Diabetes Health Talk

People with type 2 diabetes who are trying to bulk up on fiber may need to pay closer attention to their calcium intake as well, a small study suggests.

When 13 diabetics doubled their fiber intake, the study participants began to excrete less calcium in their urine — a sign that their body’s calcium absorption had declined, the researchers observed.

Fiber is known to help lower cholesterol, improve blood sugar control and maintain bowel regularity; and adults are advised to get roughly 25 grams or more each day.

But these latest findings suggest that poorer calcium absorption may the trade-off, the researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care.

“Because more calcium equals better bone health, we recommend that people on high-fiber diets talk to their physician about increasing their dietary calcium as well, in order to get the most benefit from both,” senior researcher Dr. Abhimanyu Garg, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said in a written statement.

He added that it is important to consult a doctor or dietitian first because excessive calcium can cause kidney stones.

The findings are based on 13 middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes who each consumed 50 grams of fiber per day for 6 weeks, followed by 24 grams per day over another 6-week period.

Garg’s team found that when participants were on the higher-fiber diet, their calcium excretion declined. Some studies, the researchers note, have suggested that dietary fiber binds with certain minerals, forming “complexes” that cannot be absorbed.

Garg suggested that people try foods that provide both fiber and calcium, such as spinach, broccoli, figs, papaya, beans and artichokes.

I would use Dreamfields low carb lasagna sheets. Dreamfields Pasta is a great boon for diabetis and those watching their carb intake.

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna
(makes 6 servings)

olive oil cooking spray
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, 4 ounces (120 g), chopped
1 28-ounce (793 g) crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5ml) dried basil
1 teaspoon (5 ml ) fennel, crushed
1 teaspoon (5 ml ) dried orange rind*
1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) crushed red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce (425 g) container low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 pound zucchini (240 g), grated and squeezed of excess liquid
2 small carrots, 4 ounces (120 g ), grated
1/2 cup (120 ml) egg substitute
1 cup (120 g) shredded skim milk mozzarella cheese, plus 1/4 cup (30 g) for garnish (optional)
2 tablespoons (15 g) grated Romano cheese, plus 1 teaspoon (2.5 g) for garnish (optional)
6 oven-ready lasagna noodles

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), Gas Mark 4.
Spray a non-stick covered pot with cooking spray. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, fennel, orange rind, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a slow simmer, cover and cook while you ready the rest of the ingredients.
Place the ricotta in a large bowl. Fold in the grated zucchini and carrots. Stir in the egg substitute, grated mozzarella and finally the Romano cheese. Set aside.
Prepare an 8-inch (20 cm) oven-proof square pan by spreading 3 to 4 tablespoons of the tomato sauce on the bottom. Place 2 lasagna noodles on the bottom. Spread with 1/3 of the cheese and vegetable mixture and top with 1/3 of tomato sauce. Repeat making 3 layers, ending with tomato sauce. Top with reserved mozzarella and Romano.
Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil which you tent a bit to make sure it does not touch the cheese on top. Make sure to crimp around the edges of the pan. Bake for 1 hour, uncovering the last 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to set for 10 minutes before cutting.
Per serving: 260 calories (26% calories from fat), 19 g protein, 7 g total fat (4.2 g saturated fat), 29 g carbohydrate, 4 g dietary fiber, 30 mg cholesterol, 426 mg sodium
Diabetic exchanges: 2 lean protein (meat), 2 vegetable

From the ADA:Autumn brings out many of the nutrition stars of starchy vegetables such as winter squash and pumpkin. If you think starches are forbidden foods for people with diabetes…read on.

Many people with diabetes choose to avoid most foods containing carbohydrate such as fruit, starches and grains, dairy products and sweets. Is it necessary for managing diabetes? No, it isn’t. You don’t have to take a low-carb approach to managing diabetes unless you want to.

Research has shown that there are many ways to manage diabetes and one size does not fit all. Types of meal planning that have been researched and shown effective for managing diabetes include:

Low-fat (including vegetarian)
Moderate to low carbohydrate
Obviously, there are no hard and fast rules. Many diabetes nutrition experts are against meal plans that eliminate healthful foods such as legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables because these foods are associated with lower risk for developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and some cancers.

