Diabetes is not just about your body…

Recently I replied to a girl that wanted to know if someone could make her care about her Diabetes. At 16 her HBA1C was running over 10%. The HBA1C test checks the blood to see how much of it is sugar and looks at this information over the life of your blood cells or about 3 to 6 months. A normal reading is about 5.0% and 7.0% if you have Diabetes.

You may not realize that caring about your Diabetes is mental. It’s about having a good support system and a desire for a full and healthy life. When you have high blood sugar the problems don’t show up for years. Since blood goes everywhere in your body and high sugar levels interfere with your body’s ability to heal itself, you will be looking at vision problems, circulation problems like not experiencing feeling in your extremities, your organs will be impacted (heart, liver, kidneys, not to mention your giblets :)) AND it can impact your SEX LIFE.

My response to the 16 year old that doesn’t care anymore…”if you are writing this so others can see it means that you do care and that’s a great first step. If your family and friends are not providing the right support level then maybe it’s time to seek additional support. Find a diabetes support group in your area or a counselor that understands the issues and can help you understand them better.”

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general informational purposes only. Granola Gourmet does not treat, cure or prevent diabetes or any disease, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Insulin the Miracle Cure

No matter if you are a type 1 or type 2 Diabetic, or if you have Gestational Diabetes, Insulin is the miracle cure. Sure there are many different types of pills that you can take to manage your Diabetes, but none matter if there is no Insulin present.

When I was originally diagnosed with sugar readings over 4 times normal, I knew nothing about Insulin and all the different treatment options available. My Dr. put me on Insulin and right away my blood glucose readings were under control within a week. It was amazing and today I am grateful that in 1921 scientists at the University of Toronto discovered insulin.

In 1923 when insulin production began the lives of millions of people were changed. We finally had a treatment which enabled us to live longer and improved the quality of our lives. The life expectancy of a person with diabetes increased from 1 year to years. I think that many of us take for granted the scientific research and investments made that have impacted the lives of people with diabetes.

Frankly, I’m glad we can take it for granted but we need to remember that since 20% of our population is either diabetic or at risk this is a problem we must face head on!

Back to Basics

Every so often we all need to get back to basics. Simple blocking and tackling is really what I’m referring to. If you are Diabetic (20% of us are Prediabetic or Diabetic, 7% of us are Diabetic) than that means thinking about how to reduce sugar intake.

Is it really that simple…NO, it’s not. Sugar is only one part of the equation. Anything you eat impacts your blood sugar. Even things you would not expect like celery sticks! So, how do you keep it simple when this is a complex problem to manage?

You do what most diets tell you to do. You eat lean meats (chicken and fish), you eat plenty of veggies and as many of them raw as possible. Now I know you are thinking raw, why raw? Simple (again with simple) yes it is simple, you derive more benefit from the vegetables when they still have all the enzymes and over 118 degrees you lose much of those benefits. Another simple reason is that your body must work harder to digest raw vegetables than cooked soft veggies. This means that they convert to sugar in your blood slower.

Let’s face it, it does not matter what you want (once in a while) if you do what you need to do to stay healthy EVERY DAY. Sure it’s challenging, but you can do it. Eat smart and enjoy your longer healthier life.

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs – Simple Carbs

Just because something is simple, is that reason enough to use it? In my last post, I discussed Complex Carbs and we found that not all complex carbs are desirable for a diabetic. Now it’s time to take a look at Simple Carbs.

Simple Carbs are basically simple sugars. These sugars are easy to break down in your body and turn to sugar in your blood quickly. The simple answer to this is don’t eat them. That’s not always easy. After all it’s summer and my favorite fruits are ripe, sweet and delicious. Peaches, Nectarines, Cherries…

All are delicious and all have simple sugars that break down quickly. Not that I don’t enjoy my share of complex carbs in the summer but broccoli and other veggies just don’t give me the same joy of summer. So what do we do when we are tempted by summer fruits. After all our whole lives everyone has told us to eat our fruits and veggies. Aren’t all of these “healthy” foods good for us?

