Dreamfield pasta and blood sugar

The other day I reported on my blood sugar effects of a large Asian-syle noodle salad made with Ramen noodles. It wasn't good.

Last night I tried a similar salad made with Dreamfields Linguine instead of the Ramen noodles.

One other difference was that instead of pork I topped it off with a coconut breaded fried shrimp (pre-breaded from the frozen food section). That would add some carbs.

My blood sugar before eating was 91. Five hours later (after a long nap) it was 190. Since blood sugar usually peaks 2-3 hours after eating that suggests that the peak was a little too high.

As a partial check as to whether the spike was caused by the pasta, the next day I had the same dish without the breaded shrimp. My blood sugar was 166 when I ate, and two hours later (after doing some vigorous work in the yard) it was 143.

My overall conclusion: 1. Stay away from the Ramen noodles.
2. A noodle salad made with the Dreamfields Linguine is okay if it's the mid-day meal eaten before doing some walking or yard work. It probably not a good choice for an evening meal.

Noodles and blood sugar

One of my favorite dishes is an Asian style noodle salad. I'll make one with whatever's in the kitchen or garden -- here's a typical recipe.

I'll start with a base of Ramen noodles (or any Japanese style noodle). I just boil a package of them without the seasoning. The little packs of sodium they come with is just loaded with sodium and not very good for you.

Put the cooked noodles in the bottom of a large bowl. According to the package, that's two servings, but I use the whole thing. That's a lot of carbohydrates, which I'll get to later.

One of the keys to this dish is to create pockets of flavor, not one mish-mash blend. So don't spread the noodles out. Just put them in a pile in the middle of the bowl. That's what you'll do with all the ingredients, just put them in individual piles rather than spread them out. They'll get blended together as you eat.

Next a handful of finely chopped cabbage. Just put them in a pile next to the noodles.

Then a large handful of mixed lettuces -- torn into small pieces.

Then some fresh, finely chopped, parsley, mint, and basil. About a handful in total. Just whatever fresh herbs are available.

Then a small handful of nuts or seeds -- chopped walnuts, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, anything. I used some roasted sesame seeds mixed with a few chopped pecans.

I keep a jar of thinly sliced carrot marinating in some vinegar. Add a healthy spoonful of those carrots.

One boiled egg, sliced.

A small handful of cooked pork cut into small chunks.

Top it off with some flavored vinegar and maybe some Thai style peanut sauce.

That's what I had for dinner today. Before I ate my blood sugar was 112. Three hours later my blood sugar was 313.

No more noodle salads for this diabetic. That's just too many carbs for me, even if I ate a more rational sized serving like a half package. The peanut sauce has some sugar in it also, but the carbs in the Ramen noodles is just over the top. The package says that a package has 52g of carbs, none of which is sugar but only 6g of which is fiber.

Banana and blood sugar

How does a banana effect your blood sugar?

12:30 blood sugar 121, Ate 1 banana
1:00 ate a large bowl of cabbage and white bean soup
1:30 blood sugar 146
2:30 blood sugar 151

Conclusion: Eating a banana isn't really a problem for a diabetic so long as you aren't covering it in chocolate and grape jelly.

Tracking Sugar

My bloodsugar was at 130 when I ate a thin slice of cheesecake (not a no sugar version, but just a cheesecake slice I bought at WalMart).

About 5 houea later my blood sugar reading is 172 and I was hungry.

My new regive is to try to keep my blood sugar below 180 at all times and to limit my carb intake to when the blood sugar is below 130. So I opened a can of Tuna.

Next time I'll have to limit that cheesecake intake to about a half of a thin slice.

UPDATE: It took about 12 hours after eating the cheesecake to get the blood sugar back down to 121 -- at one point it got to 207. The 12 hour period included eating a lot of cabbage soup and a brisk walk of about 6/10 mile.

Fish Oil

I've been using a linear programming model to look at how different foods combine to provide nutritional requirements that both meet minimums for nutritional items and avoid going over limits for some items for a diabetic with bad kidneys and hypertension.

The model I've been using has some pretty tight restrictions on fat (65 g. on an 1,800 calorie diet). That's not really achievable, especially since the model also calls for a minimum level of omega-3 fats of 1,600 mg. It seems to be impossible to achieve that level of omega-3 fats from the foods I normally eat without exceeding 65 g. of fat by quite a bit.

Such a confilict isn't really unusual when trying to formulate a diet with multiple objectives (In my case, weight loss, low sugar, low protein, low sodium, and meets minimum nutritional requirements otherwise). Such conflicts are why I started using the linear programming formulation to put together a personal diet plan in the first place.

The linear programming formulation helps answer questions such as “Does adding a fish oil supplement to my diet help me achieve minimum levels of omega-3 oils without exceeding desired levels of overall fat?”

The answer is No.

Using olive oil in my food preparation works better than taking a fish oil supplement.

My optimal daily diet plan is a mixture of

pinto beans
bread
fat free margarine
spaghetti
tuna
grilled peppers
olive oil
tomato
spinach

and that provides daily requirements of omega-3, fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C (it's actually just a little light in fiber) without exceeding dietary restrictions on calories, sodium, saturated fats, sugar, and protein. The diet does, however, exeed restrictions on total calories from fat (123 g. fat).

Forcing one 1200 mg fish oil tablet doesn't really change things much. The adjusted diet with that one pill added is the same as the above an addition of some carrots (the quantities of the food list isn't the same) and the only nutritional change is that the diet with the fish oil tablet has slightly higher overall fat (124g) and doesn't quite meet the daily requirement for magnesium and fiber).

My conclusion is that fish oil supplements won't do anything for you that just using olive oil doesn't already do.

Potato Soup

Here's a potatoes soup I made that turned out pretty good.

2 red potatoes, cupped.
1/2 turnip, diced
1/2 cup chopped cabbage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 can cream of potato soup
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar

Cook potatoes and turnips in the oil. Don't brown, add a little water after they're coated with the oil.

When potatoes are soft add jalapeno, pepper, onion powder, rosemary, cilantro.

Add a little water, stir well, simmer for a couple of minutes.

Add can of soup with a couple of cans of water. Add cabbage and cheddar. Stir well. Simmer for another 3-4 minutes.

Balance is better than low carb

The online magazine, Diabetic Living, has an article on 1-carb recipes. Most of the recipes are heavy on the pork or beef. That's not always a good thing.

You caloric intake needs to strike a balance between calories from carbs, proteins, and fats. Too much protein can damage your kidneys, too much fat makes you fat and hurts your blood flow. You need to keep the fats down, be careful not to load up on protein, and keep the carbs at a steady level. It's a constant balancing act, requiring much more than just low-carb foods.

So be careful with those high-protein, high-fat menu items that are loaded with beef and/or pork. Low carb isn't always good for you.

But one of the recipes in that article looks like it has a lot of potential.

1 cup chopped carrots
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, quartered
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
Assorted dippers (such as toasted whole wheat pita bread triangles, vegetable sticks, and/or whole-grain crackers)

1. In a covered small saucepan cook carrots in a small amount of boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until tender; drain. In a food processor combine cooked carrots, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and salt. Cover and process until mixture is smooth. Transfer to a small serving bowl. Stir in parsley.

2. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or for up to 3 days. If too thick, stir in enough water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dipping consistency. Serve with assorted dippers. Makes 2 cups, 16 (2-tablespoon) servings.

A lot of potential here, not just for hummus but for a soup also.