Living It With Lisa

Do you realize that Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States?

Do you realize that Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke?   68% of Diabetes related deaths among people ages 65 years or older noted heart disease on the death certificates.

Do you realize that Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure? (44 percent of all new cases in 2008).  Many end up living on chronic dialysis or with a kidney transplant.

Do you realize that Diabetes is the leading cause (more than 60%) of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations?

Do you realize that Diabetes is the contributing factor of new new cases of blindness among adults ages 20-74 in the United States?

Do you realize that the risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes?

Do you realize that periodontal, or gum disease is more common in people with Diabetes?

Do you realize that about 60-70% of people with Diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage?  What does that mean?  The results of such damage would include loss of  sensation or pain in the feed or hands, slowed digestion of food in the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, erectile dysfunction, or other nerve problems.

Do you realize that Diabetes is expensive?  A Diabetic incurs medical expenses 2.3 times higher than those who are not diabetics.

Those facts and complications are only a few that have been published by the NCDC.  I didn’t make them up.

Where to start?  Pay attention to your diet and quit making your body work harder than it has too. After all what we EAT directly determines the HEALTH that we have and the QUALITY of our life.

Change the course of your life …

Great health starts one bite at a time.

Since Carter was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes it is even more important that he understands portion control.  But the real truth is that we ALL should be aware of not only the food /fuel that we are putting in our bodies but the portion size.  That is just as important for the obesity epidemic in this country as well as any other food related disease.

Quality AND quantity are essential to our health.

Tweak of the Week:  Portion Distortion

Most of you know I have a  H  U G E aversion, might I even say disgust for sodas.  I am on the other hand a H U G E advocate of drinking more water.  And for good reason.

This summer I bought a new water bottle for Tommy (grandson) and me because he was not drinking enough water.  To make it fun and so that he would realize how much water he was drinking we each got a Camelbak BPA-free water bottle.  I got the liter size and he got the 1/2 liter.  That way when he would race me to drink more water … he always won with finishing his bottle first!  We carried it everywhere we went.  He knew that there was nothing else to drink until one bottle was gone.  Then he might get lemonaide or juice.  Then we would start on the next bottle.  You would be surprised at how many days all he drank was water.  With no ice mind you.

Here is the back story on me.  I grew up in a household where the only soda in the house was Root Beer and that was for Daddy’s Root Beer Floats!  P E R I O D.  And yes he did share with his girls!

When I left home I did drink sodas for a while but realized early on that if you are thirsty and you reach for a soda you are NOT quenching your thirst at all.  Water quenches your thirst.  By the time a person feels thirsty, your body is telling you it needs water and you are becoming dehydrated.

Think about this.  Why is breakfast the most important meal of the day?  You just slept for 6-8 hours with nothing to fuel your body.  Well you also haven’t had a drink of water either.  When you wake up each morning you should drink a glass … yes 8 ounces of water.

I will say that was the hardest thing for me to do when I was training for my first triathlon.  So I kept water by my bed and I would sit on the edge of the bed and make myself drink the water before I went to the bathroom.   I was shocked at what a difference it made in my day.  It set the pace for staying hydrated during the day and an unexpected benefit came along with it.  My dry skin became nonexistent.

Well that makes perfect sense since up to 70 percent of the human body weight is composed of water. Muscle is made up of nearly 75 percent water.  Fat is made up of about 50 percent water. Bones are also composed of about 50 percent water.

However, fat tissue does not have as much water as lean tissue.  So, if you are overweight it does not mean that you are carrying more water weight. Sorry!  If you are overweight it means you are carrying more fat.  Plain and simple.

Every system in your body needs water. Water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues.  Your body requires water to function properly.

I try to drink two liters each day.  I have found that if I have a water bottle I KNOW what I have drank each day as opposed to trying to count the glasses of water during the day.

Here are some additional reasons to drink your water:

- One glass of water can alleviate late night hunger

- Drinking at least 5 glasses of water each day can reduce the incidence of colon cancer, bladder cancer and breast cancer.

- Drinking the recommended 8 to 10 glasses of water a can can ease joint pain AND help you maintain your weight levels.

- Soft drinks, coffee, and tea, while made up almost entirely of water, also contain caffeine. Caffeine can act as a mild diuretic, preventing water from traveling to necessary locations in the body.

Water Trivia:  20 Interesting and Useful Water Facts

Blueberries are considered a superfood and featured on Healthcastle this month. Good for EVERYONE in their diet. Including Diabetics and those looking for low glycemic foods.  Read on…. Highlighting this month’s food of the month was pretty easy work. Blueberries, our choice for August, are truly nutritional superstars.  They are also tasty and easily found in markets and stores across North America, with multiple varieties to choose from.  The fruit can range in size from tiny pea-sized balls to those as big as marbles and can be any color from blue to maroon to dark purple.  Blueberries can be tart and a little crunchy when unripe; as the berries ripen the flesh softens and the fruit sweetens.

Click here to read more

Okay I am not a food stylist.  I really know that after watching The Food Magicians on the Food Network.  Hopefully you will enjoy my first attempt a sugar free, gluten free cake for Carters 21st birthday.

That is how my party planning started.  I knew that I wanted to serve an entire meal that was diabetic friendly and that the attendees wouldn’t even realize it…and that included the cake too.  The menu was the easy part, it was the cake that took 3 tries to get it right.  Victoria and I were sick of Chocolate cake by party time since we had been sampling for days.  Vic on the other had was sad to see

it stop.  I determined that he was not a good cake taste tester.  He liked them all.  Even the one that tasted like an unsweetened bar of Bakers Chocolate!

