Re: family meals

[Guest guest]

> So you suggest that we just treat the whole family as diabetics, making

> sure

> they all get the same treatment as you are having, " just in case you get

> diabetes later "   I find this along the line of lets go get some radiation,

> you may

> get cancer because I ahve had it.  I am very careful what my family eats,

> but

> I will not restrict them from " Normal things " because I was the one with the

> short straw. 

>

Why do people in this country feel they NEED to eat junk food@@ How is not

providing sugar laden, empty calorie, junk food, or not feeding your family high

fat or high sugar dinners depriving them?? I dont understand how a diabetic

diet dinner is restricting the family?

[Guest guest]

> While she was here, she

> told me that when her Mom and Dad divorced when she was 8m she was put on a

> very

> restrictive diet (no, she was even a slender child) and had become a " closet

> eater " she stold thinks from the market and sneaked anything she could get

> her

> hands on as long as noone watched her do it. 

>

What a totally illogical argument @@ Again, how is cooking a healthy diabetic

dinner a deprivation to the family or the cause of eating disorders. ly

from a psychological point of view the diet was probably not the cause of her

eating disorder.

[Guest guest]

> I'm a newbie to the group who was thinking of lurking, but this

> thread has me interested. Family friendly meals...Knowing that

there

> may be a genetic link with respect to diabetes, why would you want

to

> provided " family friendly " meals which could affect the blood sugar

> of your family who are already at risk by having a diabetic

parent?

> If you start your children on a diet that is diabetic friendly you

> may keep their blood sugars under control and prevent them from

> developing diabetes. Or if they do develop diabetes they will have

> no trouble adjusting to a diabetic friendly diet since they are

> already used to it.

> So you suggest that we just treat the whole family as diabetics,

making sure

> they all get the same treatment as you are having, " just in case

you get

> diabetes later " I find this along the line of lets go get some

radiation, you may

> get cancer because I ahve had it. I am very careful what my family

eats, but

> I will not restrict them from " Normal things " because I was the one

with the

> short straw. We keep our pantry stalked with healthy items, and my

105 pound

> 5'4 " 13 year old is certainly healthy weight wise. She and the

rest of the

> faimly (12 of us, played about 15 games of water volleyball today,

including me

> ;-)

First of all, prevention and treatment are two completely different

things. You don't go around injecting everyone with insulin because

they might become diabetic either, it would kill them. Insulin

injections are a treatment for diabetes, just like radiation and

chemotherapy are a treatment for cancer. I am talking about

prevention. I am not saying restrict entirely, just be cautious and

be aware of the possible results of high glycemic or sugary foods. I

think everyone grabbed on to this a little more than I meant it to

be. But I am glad that you keep the pantry stocked with healthy

foods, but I wouldn't mind a definition of " Normal things. "

> I have a family history of diabetes (maternal grandmother) and my

own

> mother is an unofficially diagnosed hypoglycemic (if not worse, she

> hates going to the doc so who knows how far down the line to

diabetes

> she is). I am reactive hypoglycemic with borderline insulin

> resistance. Now I have to avoid high glycemic foods, processed

> foods, sugar, caffeine and all that other stuff considered bad as

> much as possible. If I had been raised on a diet which excluded

> those items to begin with, I may not have the medical issues I have

> today. Granted those items aren't totally out of the diet because

I

> can balance some sugar with protein, but overall I eat a much more

> healthy diet than before. I have to be careful though because if I

> don't keep my blood sugar under control, my borderline insulin

> resistance becomes full blown insulin resistance and I am well on

my

> way to diabetes.

> It seems to me you would have been deprived a lot of the joys of

normal life

> if you had been totally denied those things as a child.

