Diabetic Foods - Why Are Some Good Foods Bad For Diabetics?

"You're not leaving this table until you eat your vegetables!"

Do you remember this line from your childhood? Most kids growing into their teens and then into young adulthood still remember hearing this from their mother. Sure, maybe Mom knows best, but that knowledge didn't make them vegetables go down any easier, did it?

Finally, you got to grow up, move out and blissful freedom! You're absolutely sure the rest of your life you will never again be forced to rely on eating even one more vegetable that you don't want!

Middle Age Is Now Sneaking Up On You

You've lived through all of your 20's and then the 30's and now they are almost gone. You still pretty much eat what you want, when you want and how ever much you like. You have had boundless energy through most of those two decades but now you notice you seem to be slowing down just a little. Your doctor is getting on your nerves also. All the lectures about your numbers are getting entirely too high. You need some changes in your life - starting with the diet, or soon you will be a full-fledged diagnosed diabetic.

After the lectures, the lessons on diet and nutrition and all that paperwork has been organized, you go home realizing you've been given the same speech as your Mom gave you all those years before.

New Dietary Plan - Plus And Minuses

The new diet asks for: fruits and vegetables, low-fat meats, nonfat dairy, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. A whole bunch of foods and you really don't eat any of it. You were summarily informed strawberry shortcake does not mean fruit, french fries is not synonymous with vegetables, Big Mac's do not qualify as low-fat meats and those couple of seeds on top of that bun isn't what the doctor had in mind when he said seeds. You just know now that you're in trouble.

Converting to a new dietary plan is a whole lot easier when done in stages. This means overhauling your entire way of eating overnight is setting yourself up for mutiny. Start out slow, making just one or two additions (or deletions) per week and change up a few more as time goes by.

Think of ways you can make small changes which won't cause any major upheaval in your life. If you love orange juice in the morning (it's processed with added sugars), how about the whole orange instead? You have just reduced the sugars and calories but added some much needed extra fiber into your diet. The lower sugars plus extra fiber helps to prevent the wildly fluctuating blood sugars common with a glass of orange juice.

For lunch, instead of the Big Mac and fries, try a grilled chicken breast with mustard (hold the mayo). Add a slice of onion, tomato and a lettuce leaf and have a dill pickle on the side. You have just cut the fat grams by greater than 50%, added 1-2 servings of vegetables to your daily allotment and helped control your blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and reduced the chance of a future heart attack. All of these pluses just because you had a piece of grilled chicken instead of the standard hamburger with special sauce.

Think of the different ways each day you can make a small change here and there. Incorporate a few into one or two meals or a snack and soon you will realize this transition is not as hard as you thought it would be. The biggest difference in the whole procedure is the few things you now put in your shopping cart while you are at the grocery store.

Go Easy On These Selections

Each of the following, although some are considered important for good health, these need to still be used only occasionally. When you do decide to make one of these a part of your daily meal or snack, balance this selection with other high protein, low fat and low sugar selections. This will prevent the wild swings in blood sugars.

high carbohydrate foods (which turn into sugars during the digestive process) includes favorites like white potatoes, carrots, corn, avocado, watermelon, pineapple and any of the tropical fruits. All of these have the same trait in common. They are full of natural sugars, a gift from mother nature.

Although it is not recommended you completely avoid them (all are an excellent source of healthy vitamins, minerals and life-giving nutrients), smaller serving sizes will allow you to enjoy them without the detrimental swings in your blood sugar.

high fat dairy products such as whole milk and cheese all have one thing in common, milk sugar. Whole milk products have a high concentration of an enzyme known as lactose. Low-fat or even skim milks do not have as high of concentrations of milk sugar.

high fat meats which includes all ground meats, sausages, bologna's and deli meats are processed with fillers, commonly known as extenders. Each of these therefore end up with extra calories, salt, fats and sugars being added to the diet.

trans-fats, hydrogenated fats and man-made saturated fats are all over the place in the processed food industry. Baked goods, boxed entrees, canned meals, frozen food items, breads, rolls and pastries plus dairy products can all include these dangerous fats. Read those ingredient labels and if you see any of these words, avoid that item.

highly processed breads and grains like white bread, rolls, pastas etc. have been processed so much that all the beneficial vitamins and minerals have been stripped and removed. Again, check around and find some selections you enjoy that are not totally devoid of all nutrition. The best way is to find selections made with 100% whole grains and flours.
So, by adding a few new food choices to your diet daily which aren't all that bad (if you had to admit it), often you can slowly start to wean yourself off of all those excess sugars, fats, salts and calories which are becoming your downfall as you are getting into the middle age years of your life. Every little step towards eating more healthy foods you can make now will reward ten-fold within the upcoming years with fewer and fewer health concerns as you age into your middle age and then senior years.