Battling Diabetes

Elaine and Suz were the only commenters on the Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook contest, so they will be receiving a new cookbook each! I still have one up for grabs, so sometime this month I will be giving it to a random commenter/reader. How is that for cool?

Elaine and Suz, please email me with your address so I can ship out your books! Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the recipes and let me know what you or your family likes the best!

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If you are searching for answers about sweeteners, search no further. Here you will find a list of common sweeteners, what they are and where they are found or used.

Nutritive Sweetners

Nutritive sweeteners are defined as sweeteners that have a significant calorie count.

Sucrose: This is the technical term for white, refined sugar. White sugar is made from either sugar cane or sugar beets. Very common and not very expensive for purchase. Can be found in many popular beverages and foods throughout the grocery stores and other outlets. Diabetics should avoid using too much white sugar in any of their foods or beverages.

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Love Your Heart

There has been a lot of press lately about taking care of your heart. Heart disease is a major killer. No matter your age, being aware of heart disease and how to prevent it will increase your chances of having a healthy heart for far longer.

Diabetics have a high incidence of heart related problems. As a diabetic or someone at risk for diabetes, heart health is of high importance. Love your heart and it will love you.

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Losing Weight Is A Struggle

If you are a diabetic, you know how hard it is to lose even a pound. According to a doctor I spoke with several years ago at Moorehead Hospital in Eden, North Carolina, “Losing weight while taking insulin is a losing battle.” I wish I could remember his name, but he was the doctor evaluating my mother in the Emergency Room. Those words are not exactly his, but close enough. I wish I could find him again, this man set me on a path to regulating my mother’s diet the best I can in hopes of countering this disease.

This doctor told me that he believed diabetes could be cured by losing weight. That is how we came to the subject of how hard it is to lose weight while using insulin to control diabetes. This conversation came back to the forefront of my thoughts as I scanned recent news and found several articles speaking of women who had stopped using insulin altogether or skipped doses in an effort to lose weight.

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There are multiple aspects to the relationship between diet and diabetes. On the one hand, anyone with diabetes will need to take extra care with diet in order to help maintain the proper glucose level. On the other, those who don’t have diabetes - but have a genetic and/or environmental or lifestyle disposition to develop it - can help stave off the disease in part through good dietary choices.

It isn’t the case, for example, that eating sugary foods leads to diabetes. The causes of the disease are complex and not fully understood. But what is known shows that there is both a genetic and many possible environmental factors. Only part of that is the amount of sugar ingested.

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Diabetes can present two main categories of problems, in the form of short term ill-effects and longer term harm. Minimizing both areas requires discipline.

Rapid spikes or dips in blood glucose level can result in several unpleasant effects: dizziness, disorientation, muscle weakness, nausea and others. For some diabetics, it’s very difficult to prevent this from happening at some time. But there are practices that can improve the odds.

Regular and careful monitoring is a must. It’s no picnic to endure a finger prick three times a day. For those who simply can’t muster the will, it is worthwhile to look into some of the newer glucose monitoring devices that don’t require it.

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