Diabetes and Baking

[ChesterV]

I'm a diabetic and I see a lot of people on here know diabetics. Of course, about 30% of the population is diabetic anyway.
Especially in America, where sugar is dumped into anything and everything!

There are SO many forms of diabetes, so depending on what level or type a person is, will depend on what they can and cannot have in their diet.

Here are just a few alternatives when baking for diabetics--

Alternatives to white Flours -
Whole Grain Flour
Nut Flour (example: Almond flour)
Soy Flour
Rye Flour
Gluten Free Flour
Corn Flour
Sesame Flour

Alternatives to dairy -
Almond Milk/"dairy" products
Cashew Milk/"dairy products
Soy Milk/"dairy" products
(this includes things like yogurt, cottage cheese, and ice cream)

Alternatives to Chocolate -
Carob
Coffee
Caramel
Butterscotch
(a lot of these flavors take less sweetener to get them sweet than chocolate)

Alternatives to white sugar -
Honey
Fructose
Artificial Sweeteners
Beet Sugar
Brown Sugar
Pure Maple Syrup/Sugar
MOLASSES
Lo Han (derived from Monk Fruit)
Date Sugar

As with all things diabetic, make sure you ask your Dr. before using anything other than what you currently use.
You don't want to use anything that would make you sick or keep your meds from working correctly.


https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-t...ople-with-diabetes/Home-baking-and-diabetes1/


http://diabeticpastrychef.com/

 

[ChesterV]

As with all substitutions in baking, you have to experiment and modify, because changing ingredients will change the way they act together.

Experiment, test, and modify.

 

[Becky]

That's very handy to know! My mother in law is diabetic - in fact on her side of the family most of them have diabetes, so my husband could potentially be at risk if he isn't careful. I'm always mindful of avoiding serving sugary things for her, but it's the high-carb things that I forget about.

I'm surprised that gluten free flour is on the list - the blends often contain a lot of rice flour, and I thought rice was something that diabetics should avoid?

 

[Trellum]

I was diagnosed with insulin resistance some years ago, it was caused by my PCOS, but I take meds for that. I'm not diabetic yet though, but there is a big chance I will develop it in the future. It runs in my family, so every time I have a nice dessert that is the first thought I have

 

[blazeC]

I appreciate ChesterV's substitution list above that contains alternatives to white flour, white sugar and dairy. But I would suggest that the real bugaboo that needs to be removed and substituted is saturated fats.

According to Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine" and author of "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically-Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs", Type-2 Diabetes can be turned around by following a low-fat, vegan diet as part of healthy lifestyle change in general. Most people can't get their heads around saturated fats (and specifically, animal fats) having anything to do with diabetes. In simple terms that I can understand, fat inside the muscle cells "gums" up the energy system, preventing blood sugar (glucose) from getting into the cells where it is used for energy. The key to letting the glucose into the cells is insulin. Because the insulin is blocked by the fatty sludge from opening the door, so to speak, to let the glucose into the cells, the blood sugars build up in the blood system. Think about the women lined up to use the toilets during the intermission at a rock concert (men apparently don't line up like women do?).

Health researcher, Dr. Michael Greger, MD, says that you can turn this insulin sensitivity and resistance situation around by doing the opposite of eating a high-fat diet. Stop eating the fat and within a number of hours you will find insulin sensitivity decreasing, and as a result, sugars in blood system decrease as well. If you want to know all the scientific jargon, go watch any of a mass of videos on Youtube or read books by the "Forks Over Knives" doctors. High fat diets create plaques in the blood vessels that create inflammation and eventually result in blockages and heart attacks, etc. The Paleo diet often appears to be a sensible way to lose weight, and it is wonderful that it includes more greens and vegetables than many people would ordinarily think to eat, but the high fat element of the diet, over the long haul, will produce more high-cost medical problems for people than the act of cutting saturated fats.

 

[Winterybella]

Thanks for sharing @ChesterV . I was borderline when I checked about what feels like 2 years ago. I know it's silly but sometimes I feel I don't want to find out. My mom is diabetic and so is my mother-in-law. I'll study the list in greater detail when I am more settled. Thanks again.

