your body the power to overcome the toxins introduced by these ingredients and then some. What you share about trying to make good choices but surrendering control is so important for our mind’s health and I believe is very important to model to our children!
I do hope that you never put this article behind a paywall. It's such a necessary message to hear and I'm grateful you took the time and courage to put it out there. And I'm grateful to have found it. God bless you, your son and family.
Wow. This is so helpful and honestly encouraging. As a new mom, I see and feel the push for holistic and “crunchy.” I have felt so much pressure that if I’m not raising my daughter with the utmost of cleanest foods, I’m failing as a mother. When did our value get to be so tied to what we put in our bodies? I’m sorry you went through all of this, but I am grateful you shared it boldly. 🫶🏻
This was so wonderfully put. I relate so much to your lifestyle, and I have often had to remind myself of what you wrote so eloquently here.
It is challenging because the food we eat does impact us so much, and there is so much gaslighting about that! I personally found my health turn around completely within a week after going from a vegan to being paleo (similar to you). It’s very difficult to ignore those kinds of results, and yet multiple people (including several doctors) have told me it was just a coincidence. But it’s also so foolish and quite frankly hubristic to assume that such choices will protect you from everything. I really like how you mention that both the crunchies and the crunchy-skeptical are correct in some ways. That kind of nuance is so rarely found on the internet (or even in real life).
Also — “Don’t get me started on the toxic mold community.” 🤣 I have gotten wrapped up in that community for a few days before. Luckily my husband made me come to my senses (“no we are not ripping out the bathroom wall, go to bed”)
An absolutely necessary and important post. Thank you for saying what needed to be said. One cannot be a mother for long without facing this truth. The providence of God completely flies in the face of all the outcomes we try to achieve on our own strength— maybe we ought to just do things out of service & duty to God with no expectations for how it will all pan out? Maybe it’s about the faithfulness and not about the result.
What a harrowing story. Thank God for your mom’s advice and your willingness to listen.
My older brother died of a heart defect before I was born, and my parents have told me that it taught them how little control they really have over anything that happens to their children. Now that I’m a parent, I’m paralyzed at the very thought of learning such a lesson.
But I will someday. Just like you. And I hope I can respond with some of the grace and insight you’ve shown here. Thank you for the reminder.
It is a hard lesson. Having a child who is always 15 minutes away from dying really does show you how much they belong to God, not you. Something I was petrified to acknowledge for years, and maybe I’m still not all the way there yet. Thanks for your comment ♥️
As a type 1 diabetic myself for over 10 years now who follows your particular chosen lifestyle almost to a T, I would say saying " Having a child who is always 15 min from dying" is not accurate of type 1 diabetes - its a very misleading statement.
Either your son has something worse than type 1 diabetes, or you are over exaggerating here.
Let me first say, I wouldn't fault your article at all, I think you made many important points and your message about temperance is so refreshing. But after reading this reply of yours, I felt like I had to completely reconsider these initial thoughts i had. It also made me question whether you are in fact dealing with type 1 diabetes. Why over exaggerate like this? Is your article actually based on truth?
It took me a long time to come to terms with insulin dependency and I spent a lot of time putting to the test the statement that I would die without insulin. I was very angry and upset upon being diagnosed, even in some form of denial, and i took a similar attitude to the one you described in your article- I could heal myself of this.
While I found out it is definitely true that type 1's will die without taking insulin, it does not take 15 mins for us to be near death. In my experience, if I did not take my recommended insulin doage it was about 3 to 4 days before i got close to death, sometimes more but never less, and it depended on what and how much i ate and did. It takes about 1.5 days before you even succumb to serious DKA.
Moreover, if you are a well controlled type 1 diabetic and not avoiding insulin you are a very long way off from dying at any given moment. In fact, I cannot think of single instance when a type 1 diabetic is ALWAYS 15min from dying.
I have also found out by being a member of a large international online type 1 diabetic community, that this is the standard type 1 diabetic experience. It's not just me.
Anyways, I came here to leave a positive comment because I did truly enjoy your article. Whatever the cause, your son (and while he is still young , your family) has been handed a challenge. But God wouldn't have given him a cross he (and you) couldn't bare.
I found that once I took up the challenge and mastered it, I became grateful for the unforseen gifts of knowledg, compassion and bodily awareness that resulted from tackling the challenge head on. From your article, it sounds like your son has been perfectly placed in a family and environment that will afford him the opportunity to easily do this. I wish him and you the best of luck.
