Dodging Diabetes Deliciously (ebook)

Argumento de Dodging Diabetes Deliciously (ebook)

The global spread of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Here in the US, 1 in 3 adults is at risk of diabetes and is already, often unknowingly, in the pre-diabetes stage. The good news is that by adopting a low-carb diet and engaging in regular exercise, those in the pre-diabetes stage can not only halt but even reverse their condition. Dodging Diabetes Deliciously offers a timely intervention in the form of 16 meals with fewer than 20 grams of carbohydrate each ? including dessert! The recipes have been glucose-tested on the chef, Connie Holmes, Ed.D (herself working to reverse her pre-diabetes) and are simple and easy-to-prepare. But this is no ordinary diabetes prevention cookbook. This mouth-watering collection ? drawing on fresh, local, organic and seasonal ingredients and illustrated with vivid photography ? is a celebration of good food and good health. It is also is a valuable source of information for those tackling the challenge of pre-diabetes. Co-authored by Martha Snider, M.D., Dodging Diabetes Deliciously includes several appendices, carefully researched, that address issues such as the role of weight loss, timing of meals and the use of artificial sweeteners. Dodging Diabetes Deliciously will guide and inspire all those seeking to avoid the ravages of diabetes and wanting to take creative and constructive control of their health.

INTRODUCTION by Constance Holmes I have always loved food. My mother delights in reporting that my first word was more. I haven?t just loved food; I?ve been fascinated by it. Being in the kitchen, watching food being prepared, has always been my favorite entertainment. At a restaurant, I?m the diner who wants to know, not only ingredients, but exactly how my dish has been prepared. Food and cooking have been a source of joy as well as a source of anxiety. Beginning in adolescence, I have struggled with weight gain ? followed by weight loss ? only to begin the cycle again. At age 12, I was put on my first high-protein, low-carbohydrate weight loss program and remember bringing sandwiches to school wrapped in lettuce leaves rather than slices of bread. As long as I stuck to a drastically carbohydrate-reduced food plan, I was able, with effort, to keep my weight at a healthier level. When I rejoined my more normal peers in eating carbohydrate-rich foods, my weight soared and my self-esteem plummeted. Nevertheless, my interest and love of food remained constant. The imagination and invention involved in food design, creation and presentation captured me as a child. As an adult, I?ve been inspired by cooking as creation: how to coax the greatest flavor and deliciousness from the meal components before me. Three years ago, I was diagnosed with prediabetes and I came to understand the role genetics plays in diabetes. My father was diagnosed with diabetes at age 45 and died of heart disease at age 60. His father, his brother and their grandfather had diabetes. My own diagnosis (not yet full-blown diabetes and still reversible) did not come as a shock given this genetic history, but I did need to face the truth of my situation. As my doctor put it, I am seriously glucose-intolerant which means I need to eat within strictly carbohydrate controlled limits. Now I know how I need to eat in order to dodge diabetes. When I have added grain, root vegetables and tropical fruits back into my diet, my weight has gradually climbed. Facing the reality and permanence of this state has been strangely liberating. In addition, I need to be sure to make intense exercise a regular and happy part of my life. No longer bargaining with a ?taste? of bread, mashed potatoes or dessert, I have opened my mind to the possibility of eating well, even deliciously, within limitations. I have received a lot of help in doing so, especially from my co-author, Martha Snider. Our book is the fruit of this exploration. Finally fully aware of my situation, I decided to create a new way to cook and to eat. I needed a food life that supported my health, kept me clear of diabetes and yet retained all the deliciousness my body and soul required. From Dr. Richard Bernstein, in The Diabetes Solution, I learned exactly how carbohydrates affect the metabolism of people like me with glucose intolerance and/or insulin resistance. Dr. Bernstein convinced me that everyone, including everyone being treated for diabetes, can have normal blood sugar if they stringently limit their daily carbohydrate intake to 45 grams or less. I learned that only protein and fat are without carbohydrates. Legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products (except full-fat dairy), vegetables (especially root vegetables and winter squashes) and all fruits (especially