Food To Control / Prevent Diabetes

Food & Diet Information About Diabetes

Diabetes is a national health crisis. Our food and diets are contributing to the diabetic health crisis.  Diabetes is actually a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar or glucose.  Glucose is your body’s main source of energy and is required for daily functions. It is your body’s main fuel.  There are a lot of complicated definitions and information about diabetes and yet the simplest definition of diabetes, no matter what type you have is: there is too much glucose in the blood.

The reason for this can be varied. There are some risk factors that may contribute to your chances of developing diabetes. The two biggest risk factors are being overweight and an inactive lifestyle, coupled with a high sugar diet. According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 23.6 million people living with diabetes in the United States and another 57 million living in a pre-diabetic state. 22% of those are children or young adults under 20 years old.

Diabetes is currently number 7 in the most-often listed causes of death on death certificates in the United States. This number does not take into account those who die from diabetes complications such as kidney disease or stroke, thus not listing diabetes as the cause of death.  Our food and our diet are much to blame.  Here are some simple diabetic food switches that will impact your health.

Sample Diabetic Food Switches To Control / Prevent Diabetes

These simple switches will assist in the control of your diabetes. A long-term lifestyle of eating according to these samples may even prevent the occurrence of diabetes.  Some people who have completed the 6 Weeks To The New You healthy diet program have actually reduced or gotten off of their medications through the sample menus included in the program.

A Diabetic Meal Plan

While these 4 tips sound simple on the surface, it is obvious that it is not that easy to change your life and create a meal plan that is good for your diabetes.  There is no doubt that keeping your weight under control will help to control or prevent diabetes.  Anyone eating like the simple plan listed above will reduce their chances of being overweight in the first place, and therefore the risk of diabetes will be reduced as well.   These food changes will assist in keeping the weight off and also lower your risk of diabetic-related issues in and of themselves.

6 Week Diabetic Diet

The 6 Weeks To The New You diet program has allowed many successful weight loss winners to bring their blood sugars in line and some have even reduced or totally eliminated their diabetic medicines.  Food choices play a huge role in your weight and therefore in your diabetes.  With the 6 Weeks To The New You natural weight loss program you receive small step-by-step changes that will guide you to a healthier YOU!  This diet is perfect for diabetics.  It incorporates all of the small changes mentioned above into your life one day at a time so that you have a eating plan, a sample meal plan, a living plan and a new way of life that keeps you healthy for the rest of your life.

How To Cook Sweet Potatoes-Healthy Recipe

Grilled Sweet Potatoes Are The Best

I love grilled sweet potatoes.  Nothing gets any easier or tastier than a sweet potato and a chicken breast for a quick grilled summer (healthy) supper.  Anytime you can eat a sweet potato instead of a white potato, DO IT!

Sweet Potatoes = The Best Healthy Carb

Sweet potatoes are one of the best carbohydrates you can consume. Some nutritionists even include them in the superfoods group. The reason that sweet potatoes are so good for you is that they are almost a balanced meal in themselves.

Sweet potatoes are a healthy choice because they are a good source of:

• Potassium – a mineral that helps to control blood pressure
• Vitamin B6 – good for your blood vessels as well as reducing the risk of heart disease
• Antioxidants – known to fight aging
• Sweet potatoes are a good source of manganese, a mineral that helps with carbohydrate metabolism, making sweet potatoes a better choice for diabetics.

In addition, sweet potatoes are complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber.  This means that the carbs are delivered to the blood stream gradually, which is another benefit for diabetics.  Because they are high fiber, sweet potatoes fill you up, so you eat moderately.

How To Cook A Sweet Potato

The easiest way to cook a sweet potato is either bake it or grill it.  This is a very simple recipe for either baking or grilling your sweet potatoes.

1. Wash the sweet potatoes
2. Drizzle with a good oil like grape seed or olive oil
3. Sprinkle with a nice sea salt or other coarse grain salt
4. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper
5. Sprinkle with an herb blend or a fresh herb of your own (Tonight I used the garlic herb blend from WildTree Herbs. they also carry grape seed oil which is a GOOD oil.)
6. Bake in a 375 * oven until done OR grill on a medium grill until done.

I find that the easiest thing to do is make a few extra every time I fire up the grill or oven, so there are leftovers for lunch or eating in a hurry.  Note: cooking time varies depending on the size of the potato.

Eat Like A Caveman! Eating Healthy Foods!!

Caveman Foods Are Healthy!!

In prehistoric times, humans could eat well during warm months, store excess calories as fat, and thus survive during colder months. They cooked food over coals (grit/ash in food) and used salt/fat to preserve food for cold months.  There was no concern with whether they were eating high fat or high salt consumption. Cavemen (and women) had no concern at all as to whether their  foods were healthy.

Food, cooking tools and cooking techniques have evolved since the days of the healthy caveman’s diet. Now food is tastier and more readily available.  In the 21st century, food is entertainment and the fact that it is no longer healthy is secondary.

No Concerns Over Healthy Food Facts

Culinary arts really started to develop in the late 1800s and early 1900s,  when the emphasis on preparing food to appreciate taste became the “in” thing to do. At that time, like in the days of the cave people, there was no concern over whether the food was healthy or not.  Escoffier (founding father of modern culinary techniques) and the chefs on the Titanic did not study the nutritional facts of the foods they were serving.   The Titanic food service, the French cuisine that Escoffier is famous for, and other culinary examples were the beginning of the culinary entertainment industry. It is only in the past one hundred or so years that new techniques in preparation & presentation have been used to entertain and to impress friends and dinner guests.

Scientists began to study the effects of food on the body in the 20th century.  Now more than ever the “entertainment” facet of food is beginning to affect our health!

Simple Healthy Fruit & Nut Coleslaw Recipe

The following recipe is a simple, healthy good-for-you coleslaw recipe that uses ingredients that are closer to what the cave people used.

Low Fat Coleslaw

6 cup shredded cabbage
1 carrot-peeled and shredded
¼ cup slivered red onion

½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup orange concentrate
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. sea salt

½ cup toasted pecans
1 quart strawberries

1. Combine first 3 ingredients.
2. Combine next 4 ingredients.
3. Allow to sit overnight or several hours.
4. Before service: toss with chicken, grapes and bleu cheese and serve over lettuce cups.