Planning Meals For Diabetics - New Developments

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Planning Meals for Diabetics

Last year, Ms Dinna Dayao suggested that the blog describe how I choose what to eat at each meal, especially outside the home. I beg your indulgence for not having responded to this earlier. But this will be the subject of today's article.

For the most part, selecting my meal is usually a simple matter, since many, indeed most viands are not that ridden with sugar. One has to be careful of certain foods, such as sweet and sour (pork), tocino or most longanizas, or the sugary the so-called "Pinoy spaghetti" (a term which I challenge, since the spaghetti I grew up with was not sugared or sweet). Rice is of course part of the meal, though I don't take too much of it, since eating excessive amounts also raises one's blood sugar levels.

For drinks, I avoid soft drinks, unless these are explicitly light, diet or sugar-free varieties, and specify this to others. Fruit juices, too, most of which are sugared, are also something to avoid, again unless these are explicitly sugar-free. Vegetables are welcome, while fruits are permitted in limited quantities (though I am partial to fruits which are not too sweet). Iced tea is similarly on the off-limits list, unless served from certain restaurants (which have been mentioned in our article on tea) in which light or sugar-free iced tea is served. Coffee is usually served without sugar, so this is allowable. I usually bring sweeteners with me to use instead of the sugar provided. Some restaurants provide house tea, and since this is unsweetened, I request for it. A popular brand of green tea, C2, has a sugar-free version (this is mentioned in our Tea article), and I drink this whenever it is available, since the antioxidants and phytochemicals in the product are good for health.

Desserts , including ice cream, are also something that I do without, again except in the rare times when sugar-free versions are available.

All in all, it's not too much trouble. Given the variety of dishes, and the presence of alternatives, it's generally a simple matter. When one has to make a choice, such as selecting a soft drink, I select a sugar-free drink for everyone, a choice now generally available for colas, to avoid confusion. The situation can improve in the future, and bring about more choices for diabetics, or dieters, if they patronize sugar-free alternatives, to which there are generally few objections, and order these for their companions. I welcome reactions on this from readers, and express gratitude to Ms. Dinna Dayao for her very helpful comments and suggestions.

New Developments

The next part of this article is on new developments on the sugar-free front. As readers will observe, there is an ever-greater variety of sugar-free products available, and two of them will be featured here.

One, a light or sugar-free version of the fermented milk drink Yakult, is something which I eagerly welcome, since I had gone without this source of intestinal microflora for a long time. The product, which is available in the distinctive 80-milliliter plastic bottles, is sold in many supermarkets, giving diabetics and dieters a healthy alternative.

Then, syrups (i.e., medicines) are now available in sugar-free form. I have seen sugar-free versions of the mucolytic Bisolvon (used for cough and colds), again providing a therapeutic alternative for diabetics.

On the negative side, though, many products, some of which have been mentioned in this blog, are now unavailable or difficult to find. This is true of most energy drinks (except for Extra Joss, for the powdered form of which is only available in the sugar-free form) and C2, for many brands of bread, and the few restaurants in which light versions of iced tea are available. Again, we urge diabetics and dieters to patronize products intended for them, and to provide them for their companions when in company. The profit motive is the most powerful one, and if diabetics exercise their choice, they will be provided with a greater variety of food and drink, and at a cheaper, or more reasonable price.