To Have and to Have Not - Besides Diabetic Desserts

To have and to have not when diabetic:

As a lover of Desserts I have recently found many Diabetic Dessert recipes. I have been enjoying making them and being able to eat my creations without worrying about the health consequences.

Although not a diabetic, I am concerned about making sure my diet is healthy. I do have a mother who is diabetic and that is why my interest started.

I know that some people are looking for sound advice about what they should eat and what they should not eat. So here is some advice about what you should eat besides Diabetic Desserts; and also what you shouldn't be doing, whether you are diabetic or not.

TO HAVE:

Start with a little faith and add a larger amount of determination. You need to develop routines and this takes a little time, but once the time has been put in the routines should become habits. There are good habits as well as bad habits - you are aiming for good habits. I know from experience that once the good habits are developed they become quite easy to maintain. So; make those decisions, then stay focused!

Some of the routines will be made clear by your doctor, or healthcare professional. But you can always improve things by adding to these basic routines. Of course by routines I am talking mainly about your diet - what food and liquid are taken, and how regularly.

Here are some of the foods you should be taking:

Fresh seasonal fruit; some fruits are high in sugar so use in moderation. Best fruits to choose are: grapefruit, raspberries, loganberries, strawberries, blueberries and rhubarb,. Also look for Diabetic Dessert recipes, many of which include the best fruits.

Fresh vegetables, especially broccoli, cabbage, spinach, cauliflower, runner beans, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, cougettes, aubergines, swede and green salads.

Dried unsweetened fruit, unsalted nuts, wholemeal bread (especially stoneground wholemeal), wholemeal pasta.

Game is a interesting addition to a diet, along with plenty of oily and white fish such as salmon, haddock, tuna, swordfish, mackerel & kipper. Reduce your saturated fat intake by cooking on a griddle and cutting off any excess fat. Cook with olive and nut oils, as these unsaturated fats are good for you.

These recommended foods will contain a good selection of vitamins, but it would be useful to try and supplement. So here is some information about beneficial vitamins:

Main vitamins to consider are vitamin B complex, thiamine or vitamin B1 and pyridoxine or vitamin B6, vitamin C and vitamin E.

Because of stress, urinary losses and destruction by artificial sweeteners, the vitamin C requirement is usually high in diabetics. Large amounts of this vitamin sometimes bring very good results. Dr. George V Mann in 'Perspective in Biology and Medicine' recommended extra vitamin C for diabetics. Natural insulin output increases in diabetics with supplementary doses of vitamin C.

The intake of vitamin C in the form of dried Indian gooseberry (amla), the richest known source of vitamin C, or tablets of 500 mg or from natural sources of vitamin C like amla, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, sprouted Bengal gram and green grams.

Vitamin E reduces considerably the devastating vascular damage accompanying diabetes. Dr. Willard Shute in 'The Complete Book of Vitamins' recommends 800-1600 IU of vitamin E a day to prevent arterial degeneration in diabetes. Vitamin E helps diabetics decrease their insulin requirements. It would be advisable for a diabetes patient to take a daily dose of 200 IU of this vitamin for a fortnight at a time. Valuable natural foods sources of this vitamin are wheat or cereal germ, whole grain products, fruits and green leafy vegetables, milk and all whole raw or sprouted seeds. Other rich sources of vitamin E are cold pressed crude vegetable oils, especially sunflower seeds, safflower and Soya bean oils, raw and sprouted seeds and grains, alfalfa, and lettuce.

Low calorie tonic water is also useful (the quinine helps prevent cramps), mineral water, low calorie Ginger Beer and cold filtered tap water.

Do not forget to exercise regularly. This could be just a matter of a regular daily walk, or simple exercises in the house. It is possible to run on the spot to get the heart working - but do not overdo (10 minutes light exercise is sufficient). If you have any concerns then seek a doctor's advice (it is advisable to monitor pulse rates and know something about the limits for different ages). There is plenty of advice around about exercising, for instance I would recommend seeking out the work of Al Sears, MD.

TO HAVE NOT:

Cut back on snacks and white flour. Avoid excessive intake of salt (promotes water retention in the body, puts extra burden on kidneys and may cause high blood pressure). Eliminate white bread, cakes, sweets, pasta, rice, cereals, biscuits, sugars, some fruit juice (low-sugar

content juices, such as pomegranate, are okay), potatoes, honey, jam, marmalade, baked beans.

Never use lard for cooking.

Do not smoke.

Here are 8 reasons why mixing diabetes with smoking is a very bad idea:

1) Smoking doubles the damage to the body caused by diabetes by causing hardening of the arteries. This particularly affects the body's larger arteries to the legs and brain, making amputation and strokes more likely.

2) By smoking you increase your blood-sugar levels. This makes it more difficult to control your diabetes because your glucose levels could be fluctuating quite dramatically. This, in turn, leads to other problems.

3) There is an increased risk - double in fact - of you getting limited mobility in your joints. It's no fun trying to bend, climb stairs or lift something when you have a painful joint.

4) You could develop kidney disease.

5) When you smoke your blood pressure increases. Increased blood pressure creates a real risk of heart disease.

6) Your eyes can be affected. Smoking greatly increases retinopathy progression (about 15% for each cigarette smoked!).

7) It also increases your cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of a heart attack.

8) And, of course, on top of all that there's the proven risk of cancer!

Now you may be reading this as a non-diabetic, so be aware that smoking doubles the risk of diabetes. Actually it causes you to be more insulin resistant, and insulin resistance often leads to diabetes.

For any diabetics who are concerned about weight gain when stopping smoking, it has been shown in studies that the benefits of giving up smoking actually far outweigh any negative effects caused by weight gain.

I hope this advice has been useful. Please take a look at Diabetic Dessert recipes - they are worth the effort. For anyone who has just been diagnosed as a diabetic I encourage you to persevere in the early stages and develop those good habits.

Author: Bob Blake

Webmaster of various sites, including health-related sites and of particular interest is a site for Diabetic Desserts at http://www.diabeticdessertsblog.com, where can be found diabetic recipes and general diabetes advice, as well as plenty of information on Diabetic Desserts.