My husband has been recently diagnosed with diabetes...

Question

And I need to change my way of cooking. I am looking for some cookbooks, but I don't know if I should get a low-carb cookbook or an actual diabetes cookbook. I have read that neither will be beneficial, and that I may just need to learn how to read labels. Any guidance from you experienced cooks/chefs would be greatly appreciated!! I would like to have my husband around for a very long time....

Answer 1

I also have diabetes, and I have both kinds of cookbooks, but to tell you the truth I dont use either one. When I go to the store and I read all lables I get all low-carb and low in sugar and I use them. I use splenda when I cook, or bake, And splenda also came out with brown sugar. So my cooking has not changed I just changed things around. I also had the Dr. give me a name of a dietision, she helped. I hope I helped you some. just dont give up it will get better.

Answer 2

I would look at the diabetes cookbooks but also perhaps your husband can talk with a registered dietician (RD) who is a certified diabetes educator about his meal plan.  It's also very important for him to check his blood sugar as often as his doctor recommends as that can help to prevent complications such as with the eyes and neuropathy (nerve damage) as well as low blood sugar problems.  

If he doesn't already, he may want to see an endocrinologist (doctor that deals with hormonal disorders -- insulin is a hormone :) as my dad actually has type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes which used to be referred to as 'juvenile diabetes' and he sees such a doctor every so often to get blood work and such.  Just fyi that type 1 diabetes (Not type 2) is believed to be autoimmune where the body attacks itself.

The American Diabetes Association should have more info as well as a possible support group:  http://www.diabetes.org

Answer 3

It's true that there's advice all over the internet, and a lot of it conflicts.

You will find some advice saying to "eat a normal, healthy, balanced diet, and just watch portion sizes"... "Watch" them?  What does that even mean?  Are they going to do something?

You will find some advice to limit fats and sugars, which leaves out a huge factor: starches can be as bad as, or worse than, sugars.  For instance, a potato is far worse on my blood glucose than, say, ice cream.

You will find some advice that says that there are no foods that are off-limits to a diabetic.  That is not true for me, since I personally would prefer to keep my eyesight, feet, and kidneys.

The absolute _best_ advice for getting started on this road was something that I read on the Usenet newsgroup alt.support.diabetes, before it was taken over by trolls.  It used to be reposted almost daily, and after a while was just referred to as "Jennifer's advice".

Here's a link to it: bookmark it, read it, try it, read it again, and try it again.  It's one of the best things you will ever do for your husband.

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/jennifer.ht...

I'm also going to copy the text of it here as well:

--------------------------------------...

Jennifer's Advice to the Newly Diagnosed

Sounds like you're planning a move to take control of your diabetes... good for you.

There is so much to absorb... you don't have to rush into anything.  Begin by using your best weapon in this war, your meter.   You won't keel over today, you have time to experiment, test, learn, test and figure out just how your body and this disease are getting along.  The most important thing you can do to learn about yourself and diabetes is test test  test.

The single biggest question a diabetic has to answer is: What do I eat?

Unfortunately, the answer is pretty confusing. What confounds us all is the fact that different diabetics can get great results on wildly different food plans.  Some of us here achieve great blood glucose control eating a high complex carbohydrate diet. Others find that anything over 75 - 100g of carbs a day is too much.  Still others are somewhere in between.

At the beginning all of us felt frustrated.  We wanted to be handed THE way to eat, to ensure our continued health.  But we all learned that there is no one way.  Each of us had to find our own path, using the experience of those that went before, but still having to discover for ourselves how OUR bodies and this disease were coexisting. Ask questions, but remember each of us discovered on our own what works best for us.  You can use our experiences as jumping off points, but eventually you'll work up a successful plan that is yours alone.

What you are looking to discover is how different foods affect you.  As I'm sure you've read, carbohydrates (sugars, wheat, rice... the things our Grandmas called "starches") raise blood sugars the most rapidly.  Protein and fat do raise them, but not as high and much more slowly... so if you're a T2, generally the insulin your body still makes may take care of the rise.

You might want to try some  experiments.

First:  Eat whatever you've been currently eating... but write it all down.

Test yourself at the following times:

        * Upon waking (fasting)

        * 1 hour after each meal

        * 2 hours after each meal

        * At bedtime

That means 8 x each day.  What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest reading comes... and how fast you return to "normal".  Also, you may see that a meal that included bread, fruit or other carbs gives you a higher reading.

