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How a kiss can prevent diabetes
31st August 2005
Okay, I tricked you a little.
The best way to prevent diabetes is not by kissing, as you'd understand it.
Love can change many things, but saliva has limited uses.
But I wanted you to read this letter today, whether you're concerned about diabetes or not. Because this advice should be followed by everyone.
It will not only arm you against diabetes in the future, but improve your health without you having to resort to faddish diets.
In fact, some diabeticfriendly foods may be considered 'indulgent' or even 'bad for you' by rabbit foodloving dieticians.
(I've even enclosed one of my favourite recipes as an example!)
The following is from Dr Patrick Quillin's book, 'The Diabetes Improvement Program'...
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The KISS (keep it simple, student) method of optimal nutrition
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* Go natural. Eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible. Refining food often adds questionable agents (like food additives, salt, sugar and fat), removes valuable nutrients (like vitamins, minerals, and fibre) and always raises the cost of the food.
* Expand your horizons. Eat a wide variety of foods. By not focusing on any particular food, you can obtain nutrients that may be essential but are poorly understood, while also avoiding a buildup of any substance that could create food allergies or toxicities.
* Nibbling is better. Eat small frequent meals. Nibbling is better than gorging. Our ancestors 'grazed' throughout the day. Only with the advent of the industrial age did we begin the punctual eating of large meals. Nibbling helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and minimize insulin rushes; therefore has been linked to a lowered risk for heart disease, diabetes, obesity and mood swings.
* Seek out nutrientdense foods. Maximise your intake of lifegiving foods, including fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fruit, low fat meat (turkey, fish, chicken) and clean water. Low fat dairy products, especially yoghurt, can be valuable if you do not have milk allergies or lactose intolerance.
* Monitor your quality of weight, rather than quantity of weight. Balance your calorie intake with expenditure so that your percentage of body fat is reasonable. Punch the skinfold just above the hipbone. If this skin is more than an inch in thickness, then you may need to begin rational efforts to lose weight. Obesity is a major factor in diabetes. How much you weigh is not nearly as crucial as the percent of fat in the body. Skinfold thickness above the hipbone is a decent way of monitoring your percent body fat.
* Eat enough protein. Take in 1 to 2 grams of protein for each kilogram of body weight. Example: 150 pound patient. Divide 150 pounds by 2.2 to find 68 kilograms. Multiply times 1 to 2, yields 68 to 136 grams of protein daily is needed.
* Use supplements in addition to, rather than instead of, good food. Get your nutrients with a fork and spoon. Do not place undue reliance on pills and powders to provide optimal nourishment. Supplements providing (vitamins and minerals) cannot reverse the major influence of foods providing macronutrients(carbohydrate, fat, protein, fibre, water). Foods are top priority in your battle plan against diabetes.
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Some more good advice from Dr. Quillin. Certainly his last point is relevant for us all, diabetes or not.
And the great thing about taking this kind of advice is that you don't have to eat rabbit food to stay healthy. You can cook sumptuous meals.
Take a look at this diabeticfriendly recipe, cribbed from Maxwell Stein's 'The Diabetic Cookbook'.
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Chicken Breasts with Spinach Filling
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Ingredients:
* 4 large button mushrooms, chopped
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 125g frozen chopped spinach, thawed
* 50g shredded low-fat mozzarella choose, divided.
* 25g grated Parmesan cheese
* 4 chicken breasts
* 1 tsp bouillion seasoning
* Black pepper for seasoning
Saute the mushrooms and onion in a pan over a medium-low heat until the onion is tender; remove from the heat; add the spinach, half the mozzarella cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese; mix well and set aside.
Slice the chicken breast lengthwise down the centre to make pocket and place in a greased roasting tin(approx. 19cm x 24cm).
Fill the pockets with the spinach mixture. Seal the edges with skewers to completely enclose the spinach filling. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees centigrade for 30-35 minutes.
When cooked, remove from the oven, sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese; then return to the oven for 4 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Delicious.
If you'd like a copy of both The Diabetic Cookbook and The Diabetes Improvement Programme, then here's a useful link for you:
Diabetes book
Yours, as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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