I’ve learned over the years that most people don’t like to be lectured or told they’re doing something wrong. That’s one of the main reasons I don’t try to tell people what they should do when I write my columns.

My columns may be informative, but for the most part I’m just writing about my own experiences. People can take what I say as useful, or they can disregard what I’m writing about.

I remember a few months after I met my late wife, Julie, she introduced me to some of her artist friends. When we went out for dinner, we found out they were vegetarians. All during dinner they tried to convince us that we should also stop eating meat.

I listened as they lectured us about how eating animal products was bad for our health, not to mention being cruel to other living creatures. I didn’t say anything negative or try to start a debate. But later that night when Julie asked me if we should  look into changing our diet, I told her I thought she should look for new friends.

It would have been better if they had just told me about their own experiences and how it improved their health. Then I could have made my own decision without feeling like I was being told my lifestyle was all wrong.

So now it’s my turn to write about some changes I’ve made to improve my own health - and I’m not saying everyone should do what I’m doing.

About eight years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. At the time, the doctors advised me to change my diet to reduce my blood sugar level. That came as sort of a surprise to me, since I wasn’t really eating sweets or drinking soda. I was more into salty snacks like chips, pretzels and cheese crackers.

Then they showed me some literature about what foods are bad for diabetics, and that’s how I learned that food high in carbohydrates (carbs), like those chips, pretzels and crackers, were just as bad as eating sweets. The body converts carbs to glucose, so my salty snack habit, along with regular food like pasta, rice and bread, can raise glucose levels.

Over the past eight years I’ve taken a number of different diabetes medications. I’ve also become very aware of what I’m eating. Unfortunately, I’ve sometimes strayed from following what I should be doing, and it really showed on my latest two checkups.

So  a few weeks ago I made the decision to overhaul my daily routine. No more salty snacks and just an occasional serving of rice or pasta.

It’s made a big difference in my blood glucose level. I feel a lot better and I also lost about 10 pounds.

Take my experience for what it’s worth. Remember, I’m not lecturing.