So what to do? The bottom line is to think about how you eat now and make improvements to make your diet more healthful. Everyone should eat as many non-starchy vegetables as possible for the nutrients they provide with only very small amounts of carbohydrate.

To manage diabetes while still enjoying starchy foods follow these tips:

For the plate method, limit starches to 1/4 of your plate. This is about 1/2 to 1 cup of a starchy food or 2 slices of bread.
For carb counters, stick to about 45-60 grams of total carbohydrate per meal (including fruits and dairy too).
Choose whole grain starches, starchy vegetables and legumes instead of refined carbohydrates and sweets.

Saw this on the American Diabetes Association web page and had to post. With a name like that, how could one resist?

Notes: Spread the cream cheese on both slices of bread. Sprinkle one slice with the cranberries. Use a knife to press them into the bread. Place the spinach on the other slice. Add the turkey and close your sandwich.

Number of Servings: 1
Serving Size:
Today’s recipe is brought to you by:

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Ingredients Measure Weight
Boar’s Head Hickory Smoked Black Forest Turkey Breast 3 oz —
Whole wheat bread 2 slices —
cream cheese, low-fat 1 1/2 Tbsp —
cranberry, dried & sweetened 1 1/2 Tbsp —
fresh baby spinach 1/4 oz —

Preparation Instructions

Assemble ingredients into a sandwich.

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Not all recipes presented here are necessarily appropriate for all people with diabetes, nor will all recipes fit into every meal plan. No two meal plans are alike. Work with your health care provider, diabetes educator or dietitian to design a meal plan that’s right for you, and includes the foods you love. A key message for people with diabetes is “Carbs Count.” Foods high in carbs (carbohydrates) — bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, potatoes, corn, peas, sweets — raise your blood glucose levels the most.

For many people, having 3 or 4 servings of a carb choice at each meal and 1 or 2 servings at snacks is about right. Keep an eye on your total number of servings. For example, if you choose to have dessert, cut back on potatoes.

Round out your meals with a serving of:

Meat (such as fish or chicken) or meat substitute (such as beans, eggs, cheese, and tofu) about the size of a deck of cards and

Non-starchy vegetables (such as broccoli or lettuce). If you have three (3) or more servings of non-starchy vegetables, count them as a carbohydrate choice. Three (3) servings is equal to 1 1/2 cups of cooked vegetables, or three (3) cups of raw vegetables.
Check your blood glucose to see how your food choices or these recipes affect your blood glucose. If your meal plan isn’t working for you, talk to your dietitian about making a new one.

Along with exercise and medications (insulin or oral diabetes pills), nutrition is important for good diabetes management. By eating well-balanced meals in the correct amounts, you can keep your blood glucose level as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible.

The recipes on this page are only a part of what is offered in recipe books from the American Diabetes Association. Many also include information on meal planning, portion control, food buying and seasoning, as well as general cooking hints and tips for people with diabetes.

Basic rules for diabetics when drinking alcohol

Follow these guidelines to avoid low blood sugar levels when you drink:

Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach.
Limit yourself to 1 drink if you’re a woman or 2 drinks if you are a man.
Alcohol affects your body’s ability to get over a low blood sugar level. If you have low blood sugar, you may need to treat it more than once as time goes by. If you’ve been drinking, check your blood sugar before you go to sleep. Eat a snack before you retire to avoid a low blood sugar reaction while you sleep.

A warning: glucagon shots don’t help severe low blood glucose caused by drinking. Glucagon shots treat very severe low blood glucose reactions caused by too much insulin. Glucagon works by getting your liver to release more glucose into your blood. But alcohol stops this process. You need to be able to treat your reaction with a carbohydrate, such as oral glucose tablets or gels. So you need to avoid letting a low blood glucose level become severe. If you pass out, you will need glucose injected into your bloodstream by a health care professional.

Beer Belly Blues

Although an occasional drink may not hurt your blood sugar control, it can harm your eating plan if your goal is weight loss. Two light beers equal about 200 extra calories. Alcohol is called empty calories because it does not give you any nutrients.