Hi Mia, thanks for your reply. I did not intend to sensationalize by saying he’s 15 minutes from dying. To be fair, we can all die at any moment, in any time. The “15 minutes” I anecdotally referred to is, in my experience, possible due to a misdosing of insulin (he’s not on a pump) or a precipitous low blood sugar that was not treated or caught in time - e.g. if he was not near someone who could help him, or if supplies were mistakenly not at hand. Overall, it’s a highly treatable disease, as you well know! But the nature of type 1 diabetes is that he is actively dying (in the sense that he would not stay alive without medications) and we are preventing him from doing that by giving him insulin.
Althought it is unconfortable to ponder this harsh truth, thank you for the reminder and this article!
It is hard to not fall into the rabbit hole when confronted to our child health issues. My baby has eczema. Her dad and I have allergic tendencies, he has eczema, so it is not such surprise. I also wasn't the healthiest during pregnancy, and it's been hard living with this guilt "if only I had done such and such, she would not have eczema etc". Fell down the rabbit hole of nutrition, GAPs protocols, Weston price blabla etc looking for THE solution, THE magic fix that'd cure her... althought it pains me, I think your article is a good reminder that maybe, all the bone marrow, fermented cabbage juice or homemade yogurt won't FIX the issue, maybe only alleviate the symptoms... It is so hard to reckon that we control very little in our own life, in a culture obsessed with control and optimization...
I resonate with this, having lived the crunch lifestyle for myself and always looking to optimize, which was really just a road to pathologize. There’s this idea that if you just dial in a bit tighter, you’ll finally have some relief or optimal outcome. But it becomes this search for always finding what is wrong rather than surrendering to life and what it is supposed to to teach each of us. Blessings to you and your amazing family and son—and what it is that you have and will continue to learn from this!
Also, there is an inhaled insulin called Afrezza, which actually helps resensitize the pancreas, and enables the individual to use less insulin overall (with of course, wise food decisions). Just thought I’d share other options than injectable.
A great reminder and point of view. We live the same way as you and I have a similar perspective and experience, although I don’t doubt the power whatsoever of eating and living the crunchy way. There’s a lot to it. Namely, and not to place blame AT ALL on parents, but what we do in the years before we get pregnant has a great impact on our offspring. Not only are we born with nutritional stores inherited from our parents, but we can build those up and change what genes are expressing themselves before we get pregnant. Ive never drank or done drugs or smoked and the years leading up to pregnancy I ate strictly animal foods probably 75% of the time or more: raw milk, raw kefir, butter, cheese, smoked fish, raw and cooked beef, cured meats, loads of eggs and raw oysters and sashimi. During pregnancy I did the same thing. I think I have my child the very best shot at receiving the very best genes I could offer (and the father did pretty much the same thing I did), and I gave him my own breastmilk and also that of two other trusted women since he was delivered by cesarean (not my choice to birth in hospital- I knew it was a bad idea- forced/ coerced by the father at the time and was lied to by my midwives and was induced for no reason at all.. of course it ended in c section). Because of the c-section and my son’s father letting them inject him with things after birth, I think those were enough to predispose him to the couple of issues he has: excema and whenever he gets sick it hits his lungs BAD and sometimes he needs oxygen. But there’s more to it than all that.. consider dirty electricity, wifi, chemicals sprayed on us from the sky, water quality, circadian rhythm, stress levels, sunlight exposure, and so on. It is an uphill battle no matter what we do but the very best thing we can do is STAY CRUNCHY. That is 75% of the battle right there. But other than the couple issues, he was off the charts with head size, weight and height and shoe size and way ahead with all of his milestones (walked by 9 months, running with abandon by 11 months, 25 lbs by 3 months old, 50 lbs by 1 year, 75 lbs now at 4 years old and he’s 4 ft tall size 2 shoes and perfect jaw/bite and wide face and straight teeth, his hair has never been cut and is down past his bottom, he was born with some teeth and long hair, so… I know first hand what a good lifestyle can do. I have an underbite and had many health issues growing up and I firmly believe I switched certain genes off and he inherited the best I had to offer. He loves raw beef and liver and eggs and raw milk and fruit but hates vegetables so I think we’re doing great). If the world wasn’t so far gone then perfect health might be possible but it simply isn’t. There is only so much we can do but we have the duty to do whatever we can for our children and ourselves. God bless your family and the miracle of life and the beauty of family and raising children!
