Diabetes Nutrition Idea - Joanna's Story

“For most of my life I have been running from the "D" word: Diabetes. Everyone in my family wound up with Type II Diabetes, yet I was able to stave it off until I was in my fifties. A severe asthmatic, I just couldn't avoid the effects of prednisone, which was a necessary medicine, at least once or twice a year.

My blood sugar would skyrocket while I was on prednisone, and when I went off of it, my blood sugar would drop down. One day diabetes came to stay. My blood sugar on the glucose tolerance test went well above 300, a very dangerous number. I am a diabetic.

Slowly, I developed a plan. I began to rewrite my favorite recipes; I bought a motorized treadmill, and I started walking. With the advice and encouragement of my doctor, I was able to get off of all diabetes medications, and I lost 40 pounds! In three years, my A1C (a hemoglobin test) dropped from a high 7.5 down to 6.3! 6.0 is normal. This was unheard of, after all, I am 60 years old.

This has been a dedicated journey, taken a step at a time.

Here is how I accomplished it:

• I substituted Splenda for sugar
• I switched from wheat flour to oat flour, defatted soy flour, gluten flour, and ground nuts and seeds. All that is necessary to make muffins, pancakes, brownies, and even cookies is in those flours.
• I walked a mile a day on my treadmill
• I tested my blood before and after exercise, and up to 6 times a day. If my blood sugar was low, I'd have a muffin. If it was high, I'd get on the treadmill.”

Diabetes Nutrition Recipe

Basic diabetes nutrition formula for muffins and other quick breads:

For every 1 cup of flour use 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. This is a basic formula. Don't be afraid to experiment. For 1 cup of flour, I use 1/2 cup gluten flour, 1/4 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup soy flour.

Helpful Web Sites www.DreamfieldsFoods.com www.naturesownbread.com www.splenda.com www.bobsredmill.com

Follow the recipe with flour substitutions. Sift all flours, except for seeds and nuts. Use Splenda for sugar. Be generous with your favorite spices, and stir berries or chopped apples into flour. Add milk (you may need up to 1/4 cup more) and egg to dry ingredients (I know most recipes don't say this, but trust me) and fold together, gently, until just combined. Bake at 375˚- 400˚ for 18 to 20 minutes. Yum!

Other favorite products are: Dreamfields Healthy Low Carb Living Pasta; Jello Sugar Free Reduced Calorie Pudding Snacks; Hood Calorie Countdown Dairy Beverage (chocolate milk); Log Cabin Sugar Free Syrup; Smuckers Sugar Free Preserves; Nature's Own Wheat 'n Fiber (with soy) bread; and the list goes on and on.

Sensible low calorie, low carb eating, including fish, chicken, vegetables and, yes, the occasional steak or hamburger, can give you a healthier life.

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