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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Reading Labels For Type II Diabetes

In trying to change my diet for the better and dramatically lowering carbs, I thought it would be interesting to take some packaged foods and an goods labels and let you know what you are eating.

One of Jack LaLane's favorite quotes was, "If man made it, don't eat it". I ran my own business for over 30 years and did my share of eating out at fast food places, or even coming home for lunch and opening a can of soup etc. because I was in a hurry. Oh I almost forgot that I washed most of it down with diet Pepsi or Coke. I was always playing, "Beat the clock" to my next appointment as I had kids to raise, bills to pay, people to see, places to go, things to do etc. I think most of us during our working years don't spend a lot of time reading labels and counting carbohydrates etc. For the most part, we went through our days on the run, and we had NO symptoms of anything wrong. Besides that, were were YOUNG, we were INVINCIBLE, perhaps INDESTRUCTIBLE or so we thought.

Now that I am older and diagnosed with Type II diabetes, I suddenly find myself with time to read labels, and perhaps try to connect the dots between what I ate all those years and the possible breakdown of my insulin resistant cells. More importantly I am trying to learn how to FIX those insulin resistant cells by making lifestyle changes.

LABELS:

A box of prepackaged apple cinnamon muffins from a well known and respected manufacturer:
12 servings per package (or a dozen muffins) (Numbers below are per muffin including the muffin mix, the topping and the filling combined) Ingredients contain high fructose corn syrup in the apple cinnamon filling and hydrogenated oils. Most people will also add another tablespoon of hydrogenated oil such as Wesson etc. to the mix.

34 grams of carbohydrate per muffin
18 grams of sugar per muffin

BET you can't eat just one, which means if you have a cup of coffee and two of these before heading out the door, you have already ingested 68 grams of refined carbs, hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup etc. to start your internal engine for the day.

OKAY, you made it to lunch time:

I know you are in a hurry so let's have a bowl of one of the highly advertised "Chunky Soups" on the grocers shelves:
No extra charge for the sugar, the hydrogenated oils, ( just dump the can into a cereal bowl and nuke it for 60 seconds)
40 grams of carbohydrate in a  18.8 ounce ONE serving can
Wash it down with a 2.5PH can of diet soda (Remember the PH factor for reversing diabetes)
Knowing you have a late evening appointment and won't be home for supper till after 7:30PM, you better have a sandwich along with the can of soup. Let's eat some tuna fish or salmon on one of the heartier 12 grain type breads.
36 grans of carbohydrates in the BREAD ( the tuna fish is FINE)

For dinner, since we are watching our weight, let's just have low fat cottage cheese with no sugar added fruit cocktail:

The cottage cheese is fine, however the NO sugar ADDED fruit cocktail is based on one can having 3.5 individual servings. Each serving has:

20.5 grams of carbohydrate to your daily regimen

Total carbohydrate tally for the day:

  • 52 grams of carbs for breakfast
  • 76 grams of carbs for lunch
  • 20.5 grams of carbs for dinner
_____________________________
142.5 grams of total carbohydrate for the day. The numbers of course factor in your did NOT eat between meals or have ANY snacks.  IF you are watching your carbohydrate intake and trying to get off you prescription drugs and/or insulin, it is never going to happen for you with that many carbs.

It requires that you start eating some fresh fruits and vegetables,  etc. and stop living out of a can or a box because you are in a hurry all the time. I did not even touch on the other preservatives, red and yellow dyes, sodium content, mono sodium glutamate etc. etc. found in most canned goods and prepackaged goods on grocers shelves.

The 36 grams of carbohydrate from the 12 grain bread would be the least offensive since they are considered complex carbs and digest more slowly and release the sugar slower because of the fiber.

Dan

"Tis not knowing much, but what is useful, that makes a wise man."
Thomas Fuller

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. << Psalms 138Psalm 139:13-14

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