On supplements, never trust anyone trying to sell anything- supplements are also not checked and may not contain what they say they do. The best thing I think is focus on getting the most nutrient dense and bioavailable diet-cornerstone foods you can (good eggs, any kid of beef and ruminant meats, raw dairy, and oysters or other clean seafood for more minerals as a good foundation), getting sunshine, staying away from modern stuff life wifi and electricity and tech as much as is feasibly possible, and just be grateful and keep moving forward.
Wow - very profound. Thank you for sharing this
Wonderful article!
Thank you. 🙏
I hope you don't put this behind a paywall. There is a necessary balance between modern and holistic–radicals on either side need stories like yours to see the harm in their rigidity and supremacy. I'm so happy your love for your child trumped all else so he could get the treatment he needed.
Thanks! I think I’ll keep it free! I’m still figuring things out here on Substack - everytime I publish I think “gosh no one will want to read this” and am so pleasantly bowled over when people do, in fact, read and appreciate my writing! I’m glad this essay has struck a chord with so many readers
That was my exact thought. The pendulum can sometimes swing far to either side of all-of-medical-science-can-save-us or all-of-mother-nature-can-save-us. Realizing, as parents, we can only do and offer our best and leave the rest to God is so important.
Thank you for this. We lost a son due to a heart defect coming up on six years ago. He was 19 weeks in utero. If he hadn’t been our seventh child, with none of the older ones with that issue, I would’ve spent too much time trying to “figure out” why his heart wasn’t as it should be.
I keep thinking how your main point here is also true of pious families; how sometimes we can fall into a “if that family had just done more devotions/received the Sacrament more frequently/etc” when a child leaves the faith. But the truth is that God is the One who is always faithful, not us. Of course we try to raise our kids in the Christian faith and model piety. But we pray that God keeps our children in His eternal care, and that He forgives us for our many sins as we raise them, not that we do everything right, which is impossible. But our trust should be—can only ultimately be—that He will remain steadfast to them. That’s all that matters in the end.
You are so right! I’ve found myself thinking similar things in regards to people we know leaving the church, or just petering out as they grow up. It’s so tempting to look for connections, for reasons, when in reality it’s all so unknowable for certain.
I’ve done the same thing. I think it’s instinctive, to some extent. We’d rather have reasons, whether logical or not, to pin blame upon when bad things happen. And there are reasons, many times. But not always.
Great read. Thanks for sharing so vulnerably! I think this topic is really important. The crunchy voices online are loud and very, very certain about what's what. I've had a similar post drafted for many months and will be sure to link to this one when I finally finish it!
For me it came down to how much mental bandwidth was being used on trying to do everything in an optimally healthy way, to the detriment of myself and my family. The irony is that holistic health involves our mental well-being as well, and so many people - mothers in particular - really trying to live the crunchy life are full of anxiety. My goal is to be present in my body and attuned to my family, and when I was constantly reading and researching and thinking about all the things we still needed to do, I couldn't do those things very well. So I unfollowed all the crunchy accounts on Instagram except a few choice ones. That was a big step, stopping the constant flow of information and opinions about how eVeRYthINg iS kIlLinG uS. We still live pretty healthy but my life was drastically changed for the better by getting for the most part out of the online crunchy space!
Looking forward to reading your post! I agree re the inordinate amount of mental space that striving for “optimal health” seems to require. I have a companion post to this one in drafts detailing many of the same topics you’ve mentioned above…. Similar travelers on a similar journey 😎
Love it.
This was such a great read. Thank you for sharing your experience. As a Christian who also makes similar health choices for my family, I’ve noticed lately how this crunchy movement can be so focused on prolonging life, when like you said, it’s not guaranteed. We live in an anti aging culture focused on attaining some form of immortality. But we know we have true immortality in Christ and can rely on Him for comfort, and still honor Him by making decisions to steward our bodies well in this life.
Thank you for sharing this! I think one element that is often missing is the huge impact that mental health has on our physicality. It is possible that relaxing and enjoying (key word here) some less than perfect ingredients or environments may give your body the power to overcome the toxins introduced by these ingredients and then some. What you share about trying to make good choices but surrendering control is so important for our mind’s health and I believe is very important to model to our children!
I do hope that you never put this article behind a paywall. It's such a necessary message to hear and I'm grateful you took the time and courage to put it out there. And I'm grateful to have found it. God bless you, your son and family.
Wow. This is so helpful and honestly encouraging. As a new mom, I see and feel the push for holistic and “crunchy.” I have felt so much pressure that if I’m not raising my daughter with the utmost of cleanest foods, I’m failing as a mother. When did our value get to be so tied to what we put in our bodies? I’m sorry you went through all of this, but I am grateful you shared it boldly. 🫶🏻
Beautiful and vulnerable. I admire so much your sharing such a tender piece of your life. Blessings on you and your son.