If you are on a low-calorie meal plan, think twice about adding alcohol.

When Alcohol Is a Poor Choice

Some people with diabetes should not drink alcohol. Alcohol can make some diabetic problems worse.

If you have nerve damage from diabetes in your arms or legs, drinking can make it worse. Alcohol is toxic to nerves. Drinking can increase the pain, burning, tingling, numbness, and other symptoms found with nerve damage. Some studies show that even regular light drinking (less than two drinks per week) can bring on nerve damage.

Heavy drinking (3 or more drinks per day) may make diabetic eye disease worse. If you have high blood pressure, you can lower it if you stop drinking alcohol.

Many people with diabetes have high levels of the fat called triglyceride in their blood. If you do, you should not drink alcohol. Alcohol affects how the liver clears fat from the blood. Alcohol also spurs the liver on to make more triglycerides. Even light drinking (two 4-ounce glasses of wine a week) can raise triglyceride levels.

No matter what your ethnic background or where you call home, Americans all have their own versions of home cooking that nourishes not only their body but their soul.

Traditional foods tend to be high in fat and starchy carbohydrates or both!

Whether it is macaroni and cheese, lasagna, cornbread, pork barbeque, beef stew or homemade breads, pies and cakes, challenges are ever present when living with diabetes. But it can be done.

Changing a few ingredient choices here and watching portion sizes there, you can drastically lower your risk of heart disease while still loving the taste of your food.

If portions are the problem and you’re already on track with what you eat, try creating your plate to keep it simple.

Think vegetables first and fill ½ your plate with them.

Want to have the cornbread? Then lay off the rice or starchy vegetables.

Only ¼ of your plate is for the meat . . . so keep your portion small.

Mixed dishes are where it gets a little tough especially when you are talking about your favorite home cooked favorites like lasagna and vegetable casseroles. For figuring out mixed dishes, always look at what is in it. If you have lasagna with noodles and meat, it is your starch and meat for the meal.

For vegetable casseroles – take away half of your starch if the dish contains bread crumbs, rice or other starch or cream soups. You can fill in your plate with extra non-starchy vegetables.

Add some fruit or light yogurt for dessert and you are ready to enjoy!

A new animal study may help explain why diets high in the sugar fructose have been linked to insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.

Scientists found that a particular gene, known as PGC-1 beta, appears to play a key role in the development of insulin resistance in response to a high-fructose diet. Rats that had the gene’s activity blocked were protected from insulin resistance despite feasting on a diet loaded with fructose.

A sweetener known as high-fructose corn syrup has been widely used in sodas and processed foods since the 1980s, and some researchers have blamed this trend at least in part for the concurrent rise in obesity and diabetes.

The authors of the current report, in the journal Cell Metabolism, explain that some studies have shown that fructose is metabolized differently than glucose is, being more readily converted into fat.

Other studies have linked diets heavy in high-fructose corn syrup to elevated risks of high triglycerides (a type of blood fat), fat buildup in the liver, and insulin resistance, note Dr. Gerald Shulman and colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine.

For their study on the genetic underpinnings of fructose-induce insulin resistance, they zeroed in on PGC-1 beta because it activates another gene that governs the production of fat by the liver.

When the researchers blocked the gene’s activity in rats fed a high-fructose diet, the animals did not develop insulin resistance and elevated triglycerides.

The implication, according to Shulman’s team, is that inhibiting PGC-1 beta could help treat some cases of high triglycerides, fatty liver disease and insulin resistance. Much more research remains to be done, however..

You’ve heard that you will eat more during meals if you watch TV. But could it cause you to eat more later on, too?

Yep, that’s the sneaky little result of a recent study. People who ate lunch while glued to the tube did a whole lotta extra snacking later on — long after the meal, which adds unwanted pounds and raises blood glucose levels.

Memory Meltdown
The reason? Recall may have something to do with it. When women who lunched while watching a comedy show were later asked what they had for their midday meal, their recollection was fuzzy. And they also snacked on more cookies afterward, which will raise blood sugars.

