Diabetes Hits Us Hard.
02/13/2008Unfortunately, it’s been a few months since I posted to this site. My personal life perpetually gets in the way, but I’ve always tried to keep things up to date and talk about food in some way. Because I love food. I adore it. It’s tasty.
Which is where my issues are now starting. Three weeks ago, after a few visits to the doctor, we’ve all discovered that I have type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is a condition where your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin, or the insulin that your body produces is no longer as effective as it’s supposed to be. Insulin is the stuff that lowers your blood glucose level. So, why would this inhibit my ability to still love food? Well, I still do love food, but I have to change the way I eat drastically, and sometimes it’s difficult to talk about food you don’t eat. It’s also why you’ll never read me writing about seafood, but that’s another story…
So yeah, diabetes – how does that affect what I can eat? Diabetics need to minimize their sugar intake in order to manage their blood glucose. Refined sugar wreaks havoc on your blood glucose levels. Sugar is glucose. Higher sugar intake equals higher blood glucose levels – and it happens very quickly, too. But, sugar isn’t the only thing that I need to bee mindful of. Your body does cool stuff with foods – it takes all sorts of stuff and converts it into energy for you to move, breathe, think, blog – whatever. Carbohydrates are another item in food that I have to be mindful of. My nutritionist recommended that I have around 4 carb choices per meal, which is about 60 grams of carbs, but I’ve found that my body won’t let me eat that many. So, for now, I eat about 15-30 grams of carbs for breaktfast, about 30 for lunch, and about 45 for dinner and that helps me keep my blood glucose under control. I also need to be mindful of foods with lactose, which it converted to sugar in your body. Of course, there are caveats to all of these items. I need to eat “good” carbs, and unrefined sugars (if any) – these items are important, but I need to be careful about them.
So, what is good for me to eat? Well, protien is good, except that it’s usually coupled with fats, too. Fats are okay, but I need to be cautious because more “bad” fats will raise my cholesterol, which is never a good thing. So, I need to eat protein in moderation. And “good” fats are good for me, but there are few things high in omega three fats. Almonds, I’ve been told, are a good way to get omega three acids that aren’t fish. Fish are another option, if you’re able to eat them. And with more protein and less carbs, it’s recommended that I eat more fiber, too. Fiber will not only help keep me regular, it also helps buffer the absorbtion of the carbs and sugars that I do eat.
So protein, fats, and fiber are three good things, all in moderation. Carbs, sugars, lactose are three bad things, but are necessary in strict moderation. That’s my diet, in a nutshell.
Yes, this is mostly simplified. I’m not a food scientist or a nutritionist – I’m merely a geek – so, this is not entirely complete, but they’re the rough guidelines I’m working in right now. It has certainly helped lower my blood sugar levels. But, it’s also affected what I can and can’t eat. Most of anything that I’d like to eat, I can’t ;-p
Weinr is still all about food, but we’re going to talk about other aspects of it. We’re still Food Network junkies
and religiously watch Iron Chef America, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and anything else that’s a good show. We’re still going to blog about that stuff, and you’ll probably see some things about diabetic-friendly recipes. Things are just a little undefined right now, so please bear with us. I’d also love to hear about suggestions from anyone, or even a guest blogger or three. So, if you want to write about stuff, please let us know in the comments of this post and we’ll figure something out. Thanks for reading!
Categories : Diabetes, Weinr