I wish! Clearly we are back to moderation and intake management. Since fruits contain simple sugars that convert to blood sugar quickly, how can I reduce the impact. This is not as difficult as it seems. Go ahead and PLAN to have a sweet juicy peach, just eat some protein and fat first and eat that peach right after. Remember by eating foods that take longer to convert to sugar along with foods that convert quickly you MAY be able to reduce the impact of simple sugars on your body.

How will you know? Test your blood! Always remember to test your blood and you’ll know if you can enjoy these delicious summer fruits.

Good Carb, Bad Carb

The key difference between a good or bad carbohydrate is the speed in which it converts to sugar in your blood!

Good carbs convert slowly. They make your body work harder to be digested and they have a measured sugar conversion that does not cause a sugar or insulin spike. These are often considered complex carbs. Some examples of complex carbs are Oats, Wheat, Whole Grains, Beans, Potato, Rice among others.

Complex carbs do not always convert slowly. They ARE NOT always good carbs. The following are a list of complex carbs I MUST NOT eat: Flour (any kind, don’t be fooled because it’s from a complex carb), Whole Wheat Pasta, Potato (Mashed and Baked are the worst), Rice (even brown).

Think about it, when you hydrate or soften a food it breaks down in your body faster. I’ve tested my sugar with all of these items and when your meter says 300 you know you are doing damage. There are many great choices that you can make today. Complex carbs are better than simple carbs if you are eating them in their most natural state. That would be unprocessed! Processing the food usually makes it easier to digest and so they turn to sugar in your blood much more quickly.

Bottom line – TEST YOUR BLOOD SUGAR!

Food Diary – Weight Loss on Steroids?

For years I’ve been watching my weight. It has a big impact on my diabetes. When I’m on a formal program that requires a food diary I do it for a week or two and quit. I’ll follow a meal plan but never keep a diary.

This week a study of 1700 people for 6 months showed that keeping a food diary leads to better weight loss. In fact the participants that kept a diary lost twice as much weight as those that did not. I’ve watched my mother in law keep diaries of everything in her life for years. I always thought she was just being compulsive and it was a little nutty. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s time for me to consider using a food diary? Maybe it’s not nuts after all?

Keeping a record of our food is probably one of the best things we can do. What do you think? Since I live on the computer today, it should not be that hard to keep and store this information.

Low Glycemic Diets

Every time I talk to someone about foods that are Low Glycemic there is confusion. Lately I’ve started looking at moving to focused Low Glycemic diet and have been evaluating several. The main theme I have found is a focus on protein and away from sugar and carbs.

While I agree that this will certainly support a Low Glycemic diet, I also have found much confusion about the Glycemic Index and how foods impact your blood sugar. This topic requires a diabetic that tests their blood sugar in order to truly determine what food is or is not having a Low Glycemic Impact.

I define Low Glycemic Impact as the actual impact that food has on YOUR body. Different foods impact people differently. Since diabetics test their blood sugar monthly it is common for us to actually see the Glycemic Impact. As a diabetic looking to have a sugar reading of 100 as a target we know that when we eat something and the reading goes to 200 that is bad.

People often come up to me at the Market and ask about the carb count in our granola bars. Some say how can these be Low Glycemic when they have 22 grams of Carbohydrates? A great question and one that requires a great answer, fortunately I have one.

When you combine all the ingredients your body has to digest them all at the same time. Our ingredients are very low on the Glycemic Index, but we do things with our recipe that help make the bars even lower. A great example of this is how we treat the oats we use differently than you do with oatmeal. Oatmeal is hydrated when it is cooked. This makes it easier to break down in your body. Our oats are not hydrated, in fact we remove as much of the moisture as possible. This makes your body work harder to digest it.

We also replace the sugar with Agave which is super low on the Glycemic Index and Honey which is much lower than sugar on the index as well.

The point is that when you look into Glycemic Index you need to look deeper than just at the carb or sugar count. Look a the product and test your blood sugar. I recommend when you test your sugar you take a fasting reading and then eat the food item. Test every 30 minutes for 2 hours and you will know what the Glycemic Impact is for YOU!