The lesson? Take time to focus on what you put into your mouth so that you can remember every bite. Your memory of your most recent meal helps shape your snacking choices.

Saying Bye-Bye to Extra Bites

Try these other tips and tricks for keeping between-meal bites to a lminimum:
Rev up your heart. Regular aerobic workouts appear to dull your appetite.
Eat mini meals. That’s right: Multiple mini meals do a better job of controlling hunger throughout the day.
Choose the right fat. Some fats turn hunger on, others turn it off.

Need some choices for a great snack if you’re diabetic? You’re in luck! David Edelman of Diabetes Daily posted these good-for-you snacks (and not just for diabetics! For the complete list, see his website.

1. Peanut butter
2. Cheddar cheese
3. String cheese
4. Cottage cheese
5. Broccoli with melted cheese
6. Salad with free veggies and low-carb dressing
7. Tomato and mozzarella salad
8. Celery with peanut butter
9. Fresh strawberries or blueberries with low-fat plain yogurt
10. Veggies with hummus

Pears and apples, winter’s finest fruits, complement lean beef in this hearty stew.

Number of Servings: 6
Serving Size: 1 cup with 3-4 oz beef
Today’s recipe is brought to you by:

——————————————————————-Ingredients
canola oil 1 Tbsp —
chopped onion 1 cup —
garlic cloves, minced 3 ea —
carrots, cut into 1-inch slices 2 ea —
lean stew beef, cut into 1-inch cubes — 1 1/2 lb
low-fat, low-sodium beef broth 3 cups —
paprika 1 tsp —
fresh ground pepper and salt to taste 1 ea —
mixed pears and apples, unpeeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces 1 1/2 cups

Preparation Instructions

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the meat and brown. Drain off any accumulated fat. Add the broth, paprika, pepper and salt (if desired).
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1-1/4 hours. Add the apples and pears and cover. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes until the apples and pears are soft, but not mushy.

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This recipe is from Flavorful Seasons Cookbook, published by the American Diabetes Association. It offers great-tasting recipes for winter, spring, summer, and fall. Some dishes are perfect for one season but wrong in another. Award winner Robyn Webb assembled 400 recipes, 100 for each season, with dishes and menus for every holiday.

Not all recipes presented here are necessarily appropriate for all people with diabetes, nor will all recipes fit into every meal plan. No two meal plans are alike. Work with your health care provider, diabetes educator or dietitian to design a meal plan that’s right for you, and includes the foods you love. A key message for people with diabetes is “Carbs Count.” Foods high in carbs (carbohydrates) — bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, potatoes, corn, peas, sweets — raise your blood glucose levels the most.

For many people, having 3 or 4 servings of a carb choice at each meal and 1 or 2 servings at snacks is about right. Keep an eye on your total number of servings. For example, if you choose to have dessert, cut back on potatoes.

This is an interesting concept: For people with type 2 diabetes, diets high in either monounsaturated fatty acids or carbohydrates are good — as long as the calories they contain are limited.

Dr. Bonnie J. Brehm and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, ran a clinical trial in which 124 overweight or obese subjects with type 2 diabetes were assigned to either a diet high in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) or one high in carbohydrates for one year.

The diet plans were individualized to provide 200-300 calories per day less than calculated daily requirements, the team explains in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

After a year, 69 percent for the high-MUFA group and 84 percent for the high-carb group were still participating.

Average weight loss was similar in both groups — 4.0 kilograms (8.8 pounds) in the high-MUFA group and 3.8 kg (8.4 pounds) in the high-carb group.

There were also similar improvements in body fat, waist circumference, blood pressure, “good” HDL cholesterol, A1C, and glucose and insulin.

Among 18 participants from each group who consented to a follow-up assessment 18 months after completion of the main study, the researchers found that weight loss and A1C improvement had been maintained.

“Our study results suggest that high-MUFA diets can be healthy alternatives to conventional lower-fat diets,” Brehm and colleagues conclude. Healthcare providers with diabetic patients “can offer ongoing counseling for a variety of diets higher in either carbohydrates or MUFA while controlled in energy,” they advise.

