Diabetes does not mean boring food for the rest of your life.

When you are diagnosed with diabetes type 2 it can knock you for six or you can take it on the chin and start planning your future.

That sounds harsh and it probably is, but the truth is that if you do not have a genetically related diabetes you probably got to this point by yourself!

From now on, either you start to plan your future and turn thiis around or you keep doing what you have always done and watch the diabetes rule your life.

Diabetes type 2 is a progressive illness and starts because you have gone with too high levels of glucose in your bloodstream which has not been sufficiently used by the muscles for energy.

The glucose in the blood comes from the food you have eaten, how often you eat it and your ability to burn it off.  

If you can think about a nice big cosy fire in your living room burning logs and producing heat. It can look very nice and even romantic. Beside the fire is a big pile of dried wood perfect for burning but lying right next to it is a heap with damp leaves and wet wood from a bag that was bought cheaply. You can't be bothered to carry them out and get rid of them so you pile them onto the fire.......what happens? The flames go down, smoke builds up and it becomes quite unpleasant.

The same thing basically happens in your body when you overload with different types of food without waiting for the first supply to burn sufficiently :

Lets say you see a beautiful box of chocolates, a huge cream cake and lots of tasty goodies. You eat one or two and it leaves a lovely feeling in your tummy.  You don't intend to eat everything but it is so easy to pick up these attractive bite sizes.............Before you know it you are overindulging and that pile of goodies has reduced in size. That lovely feeling is turning to regret and your tummy feels bloated and uncomfortable.

Just like the fire your system is temporarily choked up while it burns up the heavy rich food you stuffed in.

Just like the fire, your body needs time to unclog before it burns sufficiently again.

Now the problem is that if you do this too often, your body will begin to protest. You will get slower, tired, depressed. Your skin and hair may be affected and you will for sure gain weight.

When glucose is constantly in the blood the beta cells which produce insulin eventually get overworked and start to shut down. They will still produce insulin but not enough to deal with the back load. This is not a lucky situation to be in as some of this might even cause cholesterol problems, another ailment you want  to avoid.

Quite often this will cause the so called "Belly fat" to accumulate, the type of fat which is increasingly being discussed as the dangerous fat.

By planning your meals you can make a huge difference to this problem.

I know only too well that it is difficult to diet but i also know the dangers of untreated and out of control diabetes. So every little change you can make will give you a better future than not doing anything at all.

You can for example eat smaller meals at regular intervals giving enough time between to burn off the previous meal.

You could eat regularily three to four times each day but change the types of food you eat from fast burning carbohydrates to slow burning. However, if you snack in between these meals you will more than likely fill up on sugary drinks, sweets and crisps! This is not a good idea...remember the backlog and leaves burning..................your body will not thank you for this.

The bottom line is that you have to change your habits if you don't want to head for complications related to your diabetes.

Now that is really hard to take, but it is your future and you need to take responsibility.

You can make huge differences just by changing the types of food you eat.

You do not have to give up chocolate and fun food you just have to think differently and replace these snacks with something healthier.

Healthy food does not need to be boring it just takes some enthusiasm and thought when preparing it.

Healthy food is unfortunately not a "Fast Food" so please consider what the word "fast "means in "fast food"

F ats

A nd

S ugary

T reats

If you have been diagnosed with diabetes type 2 then FAST has to be avoided as much as possible.

When you have type 2 diabetes it is absolutely advantageous to go down in weight but if this is not so easy you should at least try and eat some healthier alternatives.

You have most likely heard of people with diabetes type 1 having to quickly drink a glass of orange juice followed by a tea biscuit or slice of bread. This is when thir insulin has caused their blood sugar levels to go so low that they need to bring them up again to an acceptable level as quickly as possible. This is done through eating quick absorbing carbohydrate.

Now as a diabetic with type 2 diabetes you are not insulin dependant so the fear of becoming hypoglycaemic is not your biggest fear ( Unless the medication you are taking has this indication )

Your biggest fear is avoiding complications due to microvascular and macrovascular diseases.

To let you see that diabetes and changing your eating habits does not have to be a life sentence i have added a few suggestions which may give you some encouragement to find other fun recipes.

Some healthier eating suggestions

Popping popcorn

First of all i would like to mention for those of you who enjoy a bowl of popcorn as a snack. You don't have to give this up completely!

There is a world of difference in eating popcorn popped in oil and popcorn popped by hot air.

Amazon.com sell a selection of these machines and this could make a great birthday gift to put on your wish list!

Low fat Ham and pepper cheese bake instead of high fat cheese

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2  diced yellow pepper
• 1/2  diced green pepper
• 1/2 diced red  pepper
• 1 cup diced, lean, reduced-sodium ham
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 cups fat-free egg substitute 
• 1 cup shredded, low fat white cheese of choice

Directions

1. Brush a large ovenproof dish with the olive oil and preheat over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, ham, parsley, and black pepper and saute for several minutes, until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the ham is beginning to brown. Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the dish.
2. Pour the egg substitute over the skillet mixture and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover with aluminium foil and cook without stirring for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the eggs are almost set (the edges will be cooked but the top will still be runny).
3. Remove the aluminium foil from the pan and wrap the handle in aluminum foil . Place  under the grill  for a couple of minutes, until the eggs are set but not dry. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and grill for another minute to melt the cheese.  serve hot.

Crispie snacks instead of potato chips

Ingredients:

• Soft tortillas cut into long diamond shapes or squares if you like.
• A little virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp Dried basil or oregano
• 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Spray baking tray with nonstick pan spray.
2. Mix the olive oil and garlic. Brush over the tortilla sections; sprinkle with oregano or basil and cheese.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp. Serve hot, or cool.