Foods diabetics can eat or not
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
October 7, 2009 6:39pm CST
I am having a discussion with my husband who was raised Mennonite, so you can get a good idea what they eat, sausages, potatoes, cabbage, lots of milk and sour cream, berries in the summer, but few salads stuff - at least not in Saskatchewan where he grew up. So he had me buy a smoked pork shoulder because he felt that our friends would like some real Mennonite Summer Borsch for a change. Then I told him that there as no need to buy that much (I could have just bought a small ham and sliced that in it and maybe make something else for them. ) I told him that ham or more specificially smoked pork shoulder was not that good for diabetics (I am pre diabetic) and then he said that pork including ham is good but chicken breast is not.
Next he will say that potatoes are good for diabetics. So who is right? I mean that pork shoulder had 360 calories for a serving (and I trim off the fat) and it contains a lot of sodium and he only thing about chicken breasts is the price.
Oh by the way, I looked up the history of his family and there were so many widowers wo married twice that perhaps the diet they ate was not good for the women folk.
3 people like this
7 responses
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
8 Oct 09
It is the diet. The Mennonite diet is not that healthy. I mean if you eat stuff made with white flour, shortening, potatoes, sour cream and sausages, and the only veggies you get are cabbages, unless for the time when tomatoes are in season, then you can have tomato cabbage soup, you are not going to live that long. I suspect that a lot of the men did the shopping and so they were able to eat healthy for themselves.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
9 Oct 09
Thanks for the link, but I used to have a Mennonite cookbook, but I do not exactly love Mennonite food and besides it is not that good for me, being pre diabetic and all that. I am sticking ti Italian and Meditterean diet, it is much healthy
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@okkidokitokki (1736)
• United States
8 Oct 09
My husband is diabetic and we go to a really good doctor who has told us to eat more veggies than anything else but that he can eat anything he wants as long as it is in moderation and he excercises.
I have never heard of a specific meat being bad for diabetics at all, and I have done extensive research on the topic, both for type one and type two diabetics. My suggestion would be to keep a balanced diet and excercise regularly. This could keep you in a pre-diabetic state or even get you way from the dangers of diabetes.
His preference may contain more sodium but you could adjust the rest of the meal to not contain as much salt. Use sea salt in your cooking if you are having a dish that already contains lots of sodium.
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@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
10 Oct 09
I often wondered how I could do it, exercise in the house. We do not have that large a house and I do not want to fall down the stairs, as they are a bit steep. I do not want to get to the point when the doctor recommends a meter. That to me would be proof that I have it. I just wish that my husband would get that incline chair and a better cushion so that he can feel comfortable going out and since he sets the chair for a little faster then I can walk, we can exercise outside again.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
10 Oct 09
He can be by himself for 15 minutes, but that is about all, but I have to be ready to get up at any time. In other words, I cannot just go and disappear, I have to be within calling distance if anything goes wrong. At night we seem to wake up every hour or so. The doctor was supposed to give him a muscle relaxent but gave him a nerve pill instead, that does not do any good.
@okkidokitokki (1736)
• United States
10 Oct 09
if your husband is able to be by himself for 15 minutes at a time then leave him alone. Mind you I did not say if he wants to be left alone just if he is able. How are you going to continue to helo him if you do not first take care of yourself.
1 person likes this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
8 Oct 09
Am not sure what is god and not good for diabetic
but the sweets are really a no no!
I do know that they now have a pump that you put this little needle in you tummy with a tube running from it and you hook it to your waist skirt or pants and dial in what you are going to eat and it takes care of it and you can eat anything!
I know someone that had to give herself 5 shots a day to keep her insulin going right till she got this andnow she eats what she want!
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@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
8 Oct 09
I know about counting the calories my dad slacked on some thing so he could have a small piece of cake at a birthday party.
THis girl I am talking about just got this pump in the last 3 months and I tell ya one thing she eats way to many sweets but ya cant tell her anything and it was ordered by a doctor so aI suppose it is what she needs!
