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Sugar-scared, not anymore

Diabetics need not completely eliminate sugar from their diet

Conscientious diabetics lead the most nutritionally jittery of lives. Almost everything is taboo, and the only stuff that is apparently good for you tastes as bitter as, well, bitter-gourd.

Diabetics mix sugar guiltily into their cups of tea, and view every pastry with a mixture of foreboding and guilty pleasure. In reality, there are no forbidden foods for diabetics - only excessive indulgence is forbidden.

Sugar: Diabetics CAN eat food with sugar in it. Sugar raises blood glucose levels - but every food you eat does that. The problem with too much sugar is that it raises blood glucose levels fast and often higher than expected, and it contains little else by way of nutrition. But there is no doubt that diabetics can live with the odd slice of cake and the spoonful of sugar in tea. Eat less of other carbohydrates like rice when you are having sweet foods. But don't make a daily habit out of it.

Fat: Cut down on oily foods. Monounsaturated fat, like olive oil, is the best cooking medium. Polyunsaturated fats like sunflower oil and soybean oil are next in line. Butter and ghee are not your friends. Low calorie sweeteners like aspartame are safe as long as you do not have phenylketonuria. Sweeteners containing xylitol, mannitol and sorbitol can cause bloating. They also contain a few calories. Nature remedies are no cure. Bitter gourd will not stop you from requiring insulin or weight reduction or drugs. Drink bitter gourd juice if you like the taste. There is no other excuse for afflicting your taste buds with the stuff.

Alcohol: Limit alcohol to two drinks per day if you are a man and 1 drink per day if you are a woman. A drink is 360 ml of beer or 45 ml of hard liquor. Hey, that's the same limit as for non-diabetics.

Dietician: Can be a pain in the neck, but you need one to show you the way. Meet with a dietician at least once in six months and review your diet plan.

Food to eat with abandon: NONE. Not even carrots. Fruit may be healthy, but they contain calories, and the body doesn't really differentiate between sources of sugar.

RAJIV. M

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