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Natural Health and Wellness

Type 2 Diabetics

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The Best Dessert Choices For Type 2 Diabetes

The Big Book of Diabetic DessertsDiabetes is a very serious medical condition, but it can be kept in check with the right medication and a healthy diet plan. Being diabetic means you should be very mindful when it comes to watching what you eat. You need to monitor your blood sugar levels, and keep to a strict diabetic-friendly diet that is filled with healthy carbohydrates, and is low in fat and calories if weight loss is required in order to stay as healthy as possible.

Although diabetics have to be very selective when it comes to their diet, it does not mean that dessert and sweets have to be given up completely as there are many healthy ones that are also diabetes-friendly.

There are many recipes online for healthy desserts and many recipe books as well.

There are also many sugar free options at the super market; some options are sugar free Fudgiscles, ice cream and popsicles. There are many other choices in sugar free goodies, though precautions should be taken. Check the label for fat content, since those with diabetes are a high risk for heart disease, fat intake is an important consideration, and especially trans fat, which can be included in boxed food.

Fresh fruit makes a great dessert and when topped with a fat free frozen dessert topping or nonfat plain yogurt makes for a nice healthy sundae.

Atkins Nutritionals offers a large line of low carb nutrition bars, and they taste wonderful. Most have less than 3 grams net carbs per bar since the Atkins diet is a low carb diet. They have bars that mimic popular candy bars, like Snickers, Mounds, peanut butter cups and even plain and peanut M and M’s. They make great on the go snacks and the larger bars are great meal substitutes that are completely diabetes friendly.

Black Forest Trifle Recipe

This tasty dessert recipe is a healthy alternative to traditional chocolate cake and trifle. This diabetes-friendly dessert is low in fat and has no sugar. As a diabetic, you can sink your teeth into some of these decadent and delicious dessert treats without putting your health in jeopardy.

Even though you need to carefully monitor your sugar intake as a diabetic, you may be happy to know that you can still enjoy a chocolate dessert occasionally. This diabetic-friendly dessert option is made with sugar-free instant pudding and sugar-free, low-fat chocolate-cake mix.

A moist trifle will soothe the sweet tooth of any chocoholic. Add a bit of Cool Whip in order to shave off a lot of the fat that is found in less-healthy recipes. In addition, the cherries included in this recipe will boost both the vitamin C levels and add antioxidant properties to this tasty treat, something many diabetics can use.

Calories per serving: 102
Carbohydrates per serving: 22

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. package no-sugar-added low-fat chocolate cake mix
• 1 large sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1-pound fresh cherries (pitted), or frozen cherries, thaw and drain before preparing recipe.
• 2 cups thawed fat free dessert topping (cool Whip)
• Optional topping: unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions on the package using the 8-inch square or round cake pan method.

2. Cool prepared cake for 10 minutes

3. Remove cake from pan and cut into ten 1-inch pieces.

4. Prepare the pudding while the cake bakes according to package directions but use 2 cups fat-free milk; Cover prepared pudding and chill for 30 minutes.

5. A trifle is a layer, so you will need to layer the cake, cherries, and frozen topping into a 3-quart trifle bowl. You can make less thick layers, or more thin layers, thin typically works best. Continue to layer until you run out of cake and the final layer should be the frozen topping.

6. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top if desired.

Yield: 16, 2/3 cup servings

Nutritional Information Per Serving

• 102 calories
• 1 gram total fat
• 1 mg cholesterol
• 110 mg sodium
• 22 grams carbohydrates
• 1 gram fiber
• 3 grams protein

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How A Nutritionist Can Be The Greatest Asset For Type 2 Diabetics

diabetic-plateWith the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, come many questions.

What can I eat as a diabetic?

Do I have to lose weight?

Are there things I have to avoid now that I’m diabetic?

The answers to all these questions can easily be obtained from a nutritionist, perhaps even more so than you can get them from your primary doctor. This is why doctors routinely advise new diabetic patients to see a nutritionist to gain valuable information about how they can help themselves and their condition through nutrition.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that is best controlled with diet and exercise. Making healthy changes to lifestyle choices helps to manage the disease and prevent many of the complications associated with it, including, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetic neuropathy, and premature death that can result from out of control blood sugars and complications.

What can you learn from a nutritionist?

A nutritionist can meet with you for only one visit or for several—whatever it takes to get you on a path to better health. He or she will probably weigh and measure you to see what your body mass index is.

Your body mass index or BMI is the best way to compare your weight to the weight scientists have found to be ideal for good health. It is a calculation based on your height and weight with the optimal number being 18-25.

Any number over 25 means you’re overweight and any number over 30 means you’re obese. Your nutritionist, once knowing your BMI can tell you if you need to lose weight and how much you should lose.

Your nutritionist will probably tell you that what you are eating reflects the amount of glucose, a simple sugar, is found in your blood. They will tell you that, while there is no hard and fast “diabetic diet,” there are some guidelines to follow when planning your meals and snacks.

Furthermore, you and your nutritionist can design a meal plan that works for you and that is based on foods you enjoy. You don’t have to suffer through unpalatable foods just because you have diabetes.

A good nutritionist will be supportive of cultural and lifestyle considerations when planning a menu, and be respectful of what you the patient needs.

What is a healthy food plan to follow?

Your nutritionist will tell you the difference between foods that contain mostly carbohydrates, those that contain protein and those that contain fat. Carbohydrates come primarily from foods of the earth—fruits, vegetables and grains.

Your nutritionist will tell you that a healthy diet consists of 40-60 percent carbohydrates and will help you choose carbohydrates that appeal to you and that provide you with the calories, vitamins and minerals to keep your body running properly.

Protein comes from beans, nuts, and meat primarily. If you are a vegetarian, you can get your protein from bean and nut sources rather than from meats. These kinds of foods, important for cell structure and our organs, should make up 20 percent of the food we take in every day.

Fats should make up less than 30 percent of your diet. You can find healthy fats in oils, such as vegetable oil, corn oil, and safflower oil. Healthy fats are also found in avocadoes, walnuts, dairy and fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Ideally, diabetics should follow this recommendation carefully because fat is calorie-dense food and you don’t have to eat very much to ingest a lot of calories.

Fat intake is also an important consideration because those with diabetes are at a high risk for heart disease and eating heart healthy fats, and limiting unhealthy fats helps to lower that risk.

Do you have to stay away from sugar on a diabetic diet?

While it was once thought that the diabetic should consume very little sugar, it is now known that a mild amount of sugar is completely acceptable. You can work with your nutritionist to find ways to eat sugar in moderation in order to make eating fun and food palatable. In the end, it is all about balance and eating foods to keep your body healthy, perhaps for the first time in your life.

Your nutritionist can track your weight as you begin to control your diabetes through the use of diet and perhaps medications. The more weight you lose, the less you need to rely on medications to control your diabetes. In this way, your dietician can work in conjunction with your doctor to make sure your diet and medication regimen is optimal.