1 person likes this
@okkidokitokki (1736)
• United States
8 Oct 09
I know a teenae girl who got her pump and decided that she was going to go out drinking and have some fun. The pump did not regulate her blood sugar and she has been in the hospital for 2 weeks.
The pump is not a free pass to eating all you want, instead it is a tool to help you regulate your sugar while you act responsibly by excercising and eating right.
The pump is mainly for type 1 diabetics and not type 2, there is a big difference in the two.
Also, while it is not a good idea to eat a bunch of sweets, most diabetics can have a serving of sweets every now and then with out it causeing problems. It depends on what you have had to eat that day.
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@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
8 Oct 09
[b]I'm diabetic, but I do eat lean pork dishes. Chicken is far better for you, however, & turkey beats that! Best is fish, but make sure it is mercury-free. The key concept is Biblical: "All things in moderation!" 
As for potatoes, I know they're straight starch, which turns to sugar in the system, therefore I'm told to avoid lots of carbs. I still eat them but not in the amounts I used to. Oddly, rice is a starch, too, but doesn't make my blood sugars rise as potatoes do. Maybe different people's bodies are affected in different ways...? 
Does he like sweet potatoes? They have lots of beta carotene in them, & supposedly are better for dieters & diabetics.
Hubby sounds as if he's in stubborn denial. You might toss some nutrition guides for diabetics his way & hint that he should bone up on his knowledge about foods. Just tell him it's because you love him, & you want both of you to have the most time together that's possible!
Maggiepie
"WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]
As for potatoes, I know they're straight starch, which turns to sugar in the system, therefore I'm told to avoid lots of carbs. I still eat them but not in the amounts I used to. Oddly, rice is a starch, too, but doesn't make my blood sugars rise as potatoes do. Maybe different people's bodies are affected in different ways...?
Does he like sweet potatoes? They have lots of beta carotene in them, & supposedly are better for dieters & diabetics.
Hubby sounds as if he's in stubborn denial. You might toss some nutrition guides for diabetics his way & hint that he should bone up on his knowledge about foods. Just tell him it's because you love him, & you want both of you to have the most time together that's possible!
Maggiepie
"WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]1 person likes this
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
8 Oct 09
[b]By the way, sweet potatoes & yams are not the same! Sweet potatoes are much more nutritious!
Just so ya know. 
Maggiepie
"WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]
Maggiepie
"WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?"[/b]1 person likes this
@suzzy3 (8341)
•
8 Oct 09
The diet the Mennonite followers ate was largly high chorlestoral,protein diet which would finish anyone off early.The men might have survived longer as they did the physical work.Women leading a more sedentary life would have not stood a chance as fruit and veg is an essential part of a womans or in fact mans diet to prolong life,it was what we call today a junk food diet.Mennonite diet would be no good for diabetics as they need more low fat food like fish and fruit and veg to lower the sugar levels in the blood,low fat milk ect.Ice cream has to be non dairy.I got this from a mennonite web site ,just put mennonite into your browser and there is plenty of information there.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 11
Okay. It also has to do with the area where they went. There are a lot of heart conditions, and diabetes among the Mennonites because they mainly settled in the Prairies. Not much fresh fruit and veggies except at the end of summer. It is getting better because of imports,.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
20 Sep 11
The thing is that after going without sweets, a lot of diabetes want to eat them in excess because I think that diabetes is a disease of deprivation. They did not get enough of the healthy food when they were young and they are deprived of the proper minerals and vitamins. So now their system is not at a its best.. I have a diabetic book and it says that they need at least 20,000 units of vitamin D, plus other thing. So in order to avoid it, I would say, to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but you can have a snack once in a while.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
8 Oct 09
Diabetics have to be careful with sugars and carbohydrates. Meat doesn't have carbs, just protein, so it should be safe with moderation. Potatoes are carbs, you have to eat them sparingly! Carbs are sugars. I think your husband means well but he doesn't understand nutrition.
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