Diet | Diabetes Care

December 07, 2011

10 Tips on Snacking with Diabetes

Posted by: Admin : Category: Diet

My patients always want to talk about food more than any topic relating to diabetes. But their favorite question is “what kind of snacks can I eat?” If you have diabetes, gone are the days of two graham crackers with 4 ounces of skim milk before bedtime.

If done in moderation, here are ten things you should know about how snacking affects you:

Prevents you from overeating at the next meal.
Keeps hunger at a minimum between meals.
Keeps the blood sugar level steady.
Needed especially when you exercise for an hour or more.
Is recommended for people who have gastroparesis. They get full or bloated on a complete meal due to delayed gastric emptying.
May be an answer to help prevent hypoglycemia during the night.
Can be used to prevent lows when driving for a long period.
Good when you are on insulin or sulfonylureas and are more at risk for hypoglycemia.
Is perfect during plane travel when you may not be receiving a meal.
Is great for type 1 children who are growing and need extra calories between meals and to help prevent hypoglycemia.

Remember, snacks need to be factored into your daily calorie allotment; you are just spreading the calories throughout the day. Measuring out portion sizes is important when snacking. They should not exceed 100-200 calories and contain only one serving of a carbohydrate (15 grams per snack). Stick to no more than two snacks a day. Combine protein, mono-unsaturated fats, and complex carbohydrates for the best nutrition and satisfaction.

Here are some of my tasty and interesting choices:

Light Brie, Baby Bel, Alpine lace Swiss, Light Jarlsberg, Mozzarella cheese sticks, Fat free cheddar, mini-Gouda – One choice in 1 ounce portions with one of the following: half a pear, half an apple, 8 grapes, 12 cherries, 1 cup of cubed cantaloupe, 1 cup of raspberries, or ¾ cup blueberries are perfect snacks. The calories are appropriate and you get calcium from the cheese for strong bones and teeth yet it is low fat, low sodium and filling. The fruit supplies fiber – insoluble and soluble – to help reduce your cholesterol as well as stabilize blood sugar, Vitamin C for healing, anti-oxidants to boost your immunity, beta carotene, potassium, and folate. The combination of protein, fat and carbohydrates is satisfying and stays with you the longest to avoid a starving sensation at the next meal.

3 cups of air-popped popcorn – low sodium and no butter. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of fresh grated parmesan cheese for the fat content to keep you less hungry later. If you like it spicy, add a pinch of cayenne pepper; spices have wonderful healing properties. The popcorn has lots of fiber to keep you full and the cheese has calcium. Calcium may also reduce the risk of colon cancer and adenomas. More research is needed.

Guacamole with low fat, low salt whole grain tortilla chips – Make the guacamole with ½ a tomato, ½ a red onion, 2 tbsps. of lemon juice, a pinch of garlic powder and chopped fresh cilantro with one avocado. Mash together and eat ¼ of a cup with 6 chips. Delicious! Avocadoes are full of mono-unsaturated fat which decreases inflammation and helps keep you satiated.

A tablespoon of dry unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or 2 brazil nuts, 6 walnuts, almonds or 16 pistachio nuts (white and in the shell – seeds and nuts have lots of calories if not in portion size) mixed with 6 ounces of Greek plain yogurt and 1 tbsp. of fresh berries. A mini-parfait with thick and tangy yogurt which supplies probiotics and live cultures for enhanced digestion and increased immunity. The nuts have protein and monounsaturated fat and help ward off hunger as well as supplying more fiber and flavonoids. The berries have multiple beneficial qualities. Together, they are a real treat!

Enjoy snacking in moderation with the right intentions and selections. You will feel better, less hungry and it will help maintain a stable blood sugar!

by Roberta Kleinman, RN, M.Ed., CDE

NOTE: Consult your Doctor first to make sure my recommendations fit your special health needs.

