2 posts tagged “low-carb”
Our exciting new hands-on guide to controlling your health with diabetes, Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes, continues its tour of the Internet this week at Kudos for Low-Carb, a fitness and health blog by certified sports nutritionist Dr. Carol Bardelli.
Dr. Bardelli has hosted an interview with me, Amy (please squint when viewing the huge photo; I look younger that way) covering an awful lot of ground. She wanted to know everything from "Why are patients often non-compliant?" to
"Why is exercise so crucial to diabetes management, and how can people get motivated to fit it into their busy lifestyles?" Oy, lots to say on that second one there.
Not surprisingly, we also talk a lot about foods and eating. "What's your take on limiting refined carbohydrate foods like white rice, white flour breads, potatoes and pasta?" Dr. Bardelli asks.
Weeelll... personally, living gluten-free, I eat a lot of protein -- fish, chicken, and lean beef -- and vegetables in every imaginable form. I still take a fiber supplement because the gluten-free baked goods are generally made from rice or potato flour, which don't offer as much dietary fiber as the nice whole-grain breads other people can eat.
Here are a few general tips on eating with diabetes that we offer in the book:
• A carb is a carb — most carbs, whatever kind they are, have the same effect on your body; they convert to glucose, so keeping tabs on the overall amount of carbs you eat is important
• "Sugar-free" is not carb-free! — don't let marketing labels fool you into believing that some carbs "don't count"
• Fiber does the trick — high fiber content in a food (more than 5 grams per serving) can reduce the impact of that food on your blood glucose
• Eye on portion size — the most important thing you can do when dining out is limiting the "super-size" portions served. Try sharing an entree with a friend, or using the 50-50 Plate Rule, which says you should fill half your plate with high-fiber foods like fruit, fibrous vegetables, and grains, and the other half should be split between protein and other vegetables.
We also stress that when you have diabetes, striking a balance is everything. Your body needs a variety of foods in moderate amounts. And eating should be enjoyable.
Check out the interview at Kudos for Low Carb now. What I liked best about this experience was Dr. B's reply email to me, saying that her husband had proof-read the piece, and "commented that he expected a dry and boring piece because of the subject matter, but (he) was pleasantly surprised and found it very intriguing and readable!"
Thank you kindly, Mr. Dr. B. I try to make it a point never to write anything "dry and boring" -- and this goes for our book as well, I do hope!
We got our official first book review a few days ago. Manny Hernandez, bilingual healthcare blogger and Top Amazon reviewer, had this to say:
"Since the publishing of Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, I haven't encountered such a compelling and intuitive title for diabetics. I highly recommend it."
Quite the compliment!! We are honored, to say the least.
Here's the full text of Manny's review:
I am a type I diabetic. Then again, I am also an Amazon.com reviewer.
So whenever I can get my hands on a good book on diabetes or its
treatment, I do. The most recent book on the topic I've had a chance to
read has been Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes: 5 Essential Health Factors You Can Master to Enjoy a Long and Healthy Life.
The book, which takes a little under 300 pages, combines the medical knowledge of Dr. Jackson with the real life experience of Amy, who dedicated herself to writing about diabetes after being diagnosed with type I diabetes in May 2003, in her mid-thirties. The result is an amazing title aimed at focusing the diabetic patient on five fundamental factors to help him/her lead a long and healthy life. These factors are: your A1C, your blood pressure, your lipids, your microalbumin and your eye exam, to discard retinopathy.
After showing readers through the five main indicators, the authors present courses of action to track them and maintain them in control through exercise, food/diet, medications and monitoring. Towards the end of the book, there are chapters dedicated to the understanding of both type II and type I diabetes, as well as the so-called metabolic syndrome and the actual dangers faced by children of diabetics. The last few chapters deal with travel, feet and mouth care, emotional care and alternative treatment options for diabetics.
Though the book has a slight emphasis on type II diabetes, honestly all diabetics can find useful information in it. Since the publishing of Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, I haven't encountered such a compelling and intuitive title for diabetics. I highly recommend it.