So here is the menu:

Gazpacho Soup, Shrimp Cocktail with Cocktail Sauce, Fruit Platter, MamaLisa’s Cauliflower, Zucchini & Squash Slaw, Roasted Artichoke Salad, with Smoked Brisket with BBQ sauce, and Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream, Strawberries and Chocolate Sauce.

Uncle Jerry brought his yummy Salsa with chips  and Tori had a special request so I also made Roasted Garlic with Toasted Baguettes.  Carter’s Mom Roseanne brought her family favorite Vidalia Onion Casserole.  So those items were the only no-no on the menu.

Yes, all the sauces were diabetic.  The BB!Q sauce I made my original BBQ sauce and then updated the recipe to make it diabetic and I am telling you …there was hardly a difference.   My girlfriend Stacy had

also turned me on to a line of products from Walden Farms that were sugar free.  I took their cocktail sauce which is surprisingly good and added some horseradish.  YummE!

The gazpacho and its yummy topping was a hit.  I served it in espresso cups that I bought for our wedding reception, so no spoons needed!  It is the perfect way to serve soup to a crowd.

MamaLisa’s Cauliflower is always a hit and very little is ever left over.  Very simple,  Steam the cauliflower, top with a mustard mayo mix, top that with shredded colby cheese so it will melt.

The Zucchini & Squash Slaw (gotta figure out a better name for that) is a recipe that I modeled after Cucumber Salad.  Except that I cut the veggies with a mandolin to resemble spaghetti pasta.  The vinegar ‘cooks’ it and it gets al-dente.  There were actually a couple of guests that thought it was pasta when they looked at it.  Then I spice it up a little bit with some Sambal hot sauce and some cilantro.  Carter and Vic LOVE it … Carter requested it to be on the menu.

Vic make the brisket and it was perfect.  He has mastered brisket in his smoker.  Rubbed some Salt Lick Rub on it the night before and smoked for 12 hours.  Put in the warming drawer till ready to serve and it was tender and moist.

The cake turned out fabulously.  Some of the comments were that it tasted like a brownie.  If any of you have had a flour-less chocolate cake you will know that it is a dense cake.  So was this one.  It took me a few tries to get the ratio of chocolate right and the ratio of the two sweeteners right.

Serve it with a dollop of whipped Cream sweetened with Stevia,  a strawberry and a drizzle of Walden Farms Chocolate Sauce.

Carter took some home with him and called me the next day.  He had taken some to work and the coworkers said they would buy this and they weren’t diabetic.  It is nice to know my perseverance paid off.  My goal was to have a dessert that anyone would eat because it really tasted good and it wouldn’t matter that it was Sugar Free and Gluten Free.  It really was remarkably good if I say so myself!

So overall the Birthday Celebration was a success.  One of  best complement of the day was from one of Carter’s college buddies as he was leaving.  ”Who knew that diabetic food could be so good!”

Do you know anyone who is afflicted?   It is becoming a much smaller world as the majority of our population is obese which can be linked to diabetes.   Diabetes in many cases can be reversed with diet and exercise  but why wait until you are diagnosed.   Think about your food choices and improve them now so you have a better quatlity of life … the rest of your life.

I recently read that a study by Joslin Diabetes Center researchers showed that obese adults who lost just 7% of their weight and did moderate intensity exercise for six months improved their major blood vessel function by approximately 80%,  regardless of whether or not they had type 2 diabetes.

Why wait till you are overweight and on your way to obese.  Start today and make some changes.

Now that is something to think about…for the health of it!

Now you just KNOW that I am always aware of healthy tidbits regarding our lives but now with a much keener eye to the health of a diabetic, since Carter has been diagnosed with Diabetes.  Our goal is to maintain his health without insulin so that means diet.   It has never been truer that “we are what we eat”.  

FRUIT:  Did you know that one cup of strawberries has more vitamin C than an orange?  They are also an excellent source of fiber, which helps your body maintain normal blood sugar levels.

And on the FIBER note … that is something many of us do not eat enough of each day.  In order to keep toxins moving through our colon the average adult needs to eat 25-30 grams of fiber daily.  Whole fresh fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of fiber.  Are you getting enough fiber in your diet?

Carter, my son by marriage, was diagnosed with Diabetes recently.  It has been a whirlwind of emotions to say the least.   When he called me to share the news, I immediately knew what I had to do.   I had to help him learn how to eat.  In order to do that I had to teach him to plan a menu, shop for groceries, cook those goodies and not feel like he was the weird college kid.

Just imagine… no more soft drinks and limited if any fast food.  Now that is just the start… but it seems like the end of the world for a college kid.  At 20, Carter has a lifetime ahead of him and with diabetes there is NO SHORTCUT!  If you THINK you can beat the system, you run the risk of damaging your organs, losing your limbs, or losing your eyesight.   This is a very serious life sentence.

Ah ha!… a life sentence?  Could be.  Depends on ones attitude.  If we really think about it we created diabetes with the choices generations have made since the creation of processed food.   The reality is … this diagnosis creates and demands the best choices for ones body.  Healthy Clean Food.  Imagine that!

Here is food for thought:   How do YOU shop for groceries?   Think about it.  Does most of your food come from the premises or the interior of your grocery store?  If you shop the premises you will find dairy, fresh meat and fresh vegetables.  If you shop the interior of your store you will generally be purchasing and eating frozen foods and processed foods.  The healthier choice is obvious.  However there are unclean foods on the perimeter too.  We are navigating a jungle and need to choose to feed our bodies at the cell level.

So my journey continues for a healthier cuisine, with an emphasis on a diabetic lifestyle that a college student can live with and grow with as the journey of a lifetime begins for him.