You mention " I would have been deprived of a lot of the joys of

normal life if I had been totally denied those things as a child. "

Once again, I am not saying restrict and deprive everything. I am

saying moderation is key. If I was denied anything while growing up

it was learning to enjoy wholesome foods. My mother always wanted to

buy the cheap food items to save money which means the heavily

processed foods. I didn't even have a slice of wheat or multigrain

bread until I was in college. I know now that white bread is so

overly processed that it is really not good for anyone. They take

all the nutrients out grind everything up, bleach it, treat it

chemically, then try to put artificial good stuff back in. That is

what I lived off of. I also had tons of candy and Twinkies, and all

kinds of snack cakes plus whatever Mom could bake. She is a good

baker and passed that on to me, but now can I eat any of my

creations? Not much, just a few bites and a big glass of milk. So

was I deprived, no, not of the stuff that I thought I wanted and

needed. I was deprived of learning proper nutrition and since I have

been diagnosed, I have had to try to cope with the changes in my diet

and now I have the feeling of deprivation when I can't just go grab

whatever candy bar suits my needs at the moment. If I had been used

to eating healthy wholesome non-sugary foods growing up, it wouldn't

be so hard. I have to pack up a ton of food and haul it with me

everywhere and it needs to be wholesome and nutritious or I end up

either really cranky or passed out on the floor or wherever I happen

to land.

When my twins were 9,

> they had one particular friend who practically lived here. She

never ate a

> thing though. Couldn't even eat a piece of fruit. Last year, when

she was 22,

> she came over with one of the twins, to visit me. While she was

here, she

> told me that when her Mom and Dad divorced when she was 8m she was

put on a very

> restrictive diet (no, she was even a slender child) and had become

a " closet

> eater " she stold thinks from the market and sneaked anything she

could get her

> hands on as long as noone watched her do it. She told me she had

learned all

> the tricks (bullemic an anorexic both). Practically destroying her

health.

> She lives with a friend now, but still finds it unacceptable to eat

any sweet

> or splurge item like a chip etc, unless she is in the privacy of

her room. I

> cried when I heard her say this. She spent her whole life

believing food is

> the greatest sin. Both her parents watched her like a hawk when

she ate. I

> have no idea why they found this necessary.

This has absolutely nothing to do with parents providing healthy vs.

unhealthy foods. Her parents watching what she ate like a hawk is

not a good way to live for anyone. I can almost guarantee that her

parents made her feel awful and helped create her low self image

which led to her eating disorders. My uncle does that to my aunt all

the time and it is horrible. She is 5'8 " tall and doesn't even weigh

100 lbs. If she starts eating more than he thinks is right he will

say something to her about how she will end up looking like her

overweight aunt. Now she barely eats a thing. My best friend has

had bouts with both bulimia and anorexia and I have had to hold her

down to keep her fingers from inducing a purge hoping that if we

could make her keep something down long enough she wouldn't have to

be stuck in the hospital (she rips the IVs out). Neither eating

disorder is very pretty. Knowing what I know of anorexia and bulimia,

her condition was not caused by her parent's willingness to provide a

nutritious well balanced diet for their child.

> I don't understand why people would willingly put their own

children

> at a higher risk. If you are eating healthier, why not do the same

> for your children? Get them eating healthy and into that habit

> before it is too late.

> Absolutely my kids eat healthy, they always have. They do need the

> restrictions on carbs I do, because they metabolize them normally.

I have checked them

> all, just to see what tgheir bodies did at 2 hours, because I was

curious and

> they didn't mind.

I didn't say that there should be a restriction on their carbohydrate

intake, especially for kids who need carbohydrates to grow and

develop properly. Don't limit their portions because you are

limiting your portions. They are probably growing and need the

carbohydrates for energy and if they get them from the right sources

they will be packed with nutrients. What I was trying to say was

sugars and I mean the sucrose, granulated, highly processed sugar (or

highly processed foods for that matter), is a staple in your child's

diet, you are putting them at a greater risk for developing

diabetes.

