Top 10 Diabetes "Superfoods"

Great information from the "Healthline" Website - and these foods not only are good for diabetics, but may of these are beneficial to people with cancer as well.

If you have type 2 diabetes, try to incorporate these foods into your diet as much as possible.
I eat some of these food every day!

• Non Starchy Vegetables
• Non Fat milk and yogurt
• Tomatoes
• Blueberries
• Oranges/Grapefruits (fruit, NOT the juice for obvious reasons but the fruit gives you fiber)
• Salmon
• Walnuts/almonds
• Beans
• Leafy Green Vegetables
• Whole Grains

Pumpkin Spice Latte' - Skinny Version!

At this time of year I am jealous of my friends who can walk into Starbucks and order a Pumpkin Spice Latte'! I LOVE everything pumpkin, but those specialty drinks have so much sugar I would end up in a coma in about 20 seconds!

So, I decided to experiment  to see if I could come up with something similar that is diabetic friendly, with no sugar! Here is what I came up with - I think it tastes great!

You will need:

Pumpkin Spice coffee (Dunkin Donuts has it - you can buy it at Target)
Splenda
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Skim milk
Cool Whip - low fat

Prepare your coffee like you normally do!  Add to your cup of coffee - 2 tsp splenda, 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 2 tablespoons skim milk and stir.  Add Low fat cool whip on top!  Drink and enjoy

It's not Starbucks, but it will do in a pinch! 

Happy Fall!

Safety Tips for Diabetes Medication

If diet and exercise can’t get your blood sugar level down, your doctor‘s next move may be to prescribe a diabetes medication. One of the most popular choices is Actos.

Actos is effective, but unfortunately it can come with some pretty serious side effects.

Choosing a Medication

Before you take any medication, you should do thorough research on the drug.

If you’re considering taking Actos (pioglitazone), you need to know that your risk of developing bladder cancer increases by 40 percent if you take Actos for more than a year. This has led many who have developed bladder cancer to file Actos lawsuits against its manufacturer. Your risk of heart failure and heart attack also increases substantially with Actos.

This is why thorough research is so important. Start by going to the Food and Drug Administration’s website.

There’s a tab called drugs@FDA. There, you will find all of the drugs approved by the FDA in alphabetical order, as well as their label information.  

If you look up Actos, you will find that the drug has also been connected with side effects such as:

·        Macular edema (an eye disease that causes blindness).

·        Bone fractures.

·        Lliver failure.

For more information also try searching on metformin, you’ll see some of these same side effects of Actos listed.

Drug classes such as Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, non-sulfonylurea secretagogues and sulfonylureas are safer diabetes drug choices because they have fewer side effects.

Tips for Taking Diabetes Medication

Once you and your doctor have decided on a diabetes medication, you need to know how much to take and when to take it. Diabetes drugs must be taken regularly, so you should have a backup plan in case you can’t get to your medicine.

Here are some precautions you should consider taking:

·        Keep three days of medication on hand in case you can’t get to a doctor.

·        Gather backup supplies (this could include insulin delivery supplies, extra batteries for a blood glucose meter and a fast-acting source of glucose).

·        Keep your emergency supplies in one well-marked container that’s easy to find.

·        Make a list of emergency contacts.

·        If you are a parent, give a copy of these emergency contacts, along with treatment instructions, to your child’s day care or baby sitter.

·        Make sure you have identified people that will assist you or your child in the event of a diabetes emergency and make sure these people are aware of their responsibilities.

When it comes to diabetes, the best way to stay in control is to be well-informed. If you have any questions about your medication or your treatment plan, ask your doctor. Together, you can make diabetes much more manageable.

Author Bio: William Richards is a writer for Drugwatch.com. He uses his journalism background to investigate dangerous drugs and promote consumer awareness!

Creative Juices & Arkansas Tomatoes!

"Eat Well, Move, Be Well" has been on a hiatus - mostly due to my lack of creativity on the heels of two major life events - a house fire in August 2011 caused by lightening - which totally rocked our world, and then to top that off, a job lay off in January 2012.  Needless to say my creative juices came to a screeching halt, as they tend to do when you are in constant "survival" mode!

My dad always liked to write when he was in the middle of some crisis - he always said major life events make for a "helluva story" !  I guess he was right and he always managed to write well under pressure. Not me!

It seems that lately, I hear of more and more people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes!  Hardly a week goes by that I don't get a call or an email from someone asking if I can visit with someone dear to them who has been diagnosed.  I always hate to hear of someone being diagnosed with this dreadful disease, but I feel that if I can help anyone by lending an ear and sharing things that have worked for me, then I am happy to help.  I always try to find a positive in a negative and helping others learn to live with the big D is one way I can be positive abut my disease.  I just need to be sure everyone understands I am NOT a health professional by any stretch of the imagination, and what works for me, might not work for someone else! 

Since it is summer in Arkansas, and our tomatoes are AMAZING right now, I thought I would share a recipe that I found recently on www.foodtv.com. We shared this in our E-Newsletter at the hotel, and I think you will enjoy it! :)

My next blog will feature a guest writer who will share ideas about medications & diabetes!

