Growing veggies for a diabetic

[GrannieB]

My hub's was diagnosed a few months back as border-line diabetic(a rose by any other name.....) so I'm trying to grow as much as possible for a variety. Getting him to try new things is another story. He loves melon but I'm not sure if he can even have melon. :confused:

Read some on new low sugar melons being developed but I don't know if I'd want to mess with Frankenmelons.

Anyone here dealing with diabetes or a diabetic? What kind of fruits/melons to you recommend if at all....'nother problem...my garden is small.

[Pharmerphil]

Try this Link GrannyB Healthful Melons ( http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/bitter-melon.shtml)

[GrannieB]

Thanks for the link Pharmerphil. I've done a little reading on bitter melon. I doubt if I could get Mr. Hardhead :mad: to do more than taste it. ...you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks. :rolleyes:

[Silent]

I'm diabetic Grannie; one of the best things I've found to help control my diabetes (I no longer have to use medications to control it) is the glycemic index of foods. That tells you how quickly foods will raise and lower your bsl's...blood sugar levels. Here is a link to more info. about the glycemic index. I find melon to be a good choice, btw, because the fiber slows down absorption of the sugars....

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

All the best to you and your hubby!

[GrannieB]

Good morning Silent,
I bought several books on diabetes...one being on the GI. If it was me,I'd be following it to a "T" since both our mothers had diabetes but I'm dealing with a hardhead redneck here.He listens to me to some degree but on others it's like talking to a wall....eating small meals several times a day a big bugaboo.

He loves watermelon. Generally in the summer he keeps a couple in the frig to eat as an evening snack.

It's hit and miss right now while we're learning but we must be doing something right. He went in Wed. for check up. Sugars still coming down(162 still a tad high for the norms but better than the 275 at the beginning) and he's gained back 5 more pounds.

[Silent]

Yuppers, you're definitely doing something right if his bsl's have dropped like that GrannieB.

In your hubbie's defense; it is difficult getting adjusted to eating several small meals a day but it helped tremendously after I adjusted to it. Eating plenty of protein has also been a huge help. All the best to the both of you.

[GrannieB]

Yes,the neighbors get quite a hoot out of me,chasing him with food :o . He drives me nuts! He'll work all day then come in complaining he's hungry. I ask him when he last ate and he'll say breakfast and it'll be 4-5 pm. Argh! :confused: :eek: :mad:

[Pharmerphil]

Have you looked into Stevia as a sweetener? I have several well kept plants that I bring inside in the fall

[GrannieB]

I started growing stevia this year and just found out how to prepered it to use so this coming season I will be harvesting and drying leaves.

[gulfcoastguy]

I have been able to hold off diabetes for several years by watching my diet and exercise. one thing is that I use vegetable glycerine instead of sugar for sweeteners. Try dadamo.com for the diet I use or read Live Right for Your Type by P. Dadamo. Exercise is very important though as well as carefully selecting what foods you eat.

[TennOC]

If he won't try new foods, make sure you talk a lot about life insurance and having a will. It's a bit unpleasant, but we're all gonna go, the idea is to put it off by taking care of ourselves.

[shadowwalker37148]

iT'S SAD THAT HE WON'T TRY TO HELP HIMSELF.

[TastyofHasty]

My hubby is diabetic ... 'bout two years ago I got him to start taking bitter melon PILLS ... and another plant called lagerstroemia speciosa L. a/k/a "Banaba" in PILL form (called Glucotrim) ... and fenugreek in PILL form ... since then his blood sugar leveled off (still high ... about 160, but stopped going way up and way down actually prostrating him) and he doesn't even check his sugar levels anymore, whereas he used to have to check every day (plus I think it helped with moodiness, too!). I'm going to try growing bitter melon this year. On the web, checked out Banaba, & found out it's a MYRTLE ... can't grow those here, but maybe you could in zone 8? Actually quite a pretty tree. But how you get it from TREE to MOUTH I don' know.

[GrannieB]

Took hub's BS this am..finally convinced him to buy monitor....and his BS was at 125. Pretty darn good so we're doing something right. I'm taking him out to his favorite fish place tonight with warnings of not eating or eating very,very little of the slaw and pickled tomato relish.


P

[gulfcoastguy]

Be sure to remember that regular exercise is important. By the way, the slaw is probably a better choice than the frenchfries and hush puppies. Corn in general is high on the glycemic index and not one of the better food choices. Irish potatoes are also high on the glycemic index, sweet potatoes are actually lower and a better choice provided that they are not candied.

[wilderness1989]

I go along with TennOC's idea. I know a guy that was trying to slowly do himself in. One day I took a clip board, paper, and pencil to his house and said "Today is the day we decide what to do with your important stuff after you die", he change immediately and took care of himself.
John

[40lb farmer]

if they won't try new foods encourage them to exercise. i know a guy who's been insulin dependant almost 40 years and eats like normal people do but gets about 4 hours of moderate areobic activity every day.

[40lb farmer]

if you mix in jerusalem artichokes with his hush puppies...

jerusalem artichokes are kind of potato like but have a natural form of insulin.