Then for the next few days, try to curb your carbs.  Eliminate breads, cereals, rice, beans, any wheat products, potato, corn, fruit... get all your carbs from veggies.  Test at the same schedule above.

If you try this for a few days, you may find some pretty good readings.  It's worth a few days to discover. Eventually you can slowly add back carbs until you see them affecting your meter.  The thing about this disease... though we share much in common and we need to follow certain guidelines... in the end, each of our bodies dictate our treatment and our success.

The closer we get to non-diabetic numbers, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible complications.  The key here is AIM... I know that everyone is at a different point in their disease... and it is progressive. But, if we aim for the best numbers and do our best, we give ourselves the best shot at heath we've got. That's all we can do.

Here's my opinion on what numbers to aim for, they are non-diabetic numbers.

        * FBG                               under 110

        * One hour after meals       under 140

        * Two hours after meals     under 120

or for those in the mmol parts of the world:

        * Fasting                            Under 6

        * One hour after meals         Under 8

        * Two hours after meals       Under 6.5

Recent studies have indicated that the most important numbers are your "after meal" numbers. They may be the most indicative of future complications, especially heart problems.

Listen to your doctor, but you are the leader of your diabetic care team.  While his/her advice is learned, it is not absolute.   You will end up knowing much more about your body and how it's handling diabetes than your doctor will.   Your meter is your best weapon.

Just remember, we're not in a race or a competition with anyone but ourselves... Play around with your food plan... TEST TEST TEST.  Learn what foods cause spikes, what foods cause cravings... Use your body as a science experiment.

You'll read about a lot of different ways people use to control their diabetes... Many are diametrically opposed. After awhile you'll learn that there is no one size fits all around here.  Take some time to experiment and you'll soon discover the plan that works for you.

Best of luck!

Jennifer  

Answer 4

I would borrow some cook books out of your local library and if you think that you like any of them then buy them at your nearest independent bookstore.

Answer 5

I would get as much info on diabetes that you can. It's all over the internet. But as long as he is got the diabetes under control and is eating less fat and sugar. He will be fine. That's mainly it. Cutting out the sugar and high fat. Diet pop instead of reg. ,sugarfree snacks, and lot's of fruit and veggies. You don't have to go and change your whole lifestyle. Jut cut some things out. Good luck. Main thing is he just keeps the diabetes under control.

Answer 6

My husband found out he had diabetes about 5 years ago.  I bought some cookbooks, but never used them:)  We just cut out white flour, and severely limited his carbs.  I replaced all sugar with Splenda (I found it works great in nearly any baked goods).  He lost 75 lbs in less than a year, with just that! ...  We also found that tofu would lower his blood sugar, sometimes as much as 30 pts, after a meal!  So, I add some cubes to spaghetti sauce (to counteract the carbs).  ... You can substitute cauliflower for potatoes in alot of things.  Mashed cauliflower (made basically the same way as potatoes);  very crisp steamed cauliflower in your favorite potato salad recipe.  ...  My husband would snack on sugar-free Jello or popsicles;  Walmart sells sugar-free Angel Food cake, and top it with sugar-free Cool Whip and sliced strawberries.  Breyer's makes good sugar-free ice cream (in fact, low carb ice cream usually has little, or no sugar too);   get some sugar-free chocolate syrup and maple syrup.  If he takes sandwiches to work, the lowest carbs are actually on the cheapest white breads!  ....  Just use your imagination to substitute things:)   Good luck!

Answer 7

Depends on how severe his diabetes is.  My mom has mild to  moderate diabetes and still can eat pasta and bread in moderation.  She cuts desserts and sugar cereals and table sugar out totally.  In her case she doesn't need to use special recipes for everyday meals... she just needs to watch her sweets.  One good rule of thumb is to pay attention to the glycemic index of foods.  http://www.glycemicindex.com/

Best bet, since you are just starting out, is to make an appointment or 2 with a dietitian.  They will be your best resource until your DH gets the hang of keeping his blood sugar in check.  There will be fluctuations in the beginning as his body adjusts so don't let that scare you.  Given 3-6 months and everything will settle into place.

Best wishes.