tropical fruits and even apples) have carbohydrates that must be carefully counted in order to stay under that 45 gram bar. Dr. Bernstein does have some good news. Delicious salad greens like arugula, endive, and mesclun are fairly low in carbs; so are asparagus, avocado, cauliflower, string beans, summer squashes, broccoli and bell peppers (except yellow ones). Brussels sprouts (among my favorite vegetables) can be roasted, braised, or steamed to delicious effect. Berries, among nature?s most delicious morsels, are also mercifully low. And there are surprises: almond milk is very low in carbs and can be blended with frozen berries to create a toothsome sorbet. Hard cheese is also fairly low in carbs although it is rich in calories. But a small amount of English Stilton (I recently savored it with thin slices of apple) makes for a scrumptious end to a meal. Goat cheese Brie served warm enough to ooze is a great treat especially with a few ripe cherries. Rather than grimly focusing on what I needed to eliminate, I began to look to what I could eat safely. And I began to imagine what meals I could create from low-carb ingredients that would keep the count under 20 grams per meal. Soon I was up against my love of chocolate. Recent studies lauding the benefits of dark chocolate as an anti-oxidant and a potential cancer fighter further reinforced my wish to include chocolate in my food life. Finding the best low-sugar, low-glycemic chocolatier online proved to be a demanding project. I ordered from various merchants only to be disappointed by a chalky texture or by a bitter, artificial after-taste. Finally, by a stroke of luck, I came upon Maine Cottage Foods ? purveyors of the very best chocolates and baked goods for diabetics. In addition to colorful, foiled- wrapped, chocolate teenies (6 teenies for an unbelievable 2 grams of carbs), they also have invented a line of baked goods made exclusively with almond flour and whey protein. The tiny, glazed brownies are a succulent revelation: deep chocolate flavor in bite-size portions for less than 4 grams of carb. Topping these fabulous morsels with no sugar/non-fat whipped topping and circling this confection with fresh, sweet raspberries will make the most ardent carb-counter feel happy to be alive. Using the limits and structure I learned from Dr. Bernstein, I began to conceive of a cookbook which would create 16 meals, 4 for each season of the year. Each meal would feature a dessert and would total 20 grams or less of carb per person. Inspired by Maine Cottage Foods and their inventions, I studied almond flour and its properties for baking. I learned how to make an almond flour torte, featuring dark chocolate ?jewels? from Maine Cottage Foods. Then I learned how to make almond flour pancakes, moist and dense with flavor and rich in protein. These treats are featured in our cookbook. No one was more supportive as I faced the challenge of dodging diabetes than Martha. As a physician, she understands very well the threat diabetes poses to the body. As a food lover, she appreciates the impact of a seriously restricted diet and understands how I dreaded it. Together, over the last three years, we tested my little discovery: daVinci syrups (sugar-free) poured over yogurt and made into sweet summer drinks (some with a splash of half-and-half). We talked about the growing incidence of prediabetes and diabetes in this country and around the world. We worried together about the impact on children as obesity sets in early, brought on by a high-sugar diet and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. We worried about my health together which helped me decide to create a sustainable, livable and enjoyable food life at the same time that I worked to avoid diabetes. Our cookbook, Dodging Diabetes Deliciously: A Low-Carb Approach to Prediabetes, is a true joint effort. Martha and I have discussed each menu in detail, making decisions about how best to ?spend? our carb grams. I have shopped and cooked while Martha has done the consulting, the dining and the beautiful photography. We hope that our cookbook appeals to your eye as well as to your palate. The images here bear witness to what we have discovered. It is possible to create simple, easily prepared meals that are as delicious as they are healthful. Doing so has been a feast in itself. Serving these meals to family, friends and loved ones has been cause for celebration. All 16 meals have been tested on my sensitive, carbohydrate-challenged metabolism, and I have shared the results with you. They have met the test of safe post-meal blood sugar levels as well as the standards of my easily bored and discerning palate. We hope using this book will renew your optimism about your own health and about a way forward to share the joy of food with those you love.0