Diabetes - Up Close and Personal

In 2002, my husband was diagnosed as being diabetic. The initial signs and symptoms were muscle weakness, rapid weight loss, and constant hunger and thirst. One trip to the doctor confirmed our suspicions.

Since 2002, the course of this debilitating disease has taken its toll on my husband's health and on my nervous system. Living with, and preparing food for a diabetic can be difficult, simply because cooking as we have always done it, is over. Because diabetes is a progressive disease, I studied to learn as much as possible about what I could do to keep my husband as healthy as possible for as long as possible. I quickly discovered that this is no small task.

As a young man, my husband served his country in Vietnam. During his time in that country, he was exposed to Agent Orange, which is a defoliating chemical that was sprayed with abandon on the dense overgrowth of jungle. Since that time, we have learned that Agent Orange causes a wide range of physical conditions, one of which is diabetes. In addition to his exposure to Agent Orange, there are other family members who have had diabetes. So, there were two strikes against my husband in regard to this disease. The third strike was a double prong of occupation and eating habits. As a truck driver, he was inactive for long periods of time each day, and as most truckers will tell you, eating just goes along with driving. Perhaps it comes out of boredom as the long, monotonous highway seems to be never-ending. Sometimes my husband ate just to stay alert at the wheel. Most foods that can be purchased along the highways are not the healthiest foods, especially when it comes to choosing foods that can be eaten while driving. Donuts have always ranked very high on my husband's favorite food list, and since they can be eaten while driving, he consumed more than his share.

All Carbohydrates are Not Equal
Most people understand that diabetes is a horrible disease that forbids the use of sugar. While that is true, it is not as simple as eliminating "real" sugar from the diet. The real culprit is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are found in almost everything we eat and they are necessary for fueling our body. Carbohydrates in and of themselves, are not bad. In fact, every cell in our bodies needs carbohydrates for fuel. Carbohydrates provide the energy needed for all of our cells and organs to function properly.

There are two kinds of carbohydrates, simple and complex. I like to think of complex carbs as the "good guys" and simple carbs as the "bad guys".

Simple carbohydrates include sugars, starches and anything that causes a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. Fruit juices, sodas, white bread and pasta made with refined white flour, high fructose corn syrup, and most packaged cereals are all high in simple carbohydrates. Unfortunately, this group of foods makes up a lot of the American diet, which is why we have a "national epidemic" of diabetes.

Complex carbohydrates include, most vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, brown rice, spelt flour, some fruits, such as apples, pears, strawberries, plums, and apricots. These complex carbohydrates are higher in fiber than the simple carbohydrates. As a rule of thumb, the amount of fiber in a food can be subtracted from the amount of carbohydrates in order to find the net carbohydrate in that food. So the higher the fiber, the better. It takes just a quick look at the amount of fiber and carbohydrates and a simple subtraction to know whether that food is good for a diabetic to eat. So one of the first things we learn in dealing with a diabetic in the family, is that we must read labels. This is crucial.

Sources:

My Life

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