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June 08, 2011

Lose Weight To Lower Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

Posted by: Admin : Category: Diet

With so many weight loss programs available, it is easy to become confused about what works and what does not when it comes to losing weight to lower your risk for type 2 diabetes. The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) wants you to know that you don’t have to knock yourself out to lower your risk – in fact, the findings of a major study show that modest weight loss can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by more than half. Here are some proven small steps developed by NDEP to help you make gradual lifestyle changes to lose weight safely and keep it off.
Small Step #1: Set a weight loss goal you can meet before starting a weight loss plan. Aim to lose about 5 to 7 percent of your current weight – that’s 10 to 14 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds. Keep track of your daily food intake and physical activity in a log book and review it daily to see how you are doing. For support, invite family and friends to get involved.
Small Step #2: Make healthy food choices every day. Keep healthy snacks such as fruit on hand at home. Pack healthy lunches so that your family can take charge of what they eat during the day. To make sure you get enough fiber, eat more fruit and select a mix of colorful vegetables. Drink low-fat or nonfat milk or choose low-fat cheese. Choose whole-grain cereals, breads, crackers, brown rice, pasta, or oatmeal. Select lean meats and poultry. Vary your protein choices by choosing more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.
Small Step #3: Strive to become more physically active. If you are not active, start off slowly and choose a physical activity you will stick with most days of the week. Slowly add more time until you reach at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity five days a week. Build physical activity into your day. Take a brisk walk during lunchtime. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or park farther away from your office. Join a community program like The Y as a family and choose activities that everyone can enjoy such as swimming, water aerobics, or dance classes. Keep at it and remember to celebrate small successes.

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June 01, 2009

Diabetes Type 2 and Artificial Sweeteners

Posted by: Admin : Category: Diet

Diabetes Type 2 (adult onset)

Refined carbs/sugars are actually the biggest contributing factor to type 2 diabetes–that is, the type of diabetes people develop later in life. The major contributing factor to type 2 diabetes is eating too many refined carbs. Type 2 diabetes is one of the easiest things for your body to heal. Are you ready? It is so simple. Quit eating carbs. It really is that simple. I have yet to meet anyone who was a type 2 diabetic who could not totally control their blood sugar levels without any insulin just by cutting carbs out of their diet.

All Artificial Sweeteners are Hazardous to Your Health. Like most things, everything starts out as a good idea. When NutraSweet was first invented it was actually made from grapefruit rinds. All the studies were done on this sweetener. It passed with flying colors. Then DuPont bought the rights, examined it under a microscope and chemically made it in a lab because it was cheaper. But there was one problem, this new artificial sweetener is essentially formaldehyde. And at temperatures above 95 degrees (the human body is 98 degrees) the artificial sweetener actually changes to formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is the chemical they use to put into dead people to keep them from rotting before they burry them.

Some people want to argue that it takes large amounts of artificial sweeteners to induce cancer in rats. And in the small quantities the sweetener is found in food it is not harmful to humans. To that I have this to say: I don’t know about you but I don’t want to put anything in my body that causes cancer in any quantity, large or small. Living in the world we do today you are being exposed to toxins that cause cancer. So anywhere I can easily eliminate getting additional toxins, I will.

Diabetes, But Enjoy Good Food? Try a Diabetic Recipe

Posted by: Admin : Category: Diet

Having diabetes certainly limits some of the food you can eat, but with the right diabetic recipes you can still enjoy fine food. Sometimes, it is hard to know what foods are safe for you to eat. For your safety, you and your dietitian should work together to design a meal plan that’s right for you and includes foods that you enjoy. A diabetes diet meal plan is a guide that tells you how much and what kinds of food you can choose to eat at meals and snack times. A good meal plan should fit in with your schedule and eating habits.

Keep in mind that while many diabetic recipes are fairly simple and fast to make, some diabetic recipes may be more complex and take longer. The right meal plan will also help keep your weight where it should be. It is important to gather the right diabetic supplies when planning your diabetic recipes. Whether you need to lose weight, gain weight, or stay where you are, your diabetic recipes will be sure to help.

Some tips on finding tasty Diabetic Recipes.

Fortunately, there is almost certainly to be a diabetic recipe of your favorite food. For example, because of the high sugar content of most desserts, many diabetics felt that they would have to give them up. However, there are many diabetic recipes for desserts that will be safe for people with diabetes to eat. There are also many diabetic safe breads, salads, sandwiches, appetizers, and any other food category you can think of. If you have diabetes and don’t want to give up your favorite foods, try a safe diabetic recipes instead such as a diabetic cake recipe, free diabetic recipe or diabetic cookie recipe.

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