Dropping the ‘one size fits all’ philosophy and providing diet options, they suggest, may encourage people with diabetes to stick with a reduce-calorie diet.

Picking up a few extra pounds (and raising blood sugar) in cold weather — that dreaded “winter weight gain” — is maddening. Even though your metabolism speeds up a bit to keep you warm, you can’t eat much more than you did in summer without gaining weight and those dreaded side effects from diabetes. But those oh-so-chilly temperatures make steamy comfort foods and creamy hot drinks more tempting than ever. Here’s how to satisfy your natural warming instincts and stay slim.

1. Know what really keeps you full and warm.
In a word: protein. Your body creates more heat when digesting protein than it does when digesting fats or carbohydrates. Chow down on lean chicken and turkey breast, canned tuna, fish, and shellfish. Not a meat eater? Fill up a warmed low carb wrap with sauteed low starch veggies like peppers, spinach and add some tomatoes and a sliver or two of avocado.

2. Say no to foods that make you say “brrr.”
Follow your instincts . . . they’re right. Swap cold cereal for hot oatmeal at breakfast. Have a hearty soup instead of a sandwich at lunch. Even cook your salad ingredients: At the last minute, stir “winter greens” — spinach, kale, swiss chard, collards — into stews, soups, casseroles, and scrambled eggs. Why heat before you eat? Warm foods keep the shivers away because your body doesn’t waste energy heating them up for digestion.

3. Don’t count on hot spices.
Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pepper, and cayenne pepper are considered “warming spices” because they tend to draw body heat to the surface of your skin. But when that warmth hits the surface, it quickly dissipates.

4. Switch to decaf after your first morning cup.
Ok, this may not work for me, but Real Age says Coffee may feel warm going down, but swilling cup after cup may just make you colder. That’s because caffeine has a dehydrating effect, which makes symptoms of a drop in body temperature even worse.

Craving something comforting at the coffee shop? Instead of a gingerbread latte topped with whipped cream, order a nonfat chai tea latte. It’ll warm you down to your toes, and you’ll save 130 calories and some goose bumps. At home, I’ma big saver on making my own mochas. Use strong coffee (instant is fine) a packet of sugar-free cocoa, with nonfat milk, add a drop of vanilla for extra richness, and top it with fat-free Cool Whip. You’ll feel like a kid again. A warm one, whose jeans fit.

Diabetes Forecast Looks at the Pros and Cons of Controversial Foods

Coffee, chocolate, wine — you’ve probably heard claims that these foods are actually good for you. But are they? The March issue of Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association, looks at five controversial foods and examines what science says about the pros and cons of each — and how to get the best out of all of them.

Take coffee, for example. Research suggests that coffee may help you avoid a variety of things including liver cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and gallstones. The downside, however, is that caffeine has been connected to high blood pressure , high cholesterol, and elevated post-meal blood glucose levels. An expert from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health offers perspective to understand what forms of coffee are best and how to determine the effect caffeine has on your blood glucose.

Then there’s chocolate: Forget milk and white, but dark chocolate, with its antioxidants, has been shown to improve brain function, reduce blood pressure and risk of heart attack, and lower cholesterol. Sounds like a superfood, doesn’t it? Not quite — read the advice experts share with Diabetes Forecast about getting the most out of the beneficial antioxidants in this high calorie sweet. Also, learn how to pick the best chocolate when it’s time to indulge.

Red wine, potatoes, and eggs round out the list. Some of these have been shown to improve the immune system, fight tooth decay, reduce risk of dementia, and even improve insulin sensitivity. But that doesn’t mean you should feel free to overdo it: Diabetes Forecast includes tips on how to get the best health benefits from the controversial foods you enjoy.

I could never give up my three favorite vices? coffee, chocolate and wine!

Nothing could be healthier for your heart than a plateful of raw veggies, right?

Actually, a little steam treatment could be even better. New research suggests that steaming might improve the cholesterol-lowering capabilities of certain produce. Which helps lessen diabetets effects in your body.

