Eating For Health

Everyone with diabetes or prediabetes knows that control of blood sugar levels is important.   But did you know that just walking for 2 minutes after meals is helpful in lowering blood sugar?   Yes, just 2 minutes.   And walking has so many other health benefits.   A relative with prediabetes was at the doctor’s this week for a checkup.   The doctor was impressed with how well the relative was controlling her blood sugar.   The relative said she tries to stay active.   The doctor said too many of his patients with prediabetes aren’t active which raises their blood glucose levels.   How does walking help lower blood sugar levels?   After you eat a meal, your body digests the meal and turns the carbs you eat like starches, fruit, and desserts into sugar.   This sugar enters your blood raising blood sugar levels.   Exercising after one eats a meal or snack helps your body get that sugar into cells to be used for energy.  ...

Who doesn’t love some morning coffee?   Or, on cold days, a nice hot cup of tea.   Does drinking coffee or tea affect one’s blood glucose levels?    Should healthy adults be concerned about coffee or tea and blood glucose levels?   The Mayo Clinic says that for healthy adults, caffeine will probably have no noticeable effects on their blood sugar or blood glucose levels.   Studies have found that up to 400 milligrams of caffeine is safe for most of us.   A cup of coffee has about 120-180 milligrams of caffeine and most adults drink about 2 cups of coffee a day.   FDA says healthy adults can consume up to 400 mg of caffeine a day which equates to about 4-5 cups of coffee a day, or 10 cans of soda , or 2 “energy shot” drinks.   (See:   Caffeine – good or bad for your health? )     Can drinking coffee or tea reduce chances of getting type 2 diabetes? Some studies have found that coffee, tea, and other drinks with caffei...

Many people love spicy foods.   Did you know that adding some spices to your foods is actually good for your health?   Not only do spices have almost no calories, they add lots of health benefits.   A class activity I did with students was to modify a lasagna recipe to make it healthier.   One group of students took out all the spices thinking this somehow made the lasagna healthier.   A good learning opportunity as we then discussed how you want to ADD SPICES to your day for good health.    Why are spices healthy? Think antioxidants , those healthy chemicals in plant foods.   There are over 100 different spices and these not only are a source of antioxidants but a concentrated source of antioxidants.   Different spices provide a varying array of antioxidants.   Health benefits of spices can include being anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, helping to lower glucose and cholesterol levels, and even boost your mood and brain function. Jo...

Who doesn’t enjoy some sour dough bread?   In California we had some great sour dough bread.   This past June, we were on a Viking cruise and many countries had some delicious sour dough bread.   Healthy bread is usually whole grain.   There are some whole grain sour dough breads but mostly sour dough is made from white flour.   Whether made from white flour or whole wheat flour, are there any health benefits to enjoying some delicious sour dough bread? Why is it called sour dough bread? Instead of relying on baker’s yeast to raise the dough, sour dough bread uses a “ starter ” of a living microbes plus flour and water.     This is called “wild” yeast which contains some lactic acid that gives sourdough its tangy taste.     Sour dough doesn’t use the commercial baker’s yeast used to make regular bread. This is certainly not a new technique for bread making as it dates back to 1500 BC in ancient Egypt .    What nut...