> I have to agree with many of the others who have posted. Most of

> these recipes and the ones I have seen in my diabetic cookbooks and

> magazines, as well, don't really seem diabetic friendly, or should

I

> say, blood glucose level friendly. Some use extremely processed

> foods which effect the blood sugar levels quite a bit. I realize

> portion control does aid in avoiding the swings of blood glucose

> levels, but why not fill up your plate with healthy good

> carbohydrates instead. I have also seen several with lots of sugar

guess I

> missed these ;-)

I have found many recipes which have unnecessary sugar added to

them. The lasagna was the most shocking, and then there is the salad

dressing and believe me there is a long list of them. Not just

talking about those posted here. Maybe I just found the wrong

sources for recipes, but I figured the diabetic cookbook was a good

place to start for low sugar/low glycemic foods.

> or artificial sweeteners which in some cases I don't see as a

> necessary ingredient. I personally can't use artificial sweeteners

> and if you do research on the biochemistry and effects of most

> artificial sweeteners you would realize how bad they really are.

> Just because they are FDA approved doesn't mean they are 100%

safe.

> Some I would say are worse for you than regular granulated sugar.

> Interesting. There are many different sources, with different

views. I have

> also spoken with the Healthy Exchanges writer (Jo Lund) at

great length

> about this, as well as my physician and they both have assured me

they both use

> them and say some people obsess where they do not need to.

If your doctors think that artificial sweeteners are fine, then I

hope they are right. However, my doctor, and many other sources (for

me and for her) have explained how aspartame is linked to decreased

seratonin levels causing depression, is broken down in the body to

form formaldehyde which then accumulates in the organs. There is a

possible link to Gulf War Syndrome and aspartame and many other

things, and some say these things are a hoax, and some say it is

true. FDA didn't think aspartame was safe for many years before

approval which some think was simply a political move. Anyways, my

doctor avoids aspartame, and so do I. If you can use it, fine,

congratulations, I hope I am wrong. I have had problems with

Splenda especially. It gave me horrible migraines and I was so

fatigued that I was practically bedridden for a month. I talked with

my doc and she said that the data provided to date for Splenda is

inconclusive and they are unsure whether it is truly safe or not

(though FDA approved and in practically everything). Splenda uses

chlorine to make sugar molecule supposedly unrecognized by the body

and therefore not digested. However, it does break down and you get

your sugar with a touch of chlorine, and not the kind in salt like

they want you to believe. I can handle salt, Splenda, literally

makes me sick. There are already a few sites on the web which are

concerned with the toxicity of Splenda. One more question, why buy

peanut butter sweetened with Splenda? Natural peanut butter is just

fine.

> Just a side note for those who are avoiding sugar and find recipes

> for some great sounding recipes that say to add a few tablespoons

of

> sugar, honey, or whatever sweetener of choice. I have started

making

> those foods without sugar. The family has never had it with sugar,

> and really won't miss it. Does lasagne really need 2 Tbsp. of

> sugar? I think not.

> I have never seen lasagna with sugar in it. At least I never made

it that

> way.

Me either.

> Anyways, those are my thoughts on the subject. Hi, Group!

> Hugs, Marilyn who has 6 children with not a spare pound on any of

them ;-)

> as well as the grandkids, excluding the 3 1/2 month old, and the

pregnant twin.

> Personally, I believe the greatest problem in America today is a

loss of

> family. When was the last time you sat down with your entire

family, for a fami

> ly meal?

Last night or June 23rd, depends on how much family you are talking

about.

This was asked of my twins when they were in high school, by a

> teacher. They were the only ones in their classes that said they

sit down as a

> family every night, without a television, or music, just the art

of conversation

> ;-) JMHO Marilyn

>

> Marilyn

> Moderator for

> Diabetic_Recipes

> dnevessr@a...

> Opinions expressed are solely

> my own and should not be

> mistaken for

> Professional advice.

>

>

Sorry it is so long, but I just feel that maybe the point didn't come

across properly the first time. I'll go back to lurking.

naladmw