[goddess]

I am recently diagnosed Diabetic, and I am wondering if any of you fine folks know a good source for diabetic recipes that don't seem like cafeteria food?
I am a foody, I need help!

[Derek Lee]

Goddess,

I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes a few years ago. Here is my stab at a reply to your query:

There is no such thing as a 'diabetic' recipe or 'diabetic' food, and anything you see that is labelled as such is purely marketing hype. The simple guideline for eating as a diabetic is just to avoid or limit your consumption of foods with a large amount of highly processed carbohydrates. The highly processed carbohydrates break down very easily in your system, leading to spikes in your glucose levels and lack of blood sugar control.

Examples of highly processed carbohydrates include white bread, cupcakes, sweets and such. Do not attach yourself to the outdated theory that diabetics should avoid sugar or sweets - they are merely a subset of the overall processed carbohydrates that I mentioned earlier. Yes, it is a good idea to reduce your intake of sugar and sweets, but you can do just as much damage by eating too much bread and pasta, as well.

Do not avoid carbohydrates completely, though, because your body needs them for energy. The 'good' carbohydrates are contained in foods with a high degree of fiber, and whole foods such as fruit and vegetables. These foods, because they are not highly processed, take longer to break down in your body and as such make your blood sugar rise and decline slowly and steadily throughout the day, giving you an overall energy store (as opposed to the rapid spike of highly processed carbs). Fats do not affect your blood sugar, but do not indulge too often in pure fat foods, as this will affect your body's other systems over time.

Overall, my best advice to you is not to listen to any kind of dietary guidance that says 'Only eat this' or 'Avoid only this', which is the basis of every fad diet out there. The reason why these diets fail is because invariably, you can't eat a single food consistently every day without getting tired of it.

So, no 'diabetic' foods for you. Just switch to a whole foods approach, avoid highly processed foods (including, obviously, fast food) and you will be fine. Also, start an exercise regimen, because exercise enables your body to use insulin more effectively. Through diet and exercise, I was able to stop insulin injections and move to insulin-regulating medication, and two months after that, I was able to stop the medication completely. This may not be the same path for you if you are Type I, but if you are Type II it may work.

Feel free to post a reply or PM me. I can talk all day about this (as you can see!)

Derek

[brighidsdaughter]

Warning! Long post!

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2000. I take actos & am very careful about my nutrition plan. I don't have to use insulin.

I totally agree with Derek about the foods. The main thing to learn is portion control & nutritional information. I can eat anything I want to, but sometimes it's just one or two bites, and I have to include the carb grams from that food in my total for the meal. My carb limit is 45 grams per meal, but I try to keep it about 35 grams. YMMV based on how active you are and other factors. I try to maximize the amount of food by eating lots of non-starchy veggies, adequate protein & small portions of concentrated-carb foods, like rice or bread. If I want to eat something sweet, I eat it as part of a meal along with foods that contain fat and protein, and I have to include the sweet in the total carb gram count.

The American Diabetes Assoc. has several cookbooks that break down the nutritional content of the recipes, but they are recipes found in most cookbooks -- all you need is to figure out the nutritional content and portion size you can have based on your personal nutrition plan. There are quite a few websites that have nutritional info, Google for them.

Everyone reacts differently to different foods wrt effect on blood glucose levels. Nothing I've said is meant as medical advice, it's just what works for me. If your doctor hasn't already, ask him/her to recommend nutrition plan counseling with a certified diabetes educator, or a nutritionist who specializes in diabetes nutrition issues.

Good luck! If you want more info or have questions, please pm me.

[bluemax]

Hi,

I've been a diabetic for 5 years. I have found that there are a few things that help me maintain contol. (may be different for you, monitor blood and see)
1. Limit consumption of malitol, ...tol ending substitutes, high sugar alchohol products..
2. Limit consumption of sugar free products that contain these sunstances.
3. Stay away from potatoes, high starches etc.
4. Add protein to your diet.
5. Learn to read food labels.
6. Stay away from foods that have a high glycemic index.

Everyones body is different. Yes you can have a bite of cake. See what works for you.