[40lb farmer]

Be sure to remember that regular exercise is important. By the way, the slaw is probably a better choice than the frenchfries and hush puppies. Corn in general is high on the glycemic index and not one of the better food choices. Irish potatoes are also high on the glycemic index, sweet potatoes are actually lower and a better choice provided that they are not candied.

it may be high on the GI but that is whole Kernal corn or corn on the cobb, not cut corn, frozen corn or other post processed corn. once the 'grit' or polenta is removed it is more like 'peas' than corn on the cobb.

[40lb farmer]

Took hub's BS this am..finally convinced him to buy monitor....and his BS was at 125. Pretty darn good so we're doing something right. I'm taking him out to his favorite fish place tonight with warnings of not eating or eating very,very little of the slaw and pickled tomato relish.
P
a lot of southern slaw and pickled anything recipies have sugar added. also, those types of food are generally okay, but if you mix them with fried things or cheese they will blow your a1c's out of the water... just something to think about.

the interaction is very short lived but will spike the total sugars to new levels.

[stonysoil]

hi jerusalem artichokes are a good food for diabetics and i have a friend who even dries the tubers to make flour from them for baked goods.. i have an abundance and would be glad to mail you some after the ground thaws.. but be careful speaking from experience they can get out of control and become the most invasive plant you ever have seen

[Bellepepper]

My hubby is also diabetic and has had a heart attack. I have read all the books, attended diabetic edu classes AND cardiac rehab classes. And you know what? He still eats what ever he wants. The Dr. looks at me and ask who does the cooking and shopping? We get into some real "knock down and drag out" arguments in the grocery store because he can't have what he wants. THEN he goes to town to run an errand and stops and buys the forbiden food. I tell him to buy ambulance insurance cause I'm not going to take him to the hospital next time. And Nursing home ins cause I'm not going to take care of him when they amputate his legs. He says he is not afraid to die. I tell him I am afraid he won't.
Other than that he is a great guy. He is out working on the tiller so we can get our garden planted. He has really got into the garden thing now that he is retired. Now if I could just get him to eat some of that squash.

[veggiecanner]

My husband is diabetic and we grow any thing green for him, The green things are counted as veggies.
We count carrots, beets, corn, winter squash, parsnips as a carb rather than a veggie. All of these have 2/3 or less of the carbs as potatoes.
Quite often in the summer we will have a salad and a veggie for dinner with no carb. Or a huge salad with all kinds of veggies and cold cooked meat and a slice of good whole wheat toast.

[Mandolin33]

Hello, I need to find a source for JA tubers. Someone told me that I could plant them under heavy mulch in the fall and it would winter over and come up in spring like our irises and daffodils do here in Fairbanks, ALAska...that is north central Alaska to those who aren't familiar with our state. I have grown some things from zone 3 here successfully. WOuld the JA's survive as well? Thank you for your information and help.

[carolg]

Having a health ministry, not a medical practioner, lots of people have seen results changing their lifestyle to 85% raw, 15% cooked. Of course the GI is a great tool, but for the ministry we have never discussed that part of the change, and yet the results have come forth. Thanks for sharing. We can always continue learning if we are opened to change. I appreciate you all here.

I used to be borderline low blood sugar, close to diabetic, and now I can eat anything, but make choices with every bite that goes into the mouth. For me, I have not done any animal products, as radical here, but not saying that is the cause of the diabetic problem. I am totally free of low blood sugar once I changed my lifestyle.

Best to everyone's health journey.

carolg colorado

[OkieDok]

GrannieB,

I struggle with, as do all diabetics, symptoms your describing.

Kitazawa Seed Co. on their web site, has recipes containing "Bitter Melon". The Stevia, a cooks learning experience, has helped (My wife had a time adjusting to it's use), and you can't make brownies with it, other things that sugar's qualities are used for (other than just as a sweetener, she says). Anyway, try looking at www.kitazawaseed.com. I'm growing a lot of Oriental vegetables, Dee stirfrys a lot, using very little Olive oil and some Canola. You just learn what you can get by with. We red-necks can be a little mule headed. Some times you can turn us.

[yorkerjenny7]

I used to be borderline low blood sugar, close to diabetic, and now I can eat anything, but make choices with every bite that goes into the mouth. For me, I have not done any animal products, as radical here, but not saying that is the cause of the diabetic problem. I am totally free of low blood sugar once I changed my lifestyle.
carolg colorado
I read your post now. We recently learned my husband has low blood sugar, there are times he is about to pass out. We are waiting for an appointment from diabet center. But it takes months!!!
Currently I'm searching internet what he should eat. His family doctor said, forget sugar and carbohydrates, just protein. As vegetable, I know beans have lot's of protein.
I'll appreciate if you can give me some info, what you are eating regarding to stable low blood sugar. Apperently, you are doing something very right :)

[oldgaredneck]

GrannieB,
I too, am one of those hard headed rednecks with diabetes.
stay away from the starches, i.e. potatos, as the body converts starch into sugar.
ANY kind of fiber is a big help, as the sugar tends to stick to the fiber and is eliminated.
Good luck and God bless you both