What do the top diabetic cookbooks recommend for people with type II diabetes?

Here at Affordable Diabetic, where we provide excellent and accurate quick test strips and other monitoring equipment, we know that diet is important in diabetes. Here are some of the guidelines you'll find in these books as ways to actively manage a diabetic diet.

Light Meats

First, let's talk about meat. In general, you'll find that diabetic cookbooks recommend eating lighter and healthier meats higher in beneficial types of Omega oils. These include fish and poultry, as well as nuts. The Mayo Clinic’s cookbook is an excellent example.

However, confusingly, in some cookbooks, you'll also see beef mentioned in conjunction with vegetables and other healthy options. Now, that's mainly because as a balanced part of a dish, beef can take the place of worse foods for diabetics, such as high amounts of empty carbohydrates and sugars. In other words, hewing toward a meat and vegetable diet will generally help many suffering diabetics, because what they were previously eating was a lot worse.

Whole Wheat Bread (& Pasta, etc.)

Diabetics are also encouraged to be eating whole grains. Here's another aspect of the diabetic diet where the goal is to get away from refined carbs, which deliver little nutritional value and can exacerbate problems with blood sugar levels. You'll see whole wheat bread at breakfast, whole wheat in various types of lunch and dinner dishes, and the idea that unrefined products like these are good for the diabetic cookbook. It’s another part of guiding diabetics toward better health and handling of a chronic condition.

Low-Fat Milk and Yogurt

You also see some dairy, although diabetic cookbooks are careful to cut out those dairy products that are higher in fats. In general, certain kinds of fats are specifically bad for diabetics. Your diabetic cookbook will suggest you should steer clear of trans fats and similar kinds of fats that can mess with your blood sugar in alarming ways.

One more thing you'll see in the diabetic cookbook is vegetables – lots of them. Green leafy plants and similar foods are not just good for diabetics – they're good for everybody. Plants have a lot of what we need – antioxidants, statins, and fiber, and practically none of what we don't – massive amounts of sugar, sodium, and fat!

These are just some beginning tips. Check out our website for more on how to beat diabetes your own way. Journaling and testing are key to an effective approach to combating this condition. We can help.