Diabetes Tips

They say Type 2 diabetes is at plague proportions plus they say that for every person with diabetes there is another who has it and has not yet been diagnosed. Type 1 is mainly when people are born with diabetes. Mainly the young have type 1 and are also people who require regular insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes and is mainly people who are in their 40’s upwards and can be managed by a combination of a healthy diet, regular physical activity and in some cases medications. There is no special diet required for people with type 2 diabetes, they just need to eat regular meals and have regular snacks spread evenly over the day.

It is important that type 2 diabetics have the right carbohydrate distribution throughout the day and having low fat food so cooking the healthy way is important. Having a low saturated fat diet is important too. I have included Dietitian’s tips for each recipe in my cookbook that are specifically for people with diabetes to help them.

The good news is you can reduce your risk of developing diabetes if you take on a healthy lifestyle. I know the way I used to live when I weighed 220lbs would have probably led me to being a diabetic now that I am in my 50’s but luckily for me I changed my habits and just show that you can avoid this illness if you do something about your health now.

Here are some tips on how to convert recipes so they are diabetes friendly.

• Have as little saturated fat as possible so this means cutting the white stuff of the side of your meat. Removing skin from chicken and omitting cream, butter and high fat products.
• Look for the low fat products such as the 25% reduced fat cheeses, diet yogurts, no fat milk and low fat margarines.
• Use cooking spray instead of frying in fat.
• Include lots of vegetables and fruit in your diet and work towards having 30g of fiber in your day.
• Omit or use salt sparingly a low sodium diet is ideal for people with diabetes.

If you are concerned and want to know more about diabetes then check with your doctor when you visit them next.

Here are a few more tips

• Avoid coconut milk so instead make my version of using evaporated 2% light milk and imitation coconut extract. 60g down to around 4g.
• Forget things with cream.
• Small amounts of sugar is fine for example one of my cakes may have 1/3 cup sugar but it makes 10 serves. Divided up it really isn’t much sugar at all.
• The best rice is basmati as it has a lower Glycemic Index than normal white rice.
• The best fruit to have is fruit grown in a colder climate such as cherries, apples, pears etc. Tropical fruits have a high GI rating and are quickly absorbed into the blood stream.

Just remember all my recipes are suitable for people with diabetes, cholesterol or heart problems and ideal for weight loss.

More tips from Annette