[Sca-cooks] Dinner last night & Valentine's Day

[John Kemker]

As a 10-year diagnosed diabetic who grew up with a mother that is diabetic,
here's a little advice:

First, go to www.joslin.org and poke around.  They've been doing Diabetes
reseach for over 100 years and have lots of good information.

Second, talk with your nutritional counselor.  If you don't have one, ask
your doctor for one.  A good nutritional counselor will be lots of help in
adjusting to the lifestyle.

Third, get the book "Living Well With Diabetes" and read it.  Great book
with lots of good tips and advice.

Learn to use sugar substitutes in your tea, coffee and sodas.  If you can't
use Aspartame (Nutra-Sweet, Equal), then Acesulfame-K might be an
alternative.  If you don't like the flavor of Acesulfame or can't use it,
then Splenda (sucralose) is a good choice, as it has no discernible
after-taste. (My Lady-wife and I make a root beer using Splenda and Gnome
Root Beer Extract that people who only drink sugar-based drinks and not diet
drinks absolutley adore.)  Stevia, which many swear by, is sweet, but has
some limitations and a bit of an after-taste that I, personally, can't
stand.  Experiment to find out which ones you like/can use.  (Saccharin, in
my opinion, is just plain nasty.)

Remember, that it's not just the sugar that's the problem, it's *any*
carbohydrate in any form.  This includes starches, alcohols, simple sugars,
etc.  A baked potato can have as much of an effect on your blood sugar as
jelly, if not more.  It just takes longer to be an issue.  You'll see lots
of "sugar free" foods that are sweetened with maltitol, sorbitol, mannitol,
etc.  These are alcohols that are still carbohydrates and will still affect
your BG.  What's worse, they have a laxative effect when consumed in larger
quantities.  (As in, you'll feel the effects if you eat too many
"sugar-free" hard candies.)

Being diabetic does not have to be expensive when it comes to food, but it
can be very expensive with the medicines, etc.  Make *sure* you notify each
and every feastcrat/head cook of any event you plan on attending that you
will need low-carb alternatives.  Do this WELL in advance of the event, so
they have time to prepare accordingly.  If going to the event is a
last-minute decision for you, then take your own food or plan to eat out.

For me, the timing of evening meals makes a huge difference in my morning
fasting blood sugars.  The later I eat, the worse they are the next morning.
Also, I've noticed that some carbs raise my blood sugar much faster than
others.  Rice is particularly guilty of a quick rise in BG for me.  Your
trigger foods might be different than mine.

If you're overweight, START EXERCISING AND LOSE WEIGHT.  (This is coming
from someone who is about 50lbs overweight and needs to follow his own
advice.)  Your cholesterol levels are going to be an issue, so watch out for
the fatty foods.  Exercising (not just diet!) can increase the levels of
"good" cholesterol, thereby extending your life expectancy.  Exercise also
helps your body use insulin better.  If you're a Type II, you still produce
your own insulin, you're just resistant to it.  Exercising helps break down
the resistance, causing your body to use the insulin/sugar more effectively.
If you're a Type I, your body no longer makes its own insulin and the
exercise helps prevent you from becoming insulin-resistant.  Either way,
exercise is a win-win situation for a diabetic who can motivate themselves
to do so.  At an event, you might want to consider post-feast walks around
the site for at least 30 minutes in order to aid in digestion.  If there's a
revel, try to dance and keep dancing without stopping for the same amount of
time.

Whatever you do, a positive "can-do" attitude towards diabetes makes a world
of difference.  While they don't have a "cure" yet, they have shown that by
keeping your BG as close to normal as possible, you can avoid the
life-threatening complications for a long time.

--Cian O'Madadhain


----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen O" <kareno at lewistown.net>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2003 3:24 PM
Subject: [Sca-cooks] Dinner last night & Valentine's Day


>    Hi all!
>
>      Having to go through the glucose tolerant test yesterday morning,
with
> the twist of starting out with a fasting blood sugar of 156 (ACK!!)
Supper
> was skipped.   I did make myself a PB&J sandwich late in the evening.
> Tonite we're going out to use a Christmas gift certificate, and
Valentine's
> may be also eaten out.
>
>     We're in the middle of moving  -- the Mistress, in the other life is
an
> engineer for the power company and has been transferred.  We close on the
> new house on the 11th, no buyer for our old house yet <sigh>  and  *MAYBE*
> I can get one of the new positions (4)  for the new program in my
> corporation.  Interviews are starting {maybe} on the 14th.
>
>     I still feel quesy from the test, or the high blood sugar levels.
Since
> I won't hear about the test results til next week, any advice about living
> with the "not yet officially diagnosed" diabetes?  Any good "self-help"
> books to recommend?  I'm used to being on the nurse side of the equation,
> and know about the meds/testing/eating appropriately schedule,  but don't
> know about this gray area of being alone with no meds, no testing equipt
> yet.
>
> Caointiarn
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
> http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/sca-cooks
>