Till then - Eat Well, Move, Be Well!

Caprese' Pasta Salad
1/2 pound dried whole wheat or fiber added pasta
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 pound fresh, water packed mozzarella, cubed
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic pressed
1/2 tsp olive oil based mayonnaise
1 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed, dried and chopped (I cheat sometimes and used dried)
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Cook pasta as directed. Prepare tomatoes and cheese and put them in large bowl. Whisk
together vinegar, olive oil, garlic, mayo, salt and pepper to taste. Drain pasta and shake dry (do not rinse it) and add to the tomato and cheese mixture. Stir to combine. Add half the dressing, stir, and fold in the basil and pine nuts. Stir and taste - you may need to add more salt, or more dressing! This salad is best at room temp, but it can be refrigerated!  Enjoy!

Stress & Your Blood Sugar Levels

Hello again! It's been two months or more since my last blog.
I guess I am confessing! :)

It was a crazy busy summer - went to the beach in June, which was fantastic. The rest of the summer flew by with Samantha's activities and church camps, retreats and then a Dallas trip for back to school shopping.

Along came August 8th, and my world as I knew it went up in flames, literally. Mother nature unleashed a lightening storm and my beautiful Park Hill home was struck and was a total loss within about 30 minutes. Samantha was home with her friend Rachel and the dog, and they did everything right and got out quickly, and most importantly, safely.

When I got the phone call, I was in shock, and drove like a maniac from Sherwood to North Little Rock in about 5 minutes flat. As I came up the hill on JFK I could see the smoke. At that point I could literally feel my blood sugars rising. I didn't think about it again until a few hours later, and I checked it and it was 280! I had eaten a very light dinner and nothing else - so I knew it was a stress related high. Fast forward three hours later, complete with adrenaline rush and a range of emotions I have never experienced before, and my blood sugar was 250. Nothing was bringing it down that night. I think I finally fell asleep around 4am and I checked it again and it was down to about 140.

After a few hours of sleep and relaxation my levels fell within the normal range and from that day through the next two weeks my levels were really good - even better than normal. I attribute that to the knot in my stomach that kept me from eating very much.

Diabetics need to remember how stress can affect your sugar levels. Any small worry or stressful situation can affect how you feel and how your body breaks down the glucose in your system. If you find yourself experiencing a disaster of any magnitude, remember to check your levels and try to eat like you normally do, and check your levels often. And as I have learned, it's even more important to take good care of yourself in a situation that is out of your normal routine.

A few weeks before the fire I had sketched out a plan to blog 2-3 times per week. I had some interesting topics picked out as well as some outstanding recipes to share with you. Unfortunately the file this material was in was totally ruined, so I have to start over. I will try to get it together and post more regularly.

Fall recipes and Crock Pot Recipes are coming next!

Time for Summer travel...are you prepared?

It's summertime...........and time to travel!

When you have diabetes and travel, you really have to be prepared and be super organized in order to get from point A to point B safely - whether you are traveling by plane or car!

My travel motto is "BE PREPARED"!

If traveling by car, have a lot of extra high protein snacks and drinks on hand - maybe even an ice chest full of ice as well. You never know when a bad wreck will happen and tie up traffic on the interstate for hours. If that happens you have everything you need to ride out the accident.

If traveling by plane it is a good idea to have a letter from your doctor stating that you have diabetes and that it is necessary for you to carry your glucometer, supplies, extra food and medications with you. If there is ever any question about your supplies when you go through a security checkpoint it is helpful to have that letter - just in case!

When staying in hotels I always try to keep a Coke or a high sugar drink close by on the nightstand as well as my glucometer - just in case I have a low in the middle of the night. You know how when you wake up somewhere other than at home you can become disoriented in the middle of the night? This way you have everything you need on your nightstand!

These tips are just basic and elementary, but something to think about as you go about your summer travel! Have fun and just remember to plan ahead, be organized and be prepared for anything!

Contrary to Popular Belief.....Diabetics Don't have to Give Up Sweets!

A friend recently sent me an article from her local paper (thanks Leslie Fitzgerald) about pastry chef Stacey Harris. Her mantra is "Replace - Rethink - Reduce" when it comes to diabetic cooking.

"Sugar free only takes care of a small portion of the carbs. You have to do additional things to lower the carbs further and still have a dessert that tastes good".

She is right - and that is the part that non-diabetics don't understand. My sweet mother will buy those "sugar free" angel food cakes from Kroger and she wants to know why I can't eat a huge slice! "Sugar Free" is NOT carb free, fat free or calorie free!

Here is one of her recipes:

Best Banana Bread

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

1 c oat flour (rolled oats powdered in food processor or blender)
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c toasted pecans or walnuts chopped
3 very ripe bananas mashed (about 1 1/2 c)
1/4 c plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 T canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom only of loaf pan. Combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients. Lightly fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients with spatula just until combined. Bake for about 55 mins. Cool for five minutes and invert. Store in refrigerator for four days or on the counter two days.

Visit her website for more substitution ideas and her cookbook is available there as well!

Enjoy!