Smithson Toby - Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition For Dummies

Foreword

P roper nutrition is one of the foundations of good diabetes care, along with exercise and medication, if necessary. In type 1 diabetes, proper nutrition serves to balance the effect of the insulin that must be administered as well as exercise, so that the blood glucose remains as close to normal as possible. In type 2 diabetes, proper nutrition helps to reduce weight if overweight, thus preventing complications like heart, eye, kidney, and nerve disease and providing energy for the tasks of daily living.

For too long, people with diabetes have thought that proper nutrition means loss of freedom to eat the things they enjoy. As this book shows, such an idea is a myth. You can enjoy almost all the foods you grew up with, but if they raise the blood sugar or the cholesterol or the blood pressure, you must eat them in moderation. It is very important that proper nutrition be based on your needs. If it is not, you will be reluctant to follow the recommendations of your doctor or dietitian. Proper nutrition can never be found on a pad of paper called a diabetic diet.

No one is more qualified to teach you about proper nutrition than Toby Smithson. Toby has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was a young girl. She is a professional dietitian who has been recognized by her peers for her excellent work and is a certified diabetes educator. She is a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has received the Outstanding Dietitian in Illinois Award in 2009 from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and she recently served as president of the Illinois Dietetic Association. Toby's website, www.Diabeteseveryday.com, is a treasure chest of information about nutrition as well as many other aspects of diabetes.

This book, Diabetes Meal Planning & Nutrition For Dummies , distills decades of knowledge in an easily readable form. It starts by providing a basic understanding of diabetes. It proceeds by teaching you about nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and the best way to prepare them. It continues with meal planning and ends with a menu of seven delicious days of food.

Studies have shown that proper nutrition can have a significant effect toward lowering the hemoglobin A1c, a measure of diabetic control that correlates with diabetic complications. You are taking a major step in that direction by reading this book and applying its concepts to your diabetes.

Alan L. Rubin, M. D.

Introduction

T he most recent semi-official estimate of the number of people with diabetes in the United States was released in January 2011, and the tally was 25.8 million 8.3 percent of the entire population. But, with more than 150,000 new cases each month, that number is outdated even before its released. You can add 1.9 million for 2011, 1.9 million for 2012 (and so on) if you enjoy playing with big numbers, but its more likely the number youre most concerned about is 1 yourself, or a loved one. Coincidentally, this book has exactly the same concern.

You can see by the title that the main subject is food the words meal and nutrition are the giveaway. But, food and diabetes health cant be separated, and with the exception of essential insulin for people with type 1 diabetes, the food you eat every day is as important maybe even more important than your diabetes medicine. Food is the simplest, least expensive, most available, and most immediate treatment option for diabetes health. Not special food plain old food you walk past every time youre in a grocery. Yet, most people with diabetes struggle to adopt healthier eating habits, many to the point of giving up. There is a simple solution that can end the struggle.

If the word planning in the title seems like the least important (even least interesting) subject in the pages ahead, you are in for an amazing surprise maybe even an epiphany. See, the struggle with healthy eating doesnt come from your stomach, your pancreas, or an uncontrollable hand that sneaks unhealthy food into your mouth when youre not looking. Your struggle with healthy eating is a struggle between your incredible brain, and your primitive survival chemistry, and when it comes to food, chemistry often wins. Youre about to learn how planning can tip the balance, and make healthier eating your newest accomplishment.