Bagels or Donuts, which is better for a Diabetic?

My family is addicted to bagels. They would all have a bagel for breakfast everyday if they were in the house. As a diabetic this is clearly not a good choice for me, but I’ve learned how to cut a sliver off the bagel (careful it’s not so easy) and enjoy a quarter of one every once in a while.

Bagels today have over 50 carbs each and I know you can’t just take half, can you? It’s tough to do and the fact is that if you are going to eat a whole bagel, you may as well have a donut or two. Why? Simple, because as a person with diabetes you are going to be spiking your blood sugar in the next 30 minutes and if you are going to do it with a bagel, you may as well aim for a diabetic coma and really enjoy your sin

OK, maybe that’s a little over the edge. After all most of us won’t slip into a diabetic coma after a bagel or donut, but your sugar will become uncontrollable and you will pay for it. If you really want to cheat ask yourself if you are prepared to deal with the consequences of high blood sugar.

If you become sleepy when your sugar spikes, make sure you have your night cap on.

Weight Loss another Miracle Cure?

Weight loss is a concern for a majority of Americans. Haven’t you heard…we are all overweight and at risk of becomming Diabetic. Seriously though, so many of us are trying to lose, control, or maintain our weight.

I go through the ups and downs of weight control every quarter. Part of the issue is mental and the other part is physical.

To lose or even maintain weight my mind has to be on that track. I’ve found over the years that it is not hard to derail my weight goals. For me much of the problem is that I eat too much. I usually eat the right foods, however overeating will always cause a weight problem.

Physically, I know that I must also move. This doesn’t require a huge amount of effort, but I need to walk. Walking has it’s own challenges. It’s too hot, or I don’t want to walk alone, or I don’t feel like going to the gym… Now you’ve seen the side of me that is more focused on the challenges than challenging and overcoming the problem.

So… today I am committing to you to be more dilligent about walking and to manage the quantities of my food. As part of this effort I’ll also report back with periodic updates. So, if you see me out and about, feel free to let me know you are watching my progress I’m sure it will have an impact on my results.

Deception – What foods I cheat for

We deceive others every day, but in doing so we know that the truth is always right there on our blood glucose meter. I always have in the back of my mind that if I take enough insulin or take a walk I’ll be keep my sugar from rising uncontrollably.

I’m a real carboholic and sometimes find that there are no good choices around that “I WANT”. It’s not that I don’t want to be good and eat the right foods. Over 90% of the time I do. The problem I have is that I eat too much of the right food, or I decide (10% of the time) to purposely eat the wrong food. I know I’m not alone. I talk to diabetics all the time and we cheat!

Two recent incidents I’ll share. We went to the movies as a family. Everyone loves the treats there. Popcorn, Candy, etc… I broke the rules and brought granola bars. Yes, I’m confessing but I would not have to if AMC sold some kind of healthy treat that I could eat. I started out snacking on my granola bars, but degraded when the kids brought popcorn back to the seats. This was not awful, I did limit myself to a few handfuls which satisfied me and did not throw my blood sugar as off track as it would have if I hadn’t eaten granola bars.

A second digression; Every Thursday we sell our granola bars at the Newhall Farmers Market. There are always temptations there. I am usually pretty good at avoiding them. This week was an exception. It actually didn’t happen there. My kids traded granola bars for baklava and lots of it! I love baklava. I saw it when we got home. I avoided it on Thursday. Friday night came and there was plenty left and so I took one. Oh, it was so good…so…I took another! An hour later my mouth was dry so I tested my sugar, 216 OUCH! But, it was so good. I usually satisfy my cravings with granola bars but sometimes it’s worth the pain. I took extra insulin, got back under control and keep this as a reminder not to overdo the treats when I do go off the sugar wagon.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general informational purposes only. Granola Gourmet does not treat, cure or prevent diabetes or any disease, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Granola Gourmet Low Glycemic Energy Bars

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