Toma's Ideas On A Healthy Diabetic Diet

Excerpt from the book, 'Toma's Diabetic Diet, A laymans guide to controlling blood glucose with diet'

If you are anything like I was when I was diagnosed, you want quick easy answers about what to eat and how to get healthy. I can tell you what works well for me, and others I have worked with, but understanding it will take some time and study on your part. I recommend you start with this eBook, then go to Diabetic-Diet-Secrets.com, bookmark the site and visit it often until you have a clear understanding of what makes a healthy diabetic diet and you feel confident in planning a healthy meal

These are the dietary guidelines I use. If you follow them you should see a dramatic improvement within a couple of months.

• 20% calories from lean protein
• 50% calories from low glycemic carbohydrates to include all carbs in all sources including what some other plans call free foods.
• 30% good fats (mostly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats)
• Less than 100 mg cholesterol per day (Your body produces all the cholesterol it requires. There is no dietary requirement for cholesterol.)
• Saturated fats limited to less than 7% of calories
• Trans fats There is no need for trans fats and they are very harmful eliminate them all
• 25-35 grams of dietary fiber based on your body size, sex and age.
• Omega 3 at least 1000 mg EPA/DHA per day. (Other conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, MS and other conditions that affect the joints, muscles and nerves may benefit from higher daily intakes.)
• 1/4-teaspoon cinnamon per day (USDA ARS research indicates this amount of cinnamon daily can reduce blood glucose by 20%)
• Plenty of acids such as lime juice, lemon juice and vinegar. (Dietary acid slows the glycemic response according to a study in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 983-988. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602197.)
• Less than 1500 mg sodium. (Our bodies only require 250-300 mg per day. 1500 mg is recommended by doctors on a severely restricted low sodium diet. Most North Americans consume upwards of 4000 mg of sodium per day.)
• At least 2 quarts of non-caffeinated liquid per day

There are a small percentage of type-2 diabetics that will have problems regardless of what they do. There is also a small percentage that will not have major problems even if they do nothing. The majority of us can benefit greatly from proper nutrition and exercise. If my formula does not work for you, reduce the carbohydrates and increase the good fats.

Again if you are anything like I was when I was diagnosed, what I just told you makes little sense and if you do understand it you are probably wondering how to achieve it. Not to fear, we will cover each topic in detail.

At the time I was diagnosed I was also experiencing arthritis, acid reflux, acute recurrent bronchitis, coronary abnormalities, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue and a few other issues. With a vastly improved diet all the symptoms have gone away. I am now a well-controlled type-2 diabetic taking no meds including the ones I used to take for the other conditions.

When I was first learning to control blood glucose and trying to share what I was learning there was a fellow who was trying to put me down and discourage me. He said I had nothing that I could not get from a good endocrinologist. Without realizing it he actually gave me a backhanded compliment. The advice on this book is not vastly different from what you would hear from a good endocrinologist, if they took the time to explain it to you and if they were not blindly following ADA recommendations and the propaganda they are flooded with from drug companies.

It was not my experience or the experience I have heard from many other sources to have lots of time with my medical team to teach me how to manage my disease. I have taken the time and invested my money in building my websites and now in writing this book because I found many of my friends and family were not getting the education from their medical providers either. They also were not getting the information they needed to be well controlled. US and Canadian studies I read indicate that 1/2 to 2/3 of diabetics are not well controlled. Most authoritative sources say the current 23 million diabetics in The US and Canada are expected to double in the next 10 years. The situation is similar in Europe and the rest of the world. Therefore, I think there is a need for sites such as www.Diabetic-Diet-Secrets.com and books like this one.