How To Enjoy Eating With Diabetes

By James Monty

A book of guides and recipes for healthy eating with Diabetes. Foods to avoid, How to portion your plate, Why diets don't work and Myths about Diabetes. Contains recipes for Vegetarian, Chicken, Beef, Pork, Seafood, deserts and a full section of Meals under 30 minutes. A definitive guide for anyone looking to eat great and live healthier.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Monty
• Release date: Dec 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9780991241002

James Monty

The author of this eBook is James Monty. I am a writer, diabetic and psychology enthusiast. I live in the small rural town of Billerica MA with my loving wife of 30 years, Mary. In June of 2009 I broke my back in 2 places and had a 2 year road to recovery. Being quite restricted in my physical abilities, I had to give up my 30 year career in sales. That’s when I decided to pursue my lifelong yearning of writing to help others and try to bring them a smile. When I am not writing I enjoy cooking and being a diabetic has brought some challenges in that area. That’s when I decided to put together a helpful guide along with some 100 recipes to help others with diabetes get a better understanding of how they can help themselves in their quest to control their sugar and lead a higher quality of life. If I could make people laugh and maybe help them understand themselves and those around them just a little better I would be one happy man. I love people and all the quirks each of us call our own. It makes us a creation unto ourselves and provides all around us the joy of sharing our lives together.

Book preview

How To Enjoy Eating With Diabetes

The Art Of Eating Healthy And Loving It

By James Monty

How To Enjoy Eating With Diabetes

Copyright © 2013 by James Monty

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Food Disclaimer

Chapter 1 Myths About Diabetes

Chapter 2 Why Diets Do Not Work

Chapter 3 Best And Worst Food Choices

Chapter 4 Portion Control

Chapter 5 Vegetarian Recipes

Chapter 6 Poultry

Chapter 7 Beef, Pork, Veal

Chapter 8 Seafood

Chapter 9 30 Minutes Or Less

Chapter 10 Desserts

Chapter 11 Closing Thoughts

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Dedicated to my Uncle Jerry

A big man in stature and an even bigger man through the love and caring he showed for everybody around him.

Introduction

I have to start out making a few things perfectly clear about myself. I am not a medical doctor, psychiatrist or dietitian. I am a person who has had Type 2 diabetes for over 30 years and quite honestly, in the early years of having it, I did not always take care of myself nor did the things I needed to do. I was 30 years old when I was diagnosed and the diagnosis was quite accidental. I was at the hospital for severe allergies and started sweating profusely while I was in the emergency room. The doctor ordered more blood tests and found that my sugar was over 600, which is about as high as your sugar can go before you start slipping into a diabetic coma. I was put on insulin within the first month of seeing my endocrinologist (diabetes doctor).

There are obviously many bad things about diabetes but one of the worst in my opinion is how it causes damage over a slow period of time, almost subversively, so you really do not notice anything is wrong until the damage has already begun. Of course the diagnosis didn’t tell me how long I’ve had diabetes so I really do not know how much it worked its black magic on my body. The lack of symptoms in its early stages put me in a mindset that as long as I take my insulin I have nothing to worry about since, other than sweating more than normal, I really didn’t feel any different physically.

What a huge and stupid mistake that was. I was about 10 or 15 years into the diagnosis when I had to get my first pair of glasses. Again, I told myself it was simply the aging process and not the diabetes that was affecting my vision. My A1C, the blood test used to give a three month average of your sugar levels, was 13.5. A good A1C for diabetic is around 7.0 or lower so as you can see I was nearly double that; oh how foolish a person can be sometimes.

It wasn’t until about 14 years ago that I got my wake-up call. My Uncle Jerry, who in many ways was like a father to me when I was growing up, didn’t know he had diabetes until he went to the doctor for some ulceration on his leg. As it turned out, he must have had diabetes for quite some time probably over 20 years without knowing about it; hence without taking care of it. It wasn’t long before he lost one of his feet, then his leg up to his knee, then his other foot, then his other leg and finally he went blind. He spent the last years of his life suffering from the effects of diabetes until it finally took his life in 2001. I visited him once or twice while he was in this condition but I couldn’t get myself to see him on a regular basis because watching such a great man in this terrible state was too much for me to handle. Another mistake I made.

It was sad that it took witnessing the total demise of such a great person to wake me up to the horrible effects diabetes can have if it’s not taking care of. That is the reason I felt compelled to put together this book. Maybe, just maybe, people will read this and understand the importance of doing everything in their power to control their diabetes and give themselves the best possible chance to live the best possible life.

When I began to write this book, my A1C was at 6.3. The A1C test gives you a picture of your average blood glucose (blood sugar) level for the past 2 to 3 months. The results give you a good idea of how well your diabetes treatment plan is working. That number indicates that my blood glucose levels have an average value of 130 mg/dl; the reading I would get on my glucose meter.

Food Disclaimer

The most important first step you can take toward controlling your diabetes through healthy eating is to consult your doctor, medical professional, or dietitian to determine what’s right for you.

Not all recipes presented here are necessarily appropriate for all people with diabetes, nor will all recipes fit into every meal plan. No two meal plans are alike. Work with your health care provider, diabetes educator or dietitian to design a meal plan that's right for you, and includes the foods you love. A key message for people with diabetes is Carbs Count. Foods high in carbs (carbohydrates) – bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt, potatoes, corn, peas, sweets – raise your blood glucose levels the most.

Check your blood glucose to see how your food choices or these recipes affect your blood glucose. If your meal plan is not working for you, talk to your dietitian about making a new one.

Along with exercise and medications (insulin or oral diabetes pills), nutrition is vitally important for good diabetes management. By eating well-balanced meals in the correct amount, you can keep your blood glucose level as close to normal (non-diabetes level) as possible.

This book is intended as a reference book only, not as a medical manual. The information here is designed to help you make informed decisions about healthy eating. It is not intended as a substitute for any treatment or recommendation that may have been prescribed by your doctor or other health professional.

Mention of specific companies, organizations or authorities in this book does not imply endorsement by the author or publisher. Nor does it imply specific companies, organizations or authorities endorse this book, author or publisher.

The author offers general information to help you lead a healthier more meaningful life. This general information is not intended to replace professional medical advice.

The author has personally used the techniques and meals included in this book, however neither he or the publisher can accept any responsibility for events that may arise from the use of any information in this book.

Chapter 1

Myths About Diabetes

There are many myths about diabetes which can make it very difficult for people to believe some of the facts; like it is a serious and potentially crippling and deadly disease. These myths can create a false picture of diabetes and lead us to ignore or deny the true magnitude of this disease; they are full of stereotypes and stigma that can easily lull us into a false sense of security.

Myth #1: You can catch diabetes from someone else.

Diabetes is not an infectious or contagious disease. Scientists do not know exactly what causes the disorder, but it can't be caught from another person, like a cold or the flu. There does however, appear to be a genetic link