Defeating Diabetes

Diabetes has become epidemic in this country. It runs through my family, too.. If Americans could defeat diabetes, think how our medical expenses would go down, and our productivity increase!

To defeat diabetes, Dr. David Eifrig, MD, PHD says, we have to stop eating sugar. He says he reads labels. “If among its ingredients any item appears with a name ending in ‘ose’ (like sucrose, maltose, dextrose, etc). I put it back on the shelf.”
Those are all sugars. So are molasses, honey, and corn syrup. We cannot do our health any good by switching to sugar substitutes, either.  Aspartame has been implicated in brain cancer. Splenda is just sugar treated with chlorine. Stevia is okay. It has a built-in halt to overdosing on it; more than a smidgeon tastes bitter.

It’s best to simply retrain our taste buds to relish other flavors. This makes kicking the sugar habit easier. It helps, too, if we shop the perimeter of the store where the seafoods, and fresh vegetables and fruits are. A Dr. Whitaker, of La Jolla, CA, advises eating half a cup of beans or lentils every day. Dr. Neal Barnard recommends a vegan diet. Thinking that if I ate like I already had diabetes, I wouldn’t get it I tried eating vegan twice, and each time got shingles. Plainly, you and your most diabetes-savy doctor need to work out a diet that keeps your body in maximum health.

In the book ”Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program to Reverse Diabetes Now” published in 2007 by Rodale, Inc (check out rodalestore.com), Dr Barnard adds, “You need not give up carbohydrates; eat rice. Eat lots of fresh vegetables, not so many fruits.”

Dr. Barnard’s book gives delicious recipes as well as good advice. He warns readers not to make any drastic diet change without first discussing it with their doctor, and to keep him posted so he can check insulin sensitivity s well as blood sugar level. Here is a vegan recipe that produces a delicious, nourishing vegan snack food.

   Spinach Hummus
 Makes about 3 ½ cups

1 (10-ouince} package frozen spinach
2 cups well home-cooked or canned garbanzo beans
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 Tablespoon sesame tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
4 or 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne

For the last two ingredients you could just put in, to your taste, Rich Osborne’s Chipotle Salt, sold at the Saturday and Wednesday markets. Squeeze all the liquid you can from the spinach. Drain the garbanzos, reserving the juice. Put the garbanzos, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, salt and cayenne in a food processor. Blend until a smooth paste develops. Add a few drops of the reserved garbanzo juice if necessary. Don’t worry about getting the mixture too liquid. It will thicken somewhat as it chills.

Transfer to a serving bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Use as a dip for fresh vegetables or spread on thin rye crackers.  I’ve slightly adapted the recipe to fit my taste; feel free to put in a little more or a little less of the lemon juice or the garlic. I added the turmeric for color and because it’s a brain sharpener. India uses more turmeric and has less Alzheimers than any other country.