2009 comes in with anticipation and desire.  Outside of all the personal and financial stresses that we have there are many other people in our city and country that have needs and stresses that outweigh ours.  Keep in mind that at the top of your resolution list you become a better person when you resolve to do something to help someone that needs a leg up.

I am resolved to help someone that has a greater need than I have.

I am resolved to keep my blood sugar under control

I am resolved to eat healthier.  I know as I do, I will lose weight

I am resolved to exercise.  I know as I do, I will become stronger, feel better, more confident and happier.

Your resolutions may look like mine.  The question you really need to consider this January is…will you be resolved to keep your resolutions for the rest of your life?

Happy New Year.  May you and your family enjoy the health and prosperity that you deserve.

Hi everyone, we’re in the home stretch…  We are partying and having fun with friends and Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years are right here.  If you have successfully navigated the party platters, the egg nog and sweets, you’ve only had blood sugar issues half the time. 

Now it’s time to put your will power into high gear.  Before you attend the party make sure to ask if you can bring something healthy to share.  Make sure to put the word healthy in.  Thats the key.  Most of your friends and family will be happy to say yes.  Others, not understanding your needs will say yes and hope you bring some food that will be in the spirit of the holidays.

Your contribution needs to be your “Plan A”.  It needs to be something that you can enjoy and will carry you over for the party.  Self control is harder this time of the year especially when everyone is saying have some, eat well now and indulge.  Believe me I know this is what you want to hear, but slow down.  Take it easy and focus on the yummy healthy food you brought.  A fruit salad, a box of Granola Bars, pick something others will also enjoy and your holiday party will be fun and memorable.

Happy Holidays!

Holiday parties are in full swing and I’ll bet you have or will be joining in the festivities.  I know I will and with all the sugary snacks, alcohol and starchy food that will be served I’m going to be challenged.  It actually stared for me at Thanksgiving when my wife brought out her famous stuffing, home made cranberries and green bean casserole.

The challenge for me was taking small amounts of the bad stuff and eating more of the good stuff.

Cake, pie, cookies…HELP!!!  OK, I took a small piece of pie and ate a spiced orange cranberry granola bar.  The cake converted to sugar quickly, however since I ate the granola bar right after the cake they were digested together which slowed the conversion of the cake to sugar in my blood. 

The key to slowing the blood sugar conversion of high glycemic foods is to eat low glycemic foods with them.  That said it doesn’t mean you can load up on high glycemic foods with a drop of low glycemic foods.  Moderate the high glycemic food with higher volume of low glycemic food.  This is no cure for high blood sugar, you may still spike however you’ll likely have a lower spike this way.

Bottom line, too much of anything will cause blood sugar problems so eat less and enjoy it!

I love Turkey Day!  This year we had family and enjoyed the best meal.  Turkey and all the fixings which included plenty of my favorite low carb options.  I think we’ve hit the mark in our family and now makes foods that meet my needs as a diabetic but it’s no longer “my special food”. 

I’ve always hated having special food, I guess I’m just tired of being treated like an outcast when it comes to food.  It’s taken a lot of effort and time but now “my special food” is “our regular food”.  I’m also more experienced at saying no to foods that are going to spike my sugar.  Even so I now am satisfied with a bite or nibble to satisfy my desire. 

Getting through the holidays is always challenging but if you take a few simple steps you will be better off:

1. Whenever possible bring something healthy that you can eat (I bring Granola Bars)

2. Eat a balanced meal that is lower in carbs and includes foods that are low on the Glycemic Index

3. Eat dessert while you are still full.  This will keep you from overdoing dessert and will reduce the impact on your blood sugar.

Most of all, enjoy yourself (in moderation).

I am thankful for many things this year.  First I am thankful for the support of my family and friends, without which nothing else would really matter anyway.  It is because of their love, support and involvement that I have been able to lead a meaningful life.

I am thankful for the granola bar recipe that has helped turn our Granola Gourmet into a real company with appreciative customers.  It amazes me how often someone writes to thank me for making the bars available to the public. 

I am thankful for my Endocrinologist.  A man with type 1 diabetes he is an inspiration to me.  His guidance and support have been a cornerstone in helping me manage my diabetes better.

Everyday that I look at food I am inspired to eat, drink and be merry this holiday season.  I am also focusing my discipline on eating the right foods.  I am thankful that there is usually something I can eat at holiday events.  Here are my three goals when at a holiday party:

1. Enjoy the company - talk more, eat less

2. Enjoy the food - focus more on proteins, stay away from sugary treats (I’m bringing granola bars for my treat this year)

3. Enjoy the drinks - stop at one (but really savor it) than switch to something with no calories or sugar

Let me know what works for you and we can share with others that are interested!

Seems to me that the holidays come earlier and earlier each year.  Halloween wasn’t even over when stores were preparing for Christmas, however that’s when diabetics are challenged greatest.  From Halloween to New Year’s we are constantly being bombarded with “the good stuff”.

What is this good stuff…candy, cake, baked goods and NONE are diabetic friendly.  For me it started a few days before Halloween.  I started seeing bags of candy stacking up for the trick or treaters and held firm on my willpower.  Made it way past Halloween without having a problem.  So many of us have these challenges with sweets and they are going to intensify in the next few weeks.

