Enjoying The Best Grains For Diabetes – Your Healthy Kitchen

Enjoying the Best Grains for Diabetes – Your Healthy Kitchen

If you have diabetes, should you stop eating bread, rice and pasta? While everyone with diabetes (and pre-diabetes) benefits from eliminating processed grains from their diet (foods like white rice, cold cereals, white bread and snack foods), some individuals benefit from avoiding whole grain products as well. Others can lose weight and normalize blood sugar levels while still enjoying grains. However, if you eat grains, it’s important to be picky about the type and portion size of the grains you choose.
Individuals who have difficulty losing weight and controlling blood sugar levels sometimes benefit from eliminating all grains, including whole grains, from their diets for a while. Whole and processed grains contain an easily digested type of starch that can trigger spikes in blood sugar levels after meals, leading to weight gain and many of the complications of diabetes. Some people find that they can add whole grains back into their diets after they reach their weight and blood sugar goals.
Others with diabetes can maintain good health while still enjoying grains, but find that it is important to eat only whole grains, and in moderate quantities. Serving grains as a side dish, or about ¼ of a meal, is a helpful strategy that lends itself to healthy weight management and blood sugar control.
So what are whole grains and why are they nutritionally superior to processed grains? All true grains, including rice, wheat, barley and corn, are seeds that come from different types of grasses. A whole grain consists of three basic components: an outer layer called the bran, a st Continue reading

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Statin Drugs Linked with Parkinson's Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes

"Scientists concluded that statin medications were associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease."
Despite their success as multi-billion dollar cholesterol medications, statins have been shown to increase the risk of the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson's. The list of statin drug-induced disorders also includes diabetes, cataracts, liver and kidney failure, memory loss, muscle damage, pneumonia and immune suppression. These are all a heavy price to pay for the drug management of cholesterol. While not everyone experiences these adverse effects, it should pose some serious questions about the ubiquitous use of these meds and the desire to put everyone on them. More important, it hopefully propels you into a direction of self-empowerment with health management.
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Statins and Parkinson's Disease
The reports of Parkinson's disease associated with cholesterol lowering statin medications have been making subdued headlines for a few years. Recently, studies have made significant headline news that challenges the dogma that statins help prevent and reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. The International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society and the June 2017 Movement Disorders journal published a retrospective case-controlled study. After a large database analysis, scientists concluded that statin medications, especially lipophilic statins like Lipitor were associated with higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. The greatest risk of the disease developing occurred within a year, after starting the medication. Those who were on the lipophi Continue reading

Why the Glycemic Index Fails for Many People with Diabetes

As simple as it seems, most doctors and dietitians still don't tell people with diabetes that the carbohydrate content of the food they eat is what raises their blood sugar and that lowering their carbohydrate intake will lower their blood sugar.
Instead, they recommend the so called "good carbs" which are those which are low on the "Glycemic Index," chief of which are what they call "Healthy whole grains," like whole wheat bread, brown rice, pasta, and oatmeal.
If you look any of these foods up in your handy carb counter--you DO have a carb counter, I hope!--you will see they all contain a lot of carbohydrate. Two ounces of whole wheat bread--one thin slice--generally contain around 29 grams of carbohydrate and how many people only eat one slice?
A single ounce of dry oatmeal contains 18 grams, but what most people consider a full serving is at least twice that size. Two ounces of low glycemic pasta contain around 56 grams of carb, but again, two ounces is a very small amount--about 1/3 of what most people consider a normal portion of pasta.
If you measure your blood sugar for several hours after eating a normal serving of whole wheat bread or oatmeal you will see a spike, possibly a very high spike well over 200 mg/dl. You may have to measure your blood sugar 4 hours after eating pasta to see the spike it causes because of how slowly it digests, but eventually it does digest, and if you keep testing you will see it cause a spike, too.
So what's going on here?
The answer is that the glycemic index only works for people who have a normal second phase insulin response. If yo Continue reading

Should You Eat Cereal for Breakfast If You Have Diabetes?

We've heard countless times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day—it can help jump start metabolism, prevent food cravings, and help people lose weight. The most common complaint of "non breakfast eaters" is that they don't have time in the morning to eat and that they are looking for quick breakfast ideas. Therefore, people often ask me, "Can I eat cold cereal for breakfast?" While it's probably better to eat something for breakfast than nothing at all, cold cereal is typically not the best choice for someone with diabetes who is trying to lose weight.
The reason is multifactorial.
First off, studies have shown that those persons with diabetes tend to have better blood sugars and weight control when starting the day with a higher fat, higher protein, lower carbohydrate breakfast. Protein and fat tend to be more satiating which can keep you feel full for longer, typically resulting in less overall calorie intake. In addition, blood sugars tend to rise higher after breakfast and many people are resistant to insulin in the morning which can also cause blood sugars to spike. Elevated blood sugars may cause additional carbohydrate cravings, which can lead to excess calorie and carbohydrate intake, often resulting in excess sugar in the blood.
Secondly, many people overeat cereal which can lead to excess calorie and carbohydrate intake. A single serving of cereal is about 3/4 cup. Three-fourths cup of cereal will generally cost you about 120 calories and 24 g of carbohydrate.
This amount of carbohydrates is equivalent to eating almost 2 slices of bread and this Continue reading

3 Healthy, Balanced, and Filling Recipes for People with Diabetes

Many people with diabetes reach for oatmeal to start their day. Why oatmeal? Because it is a good source of soluble fiber and also has a small amount of fat. As a component of a diabetes-friendly breakfast, these characteristics will help with both glucose and morning appetite control. Seasonal fruit or frozen fruit can be substituted in all recipes, but watch out for added sugar.
These three recipes, as well as other breakfast ideas for diabetics, are well balanced, providing plenty of nutrition while never skimping on taste.
Trail Mix Oatmeal
1/4 cup granola
8 pecan halves, chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup cooked oatmeal
Add granola, pecans, raisins, and cinnamon to a bowl of hot cooked oatmeal and stir.
(444 calories, 9 grams fiber, 3 grams saturated fat)
Berry Almond Crunch Oatmeal
1 cup fresh raspberries
6 almonds, chopped
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 cup skim milk
Add raspberries and almonds to a bowl of hot cooked oatmeal and stir. If raspberries seem tart or are not in season, consider adding a teaspoon of sugar substitute. Serve with a glass of skim milk.
(395 calories, 14 grams fiber, 1 gram saturated fat)
Banana Nut Oatmeal
1 small banana, diced
4 walnut halves, chopped
1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 cup skim milk
Add banana and walnuts to a bowl of hot cooked oatmeal and stir. Serve with a glass of skim milk.
(377 calories, 7 grams fiber, 1 gram saturated fat) Continue reading