If you are new to diabetes, have you
demolished the panic panel yet? Many people new to type 2 diabetes
have panicked and delayed their acceptance for a longer period. In
this blog, I will focus on food plans and try to suggest something
that will help you in finding a food plan that will work for you.
An important lesson you need to learn
is – just because another person with type 2 diabetes can do
something and have good results – does not mean that it will work
for you. This does not mean that you give up. This tells you that
your diabetes is further or less advanced than it is for the other
person and your body reacts differently than their body does. Do not
forget this! There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for you!
Yes, many doctors, dietitians, and even some nutritionists operate in
this mode. This happens because they don't know how to properly
assess patients and adapt something for them on an individual basis.
Something that was published recently
on Health Central by Gretchen Becker might help in getting started.
Her book is an excellent read and I refer to it more than I thought.
Information - The First Year - Type 2 Diabetes, New
York, Marlow & Company, 312 pages, by Gretchen Becker.
I discovered this book within a month of diagnosis. It gave me
information that I was not receiving from my doctor. Gretchen has
type 2 diabetes and she gives the best definitions and reasons for
controlling diabetes in non-technical language. Look for the Second
Edition.
The other information that should be
absorbed is on this site. Then down the page to the horizontal bar
that has the following – Home, Diabetes Basics, Food, etc. in the
bar. Select Food, explore, and read all you can as David writes a
lot about diabetes. The only item that I have reservations about is
the Glycemic Index. It was developed using healthy individuals and
not people with diabetes. I use it as a guide and then let my meter
tell me if a food item is one that I can eat, if I need to limit it,
or eliminate it from my food plan. I encourage you to read as much
of David Mendosa's website as you can.
I do encourage you to consider a food plan that is low carbohydrate, medium to high fat, and medium
protein. All the experts are still pushing low carbohydrate, low
fat, and more protein. Many are still concerned about saturated fat,
but it can be consumed and the prior study by Ancel Keys has been
shown to be false and more doctors are starting to see this.
Another problem for dietary advice is
our own U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The congressional
mandate that created the Dietary Guidelines Advisory has been
over stepping the boundaries and created the climate of obesity and
increase in other diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease. The
chart below displays this rather well.
The Healthy Nation Coalition has some
great points on nutrition and is attempting to obtain information on
whom and how policy decisions are made.
Please be careful of many food plans
that government agencies and many registered dietitians promote. In
general they will tell you that you need the carbohydrates and whole
grains for your brain and that you will miss too many nutrients if
you don't follow their advice. I have found that most of the
nutrients are available in other foods without the added
carbohydrates. Learn what works for you and not the mandates of
others. If you can adapt their high carbohydrate meals to a level
that your meter says fits you and your goals, then you have
accomplished your needs and goals.
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