Here are a few suggestions I’ve tried:

Drink lots of water when you get the urge for sweets - I guess drowning will keep you from eating sugar

Eat a salad (but avoid the dressing) - I like this one, now I don’t get my snack and it’s tasteless

Take a walk - This may actually help, get your mind off of the snack into a new atmosphere.  Then when you come home you’ll be in a different mindset.

Eat a low glycemic treat like Granola Gourmet bars - ok here is one that does work for me.

Dealing with food challenges is going to become a bigger issue in the next 6 weeks.  Be honest with yourself, hiding your treat does not help your problem.

I’ve been hearing a lot of people with concerns about Carbs.  They are afraid to eat too many carbs which they feel would either impact their overall diet or their blood sugar.  It is interesting to talk to these people that have been working on losing weight or maintaining their health.  Rarely do they mention that they are concerned about impacting their blood sugar.

Of course you’d be interested in that if you were a person with diabetes or hypoglycemia, however even if you are healthy and do not have any blood sugar issues consider this.  Blood sugar spikes cause excess insulin production in your body.  How can this happen to healthy people?  Have you come home from eating Chinese food only to be hungry in a couple of hours?  This is what I call “The Chinese Food Syndrome”!

Rice and noodles are starches that convert to sugar quickly in your body.  So fast in fact that your body rushes to your aid by overproducing insulin.  Insulin makes you hungry.  Excess insulin is sent to the liver where it is converted to fat.  It is also the cause for reduced energy levels, so that at 2PM you feel like you need an energy boost. 

Do yourself a favor, focus more on the Glycemic Index or Impact of food.  Don’t just look at the carb count!

If you read my last column, you know that last week I had a low blood sugar episode.  For those of you who have had a problem like this you’ll know that it can be traumatic.  My sugar dropped to 60 and my need for sugar actually woke me at 3AM.

While this may seem unusual to you if you haven’t had this problem before, let me assure you that when my blood sugar drops to 100 and I’m awake I focus on food as my number 1 priority.  So, you can imagine that when I woke up I did not need to test my blood sugar to know I needed to get the number up.

Immediately I went to the kitchen searching for juice.  We were out…doesn’t it figure that the one time I’m in need it’s gone!  I did the next best thing, I drank milk.  Then I found the strawberry jam, peanut butter, granola bars and pasta.  I can’t tell you how much of anything I ate but I definately overdid it. 

My excuse is simple it was 3AM I was still asleep and acting on instinct (not that I needed an excuse).  My sugar rose to 219 in 1 hour and I was ok.  Actually I was stuffed.  I skipped breakfast that day and am back on track today.

How do you handle low blood sugar episodes?

The other night I was doing great.  For those of you who don’t know me, I am a type 2 diabetic and have been for 15 years.  Over the years I’ve managed my diabetes with various pills and injections.  About 3 years ago, I opted to discontinue the pills and give my organs a rest from the potential issues associated with using pills.

Today I use insulin.  I’ve gotten so comfortable that I sometimes take it for granted that I am using the right amount of insulin.  The other night I ate well, had a few carbs with dinner and a Granola Bar for dessert. 

At bedtime I took my usual amount of insulin and added a few units so that my number in the morning would come in a little below 130.  At 3AM I woke up and was famished.  My sugar was 60 and I was crashing.  Quickly I drank some milk and began pigging out.  Normally I think of nothing but food when my blood sugar hits 100, so you can understand that I ate anything that didn’t move at 3AM. 

My sugar started bouncing back and I was OK.  In fact at 4AM my sugar was 219.   This is the 3rd time in 15 years I’ve had a low sugar incident.  Too much insulin and then too much food, but all I can say is things like this happen, we manage our diabetes with all the information we have and still we can have problems, if you’ve ever had an issue like this let us know how you handled it.

Here are some tips that may help you understand why weight loss in Diabetics is an issue.

Diabetes is a metabolic problem.  A low calorie restrictive diet is giving a lot less to a diabetic than a non-diabetic.  This will likely not provide adequate nutrition due to the limit on food intake and the stress of diabetes on getting adequate nutrition. 

Several problems make weight loss difficult for Diabetics.  Blood sugar spikes lead to excess insulin production, the liver converts it to triglycerides that become fat on the body.

Diabetics need to eat more smaller meals, due to inefficient metabolism.  Nutrients are often not processed properly and so diabetics do not gain optimal nutrition from their meals.

Diabetics cannot process high glycemic foods efficiently and diabetics usually eat too many carbohydrates.   This creates a vicious cycle of excess insulin production and excess Cortisol (a hormone that raises blood sugar levels).

Tips for managing your diet:

1.      Eat every 2 ½ - 4 hours, either a meal or snack.

2.      Do not skip meals or snacks.

3.      If you eat before the 2 ½ hour interval is reached, start a new 2 ½ hour interval from the time you cheated and ate too soon.

4.      Eat a little protein with every meal.

5.      Limit high glycemic foods.

6.      Consider fats are fattening. 

The key point is the “interval.”  Eat on schedule.  You are not being asked to “not eat”, instead you are only being asked to “wait”.