Lost in Digestion
When researchers tested the digestive effects of
both raw and steamed veggies — beets, okra, carrots, eggplant, green beans, asparagus, and cauliflower — something interesting happened. It’s not clear why, but the steamed veggies did a better job of binding to bile acids. And that’s a good thing. It means more bile acids get excreted, which in turn means the liver needs more bad LDL cholesterol to make bile — which means there’s less LDL circulating in your body.

Veggie Contingency Plan
Raw or steamed, your goal is to eat at least five servings of vegetables every day.

Fresh herbs add extra cell-protecting phenols to salads. To boost the nutrition in your bowl — and your belly — add sage, rosemary, marjoram, and thyme. In a recent study, these herbs added the most antioxidants to a salad (fresh marjoram leaves more than doubled the antioxidant value). For spices, cumin soared up the salad chart. Second to cumin: fresh ginger.

Which vegetables pack the strongest antioxidant punch? Artichoke, beetroot, broccoli, garlic, a variety of leek, a type of radish, and spinach were top produce picks in a recent study. Adding onions also upped the antioxidant ante.

Dressing gives you another opportunity to increase the antioxidant quotient of your salad. Extra-virgin olive oil shines brightest. For a healthful and low-fat alternative, try apple or wine vinegars.

Looking for a perfect, romantic meal for Valentines day? Look no further! From the vaults of Diabetic Gourmet, how about:

Cheesy Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms
Chicken Marsala
Caraway Roasted Beets
Individual Miniature Cheesecakes (to hand feed each other)

Cheesy Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

14 oz. large stuffing mushrooms (approximately 16)
3/4 cup packed basil leaves
1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chicken stock or water
1/4 cup 5% ricotta cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable pan spray.
Wipe mushrooms clean and gently remove stems; reserve for another purpose. Put caps on baking sheet.
Put basil, olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan and garlic in food processor; process until finely chopped, scraping down sides of bowl once. Add stock through the feed tube and process until smooth. Add ricotta and process until mixed.
Divide mixture evenly among mushroom caps. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until hot.

CHICKEN MARSALA

Ingredients

1/4 cup flour
Dash white pepper
Dash oregano
Dash basil
1-1/4 pound boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 cup marsala wine or dry sherry

Directions

Mix the flour, white pepper, oregano, and basil together on a plate.
Wash and dry the chicken breasts and coat each with the flour mixture. Reserve any leftover flour.
Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan. Add the chicken breasts and sauté gently until brown and tender on both sides, about 15 minutes. Remove the breasts to a dish.
Add the mushrooms and 1/4 cup of the wine; cook for about 5 minutes over low heat. Scrape the bottom of pan to loosen any flour. Stir in any reserved flour and the remaining wine.
Simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly. Slip the cooked breasts into the sauce. Cook gently for about 5 minutes or more.

(more…)

A cardiologist in Houston has come up with a special diet that reverses diabetes and heart disease, myfoxhouston.com reported.

Under the diet, Dr. Baxter Montgomery encourages patients to eat plant-based foods, minimally processed foods (that means all those foods that come prepared in a box or package), and to eat whole foods, as close to their natural state as possible.

For instance, you could shuck a corn on the cob and just eat it uncooked. He says it’s actually delicious that way, plus you get all the nutrients from it.

Dr. Montgomery also steers his patients away from meat, which he calls “animal flesh”. He says our digestive systems aren’t actually meant to digest meats and it puts an extra burden on the body.

More and more Doctors, Dieticians and Nutritionists are seeing the benefits of a low-carb, low-calorie, low-starch diet for Diabetics. Mostly plant-based, these meal plans for life (because ‘diets don’t work’) reduce and remove the underlying cause for diabetes and insulin resistance.

In my life, i’ve cut out most carbohydrates and starches, certainly no process foods and increased my vegetables and lean meats and fish. The old saying is true: Do most of your shopping on the outside perimeter of the store! All the processed, unhealthy foods are in the aisles. There is a noticible difference in my energy level. And my skin looks healthier, younger and more natural.

Make vegetables a main course or the big filler on your plate instead of meats, carbohydrates or starches. You will feel better, less likely to drowse off after eating and your blood sugar will thank you for it.