Diabetic Recipes
nkzs
“What about honey?”
We came back to "Honey" 4 times in this exchange. I was going nuts.
Here is the deal, I am working at a church retreat in a few weeks and I was approached by the person in charge of food for the weekend regarding food choices. Apparently there are going to be some other people with diabetes attending the weekend and they thought they would get my suggestions.
“I plan on making French Toast for breakfast on Saturday morning but I figured I could use honey instead of syrup. What do you think?”
“NO! Honey is not good.” I explained that honey will raise blood sugars for sure.
“But it’s natural?” He said it as if I thought honey was synthetic or something.
“I know but it full of natural sugars.”
“Oh really because a friend of mine who has diabetes eats honey all the time,” he said again as if I was crazy.
“That may be the case but it would spike my blood glucose for sure.”
“Well what can diabetics eat that will not raise their blood sugar?” He was getting frustrated.
I honestly tried my best to hold back laughter.
“Most things are going to effect blood sugars but you could so something like scrambled eggs and bacon. It will still bring up their blood sugar but not like French toast. French toast without anything on it will raise blood sugar.” I was trying to explain it as best I could but I could see my words were not being absorbed.
“Maybe I’ll do some granola bars and fruit.” He said this as he started to walk away from me.
I explained that those things will also raise blood sugars. I told him the most important thing is to offer some choices and to have all the carbohydrate amounts handy so we can count them and adjust our medication accordingly.
Does anyone have an easy way to explain it? I tried but I think I tend to get too technical and confuse people.
One thing is for sure, Honey is not d-friendly.
Except maybe to treat a low.
Honestly, sometimes it's hopeless trying to explain it to people. :)
I've had the hardest time trying to get my mother-in-law to understand that it isn't sugar that I need to look out for--it's carbohydrates.
And then there are the "as long as it's natural it's good for you" people...
I've had arguments with my cousins before about Splenda. I say it's great. I don't have that much of it daily, but it makes it so that I can eat things that I never could otherwise (I'm T2, not on insulin). They try to convince me that having a little bit of raw sugar or honey would be better for me than Splenda.
And my other cousin who told me that it was BS that I could only have a few servings of fruit daily. Fruit is good for you and anyone can have as much as they want of it!... I gave up. I just bring things that I can eat wherever I go so that I don't have to worry.
It does make you wonder why they ask your advice in the first place if they aren't going to listen, though.
I have T2 and am on insulin 2x a day. I recently found out from my doctor that honey in moderation is actually better for me than sweetener. Personally I like splenda and use it regularly but he told me that for example if I am drinking say 2 glasses of iced tea a day then he would rather me use honey. Now as he put it, if I am drinking 4 or more glasses then honey is not a good choice but neither is the sweetener. So I guess the thing is in moderation even things such as honey can be ok. I have had diabetes now for 3 years and still I have not found a REAL balance of exactly what I am suppose to eat. It is very hard and I learn new things everyday. So I completely understand your frustrations when it comes to trying to explain things about the disease to people but even living with it I still don't understand it completely so can you imagine how little they actually know. My suggestion is research. If someone is sincerely wanting to know about it talk to them about it and hope you are providing even a little education, you can always suggest them to google it as well.
great post! this can be so confusing for people!
I figure if someone asks me about food and diabetes they probably only have the time and interest to take in one point, so since I'm a type 1 this is it: I tell people that type 1 diabetics can choose to eat any foods they wish but that they have to carefully count their food and give the right amount of insulin to metabolize it, whatever they eat.
(It's funny but I'm actually a little discreet about the fact that I generally prefer lower-carb, whole-food choices myself, because I don't want to add to the CanYouEatThat? confusion out there, and I don't want to set up some poor diabetic kid treating a low with honey or soda for a lecture!)
If someone has the time and brain space for one more point I'll then tell them that people with the other diabetes, Type 2/insulin resistance, manage their condition by avoiding high-carb foods and sometimes by losing weight if necessary.
Hope more people comment, I'd love to learn exactly what information to fit on a single index card!
And by the way, personally, I bolus for a little honey or maple syrup or fruit juice sometimes if I want to, I hate artificial sweeteners and other food chemicals, and am generally too much of a health-food snob to eat foods with regular sugar, unless caught by an emergency low. Too hard to explain...
great post! this can be so confusing for people!
I figure if someone asks me about food and diabetes they probably only have the time and interest to take in one point, so since I'm a type 1 this is it: I tell people that type 1 diabetics can choose to eat any foods they wish but that they have to carefully count their food and give the right amount of insulin to metabolize it, whatever they eat.
(It's funny but I'm actually a little discreet about the fact that I generally prefer lower-carb, whole-food choices myself, because I don't want to add to the CanYouEatThat? confusion out there, and I don't want to set up some poor diabetic kid treating a low with honey or soda for a lecture!)
If someone has the time and brain space for one more point I'll then tell them that people with the other diabetes, Type 2/insulin resistance, manage their condition by avoiding high-carb foods and sometimes by losing weight if necessary.
Hope more people comment, I'd love to learn exactly what information to fit on a single index card!
And by the way, personally, I bolus for a little honey or maple syrup or fruit juice sometimes if I want to, I hate artificial sweeteners and other food chemicals, and am generally too much of a health-food snob to eat foods with regular sugar, unless caught by an emergency low. Too hard to explain...
My evil twin wants to say, "You know, anthrax is all-natural too...does that make it okay?"
};-) Sorry, in a smarmy mood today...
Sometimes it is very irritating when someone thinks they know about Diabetes just because they saw a show or a movie & think they know everything. The thing that gets me the most is when I test myself and know what "I" can have for that meal and someone will come out of the blue like..."What are you doing! You can't eat that" or "Are you suppose to be eating that". One of my favs is my Mom bless her heart (making a mean face) "Now you don't have to eat that...I don't want you to get sick!" I feel like saying "Well hell you don't know what I can or can't eat so back up!"
Then I have friends that feel bad when we go out to Dinner and they're eating and say "Here try this" and because I know what my blood sugar is I say I can't" then they get a really sad look on their face. Sometimes depending on the friend I might not go on the outting because I will get a "You know you can't eat that!" Who wants to hear that all the time! AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH
Hey G -
I know I'm late to the game - but. I wanted to offer a suggestion for the future. Perhaps you could volunteer to help the person handling food in the future get the carb values of what's being planned.
You could put it on a wipey board - something like this:
French Toast
1 piece = 100 calories, 15 grams carbohydrate, 1 bread and 1 protein exchange
Syrup
1 tablespoon=70 calories, 10 grams carbohydrate, 1 bread exchange...
This way, it's aimed at calorie counters AND people with the d. This was what we did at diabetes camp so that everyone could serve themselves and know exactly what's in the food.
Around people without diabetes, my mother has this trick. If she makes cake or something for a party or other get together - she always precedes her dish name with "diabetic friendly" and then includes a carb count. Now there is NOTHING different about the cake than any other cake - but the "diabetic friendly" seems to make people think that there is. It makes me giggle - and it makes me love my mom even more than I already do! Cunning little lady, she is... :)