This was so wonderfully put. I relate so much to your lifestyle, and I have often had to remind myself of what you wrote so eloquently here.
It is challenging because the food we eat does impact us so much, and there is so much gaslighting about that! I personally found my health turn around completely within a week after going from a vegan to being paleo (similar to you). It’s very difficult to ignore those kinds of results, and yet multiple people (including several doctors) have told me it was just a coincidence. But it’s also so foolish and quite frankly hubristic to assume that such choices will protect you from everything. I really like how you mention that both the crunchies and the crunchy-skeptical are correct in some ways. That kind of nuance is so rarely found on the internet (or even in real life).
Also — “Don’t get me started on the toxic mold community.” 🤣 I have gotten wrapped up in that community for a few days before. Luckily my husband made me come to my senses (“no we are not ripping out the bathroom wall, go to bed”)
At 4:00 A.M., when I woke up my husband in the same hysteria, he said the exact same thing.
An absolutely necessary and important post. Thank you for saying what needed to be said. One cannot be a mother for long without facing this truth. The providence of God completely flies in the face of all the outcomes we try to achieve on our own strength— maybe we ought to just do things out of service & duty to God with no expectations for how it will all pan out? Maybe it’s about the faithfulness and not about the result.
What a harrowing story. Thank God for your mom’s advice and your willingness to listen.
My older brother died of a heart defect before I was born, and my parents have told me that it taught them how little control they really have over anything that happens to their children. Now that I’m a parent, I’m paralyzed at the very thought of learning such a lesson.
But I will someday. Just like you. And I hope I can respond with some of the grace and insight you’ve shown here. Thank you for the reminder.
It is a hard lesson. Having a child who is always 15 minutes away from dying really does show you how much they belong to God, not you. Something I was petrified to acknowledge for years, and maybe I’m still not all the way there yet. Thanks for your comment ♥️
As a type 1 diabetic myself for over 10 years now who follows your particular chosen lifestyle almost to a T, I would say saying " Having a child who is always 15 min from dying" is not accurate of type 1 diabetes - its a very misleading statement.
Either your son has something worse than type 1 diabetes, or you are over exaggerating here.
Let me first say, I wouldn't fault your article at all, I think you made many important points and your message about temperance is so refreshing. But after reading this reply of yours, I felt like I had to completely reconsider these initial thoughts i had. It also made me question whether you are in fact dealing with type 1 diabetes. Why over exaggerate like this? Is your article actually based on truth?
It took me a long time to come to terms with insulin dependency and I spent a lot of time putting to the test the statement that I would die without insulin. I was very angry and upset upon being diagnosed, even in some form of denial, and i took a similar attitude to the one you described in your article- I could heal myself of this.
While I found out it is definitely true that type 1's will die without taking insulin, it does not take 15 mins for us to be near death. In my experience, if I did not take my recommended insulin doage it was about 3 to 4 days before i got close to death, sometimes more but never less, and it depended on what and how much i ate and did. It takes about 1.5 days before you even succumb to serious DKA.
Moreover, if you are a well controlled type 1 diabetic and not avoiding insulin you are a very long way off from dying at any given moment. In fact, I cannot think of single instance when a type 1 diabetic is ALWAYS 15min from dying.
I have also found out by being a member of a large international online type 1 diabetic community, that this is the standard type 1 diabetic experience. It's not just me.
Anyways, I came here to leave a positive comment because I did truly enjoy your article. Whatever the cause, your son (and while he is still young , your family) has been handed a challenge. But God wouldn't have given him a cross he (and you) couldn't bare.
I found that once I took up the challenge and mastered it, I became grateful for the unforseen gifts of knowledg, compassion and bodily awareness that resulted from tackling the challenge head on. From your article, it sounds like your son has been perfectly placed in a family and environment that will afford him the opportunity to easily do this. I wish him and you the best of luck.
Hi Mia, thanks for your reply. I did not intend to sensationalize by saying he’s 15 minutes from dying. To be fair, we can all die at any moment, in any time. The “15 minutes” I anecdotally referred to is, in my experience, possible due to a misdosing of insulin (he’s not on a pump) or a precipitous low blood sugar that was not treated or caught in time - e.g. if he was not near someone who could help him, or if supplies were mistakenly not at hand. Overall, it’s a highly treatable disease, as you well know! But the nature of type 1 diabetes is that he is actively dying (in the sense that he would not stay alive without medications) and we are preventing him from doing that by giving him insulin.