Balance Your Blood Sugar

By Jean Teller
Published on October 3, 2008
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Oven-Fried Chicken is good with a diabetes-friendly side dish, such as whipped cauliflower.
Oven-Fried Chicken is good with a diabetes-friendly side dish, such as whipped cauliflower.
2 / 5

Chicken and Bean Tostadas are easy to make and delicious.
Chicken and Bean Tostadas are easy to make and delicious.
3 / 5

Sarah Vaughan, Waterville, Maine, sells Scrumptious Chocolate Coconut Squares to both diabetic and non-diabetic customers.
Sarah Vaughan, Waterville, Maine, sells Scrumptious Chocolate Coconut Squares to both diabetic and non-diabetic customers.
4 / 5

Pasta Gardena is, like most things, best when served with fresh, homegrown tomatoes.
Pasta Gardena is, like most things, best when served with fresh, homegrown tomatoes.
5 / 5

A sugarless apple pie tops off a meal with a touch of sweetness.
A sugarless apple pie tops off a meal with a touch of sweetness.
Chicken and Bean Tostadas
Oven Fried Chicken
Old-Fashioned Pork Spareribs
Diabetic Sugarless Apple Pie
Pasta Gardena
Butterscotch Pumpkin Pie
Diabetic Eggplant Salad
Scrumptious Chocolate Coconut Squares
Meatloaf

Diabetes affects more than 81 million of us in the United States, whether we know it or not. Americans with diabetes – both diagnosed and undiagnosed – number close to 24 million, with 57 million said to be pre-diabetic. With numbers like that, it’s a fair bet this disease directly affects you or someone you know. Cases of diabetes increased 13.5 percent from 2005 to 2007. According to the American Diabetes Association, if statistics hold true, one of three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.

The association focuses on diabetes education, particularly during American Diabetes Month in November. This year, the ADA asks, “Why should you care about diabetes?” taking a look at all the possible complications of diabetes while raising awareness of the chronic and progressive disease. Complications arise when high blood glucose levels continue unabated, leading to heart disease and strokes, kidney disease, amputations and blindness.

Type 1 diabetes most frequently appears during childhood, when the pancreas quits making the hormone insulin, allowing glucose levels to rise to dangerous levels in the bloodstream. This form of the disease requires insulin injections to control.

Many people with Type 2 diabetes – and I count myself among that number – can control the disease through diet and exercise, with oral medications added as needed, at least initially. In Type 2 diabetes, the insulin levels are somewhat decreased (the pancreas is slowing down) or the hormone is unable to do its job of allowing glucose to enter the cells to be burned as fuel (commonly known as insulin resistance).

Eating plans vary from person to person. Recent research points to a low-carb diet as a so-called cure for diabetes, and another new cookbook I have touts high fiber as the solution (which, of course, contradicts the low-carb philosophy). Of course, there’s also the Glycemic Index to add to the mix. Sometimes the methods of treating diabetes are as confusing as the disease itself. And the way in which each diabetic deals with her or his disease is individualized as well.

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