FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Whenever possible, diabetics should buy fresh fruits and vegetables. This will keep the extra sugars, salt, and other preservatives out of your diet. This can be challenging. especially in the winter, If you can't get fresh, then frozen is a better choice than canned. The less processed foods you eat, the better it is for your health.

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CARB CHOICES VS CARBS

Do you get confused when you see Carb Choices in the nutritional information of a recipe or on a product label? 1 carb choice is equal to 15 carbs. So if something has 29 or 31 carbs it would be equal to 2 carb choices. Don't get the two confused.

EATING AND MORNING EXERCISE

Always eat something lite before your morning walk, workout, etc. Eating a small amount of something such as yogurt, a few berries, or half a piece of fruit lets your body know you have broken the night's fast. This will help to reduce your early morning hormone levels that raise your blood sugar.

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WHAT WE EAT AFFECTS BODY CHEMISTRY

‎"Everything you eat and drink changes the chemistry of your blood. Our cell membranes are lined with fats that are comprised primarily of those we've eaten in the last 90 days." Keith I Block, MD, Medical Director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment and Director of Integrative Medical Education at University of Illinois College of Medicine. Did you note he says "in the last 90 days"? You cannot change your body overnight. You do it steadily over time!

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BEWARE OF SUGAR IN FRUIT JUICE

Diabetics, especially, must be very careful with fruit juices. There are so many juice beverages today and many are full of extras. Most are no longer 100% juice. While even 100% juice can have a high sugar content, these others are often loaded with added sugars. For example, if the nutrition label on your juice says "fructose" or "high fructose corn syrup", you know you are getting added sugar. Be very careful with juices! You are better off to eat the whole fruit instead of drinking the juice.

BREAD VS SUGAR

When the American Diabetes Association lifted the ban on sugar in 1994, it made a tablespoon of sugar equal to a slice of bread on the diabetic exchange. Each is considered a starch exchange. This is a reminder to be cautious with bread. When you eat a slice of white bread, it is like eating a spoonful of sugar. When you eat bread, it should always be whole-wheat or other whole-grain. Don't even keep white bread (unless it is white whole-wheat) in your house. And read the nutritional label and pay attention to the sugar listed even on whole-grain breads. If you have young children, they should be trained to eat healthy bread. My six-year-old (now 15) granddaughter loves whole-grain breads because that is what she's used to at my house.

SOY PROTEIN AND TYPE 2 DIABETES

It seems soy protein has a lasting beneficial effect on the heart, blood vessels, and kidneys of persons diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  In a study published in the journal Diabetes Care,  patients who ate soy protein showed significantly lower levels of fasting blood sugar, total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides.  The study also found that C-reactive protein levels, which signal inflammation in the body, were lowered along with other indicators of kidney disease.

If you aren't currently eating soy protein, you need to add it to your diet!  Don't know what to include?  Try tofu, soy milk, soy burgers, edemame, etc.

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SAUERKRAUT IS A SUPER FOOD!

I just posted a recipe for a Chicken Sauerkraut Panini.  Well lo and behold when I turned on my computer what should be there but the following statement about sauerkraut as an overlooked food we should be eating.  I am passing this information on to you:
Sauerkraut
Considering cabbage is low-carb, high-fiber, and contains cancer-fighting 3-indole carbinol and d-glucarate, a compound that works to clear excess estrogen, the veggie is already a superfood. Fermenting it into sauerkraut, however, puts it on nutritional steroids. The probiotics that drive fermentation also help repopulate your digestive system with healthy, hardworking good bacteria that lower inflammation, improve digestion, and maybe even aid in weight loss. Plus fermentation increases the bioavailablity of the antioxidants found in cabbage, and the longer cabbage ferments, the higher the levels of antioxidants become, meaning your body can better absorb and use them.

If sauerkraut is not a part of your diet, you'd better try that panini sandwich!

DIABETIC PRESCRIPTION: EXERCISE

I know! Most of us hate the word exercise, let alone the actual activity involved. Well, get over it! Once we've allowed ourselves to become diabetic, we no longer have a choice. We must exercise!

Yes, you read that right. I really did say, "Once we've allowed ourselves to become diabetic." I'm talking to us Type 2 diabetics on that one, you Type 1s don't have to accept that remark. Now before you get all mad, have steam coming out your ears and start sputtering, "Who does she think she is, telling me I'm responsible for the fact I became diabetic," hear me out. Did you know you had diabetes in your family history? Did a doctor ever tell you to lose weight? Did a doctor ever tell you to change your diet or lifestyle? Did a doctor ever tell you to get more exercise (there's that dirty word again)? Did you gorge on sweets and/or carbs? You get the point. But there is a diabetic prescription: EXERCISE!

We helped to create this problem in our bodies, now we have to take our medicines. And that doesn't stop with pills and shots. Just consider exercise another of the medicines we have to take. I read somewhere that exercise is the diabetes treatment almost everyone can benefit from. I backed up, read that again and the light bulb came on. I got it! Exercise is another of our treatments and we need to think of it as such. It's not something we know we should do, something we might get around to someday, but something we have to do just as we have to take our other prescriptions the doctor gives us.

We don't, however, have to go out and join a gym or buy expensive equipment. Of course you can if you want to and it is a good thing to do, but it isn't necessary. We can work exercise into our everyday lives! We Americans have become very lazy as a whole. This is often caused by some terrific technological advances and inventions. But we can't use that as an excuse. Following are some easy ways start adding more exercise into your everyday routine. Give them a try. After all it is YOUR life that matters.

1. Hide the remote controls; they make it too easy to be lazy. This includes the garage door remote. Getting in and out of the car to open the garage door is good exercise.

2. Carry your groceries from the car to the kitchen one bag at a time. More steps and lifting; more exercise.

3. Instead of stacking things by the stairs to avoid extra trips up and down, make the trips. Stairs are a great way to get exercise. Always opt for the stairs over the elevator when possible!

4. Push the kids or grandkids on the swings. Play frisbee with them, etc. Quality time with the children is an added benefit.

5. Go for a walk. Start with a short walk and work your way up to several blocks or 30-40 minutes. If the weather is bad, go to the local mall and walk.

6. Walk around while talking on the phone instead of plopping down in a comfy chair.

7. Stop driving around the parking lot for ten minutes trying to get a parking spot next to the entrance. Park farther away and enjoy the walk.

8. Put items you use often on higher shelves so you do more stretching and reaching to get them.

9. Housework is an excellent exercise. Vacuum an extra time per week, etc.

10. Gardening is another wonderful exercise.

I'm sure you can think of other ways to add exercise to your daily routine. Take that prescription seriously. Do whatever works for you but do something! Take that most-hated prescription: EXERCISE!