 

[ChesterV]

That's very handy to know! My mother in law is diabetic - in fact on her side of the family most of them have diabetes, so my husband could potentially be at risk if he isn't careful. I'm always mindful of avoiding serving sugary things for her, but it's the high-carb things that I forget about.

I'm surprised that gluten free flour is on the list - the blends often contain a lot of rice flour, and I thought rice was something that diabetics should avoid?

Well, yes and no.
It depends on the severity of the diabetes usually.

The two things you have to remember about diabetes and foods is "processed" and "unprocessed".
(or so I have been told by the Dr.s I've spoken with)

Diabetics should eat as few processed foods as possible.
This includes white rice, flours, pasta's, candy, snacks, and breads.

I can eat pasta and bread if it is as "whole grain" as I can find it. I despise whole grain anything, because it tastes like cardboard to me. So I rarely eat bread and pasta anymore because of that.

My downfall is chips. Potato chips, corn chips, veggie chips.....I love my chips!!!

Carbs are ok, as long as they are not the kind of carbs that turn straight to sugar when they hit your bloodstream, like processed rice and flour do!

 

[ChesterV]

I appreciate ChesterV's substitution list above that contains alternatives to white flour, white sugar and dairy. But I would suggest that the real bugaboo that needs to be removed and substituted is saturated fats.

According to Dr. Neal Barnard, founder of "Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine" and author of "Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically-Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs", Type-2 Diabetes can be turned around by following a low-fat, vegan diet as part of healthy lifestyle change in general. Most people can't get their heads around saturated fats (and specifically, animal fats) having anything to do with diabetes. In simple terms that I can understand, fat inside the muscle cells "gums" up the energy system, preventing blood sugar (glucose) from getting into the cells where it is used for energy. The key to letting the glucose into the cells is insulin. Because the insulin is blocked by the fatty sludge from opening the door, so to speak, to let the glucose into the cells, the blood sugars build up in the blood system. Think about the women lined up to use the toilets during the intermission at a rock concert (men apparently don't line up like women do?).

Health researcher, Dr. Michael Greger, MD, says that you can turn this insulin sensitivity and resistance situation around by doing the opposite of eating a high-fat diet. Stop eating the fat and within a number of hours you will find insulin sensitivity decreasing, and as a result, sugars in blood system decrease as well. If you want to know all the scientific jargon, go watch any of a mass of videos on Youtube or read books by the "Forks Over Knives" doctors. High fat diets create plaques in the blood vessels that create inflammation and eventually result in blockages and heart attacks, etc. The Paleo diet often appears to be a sensible way to lose weight, and it is wonderful that it includes more greens and vegetables than many people would ordinarily think to eat, but the high fat element of the diet, over the long haul, will produce more high-cost medical problems for people than the act of cutting saturated fats.

Again, that depends on the TYPE and SEVERITY of the diabetes in question.

Aside from the odd ice cream once in a while, I don't drink animal milk anymore, nor do I use butters.
I use "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter", but I rarely put that in or on anything since I can't eat a lot of stuff anymore.
I drink Almond Milk now, sweetened slightly with honey.
I still eat cheese sometimes, but not a lot of it. ( I love my cheese and crackers)


You have to keep in mind that "diets" are not made for the general population, as the creators of these diets will have you believe.

Everybody's chemistries are different, everybody's bodies need different things, and especially when we get sick or older...each individual needs certain specific things.

My Dr. says I can still eat cake and pizza. Just small pieces and only once in a while.
Someone else with a different level of diabetes won't be able to eat ANY type of flour or bread.

I've seen old couples in the stores fighting over the groceries...because the man wants what he wants, but the wife keeps saying "the doctor says you can't have ANY sugar of ANY kind"!!!

You have to be careful about things like this.

Although the general inflection of staying off fats altogether is a good one. For me, I cut out most of my fat intake when I stopped using animal based dairy products.

 

[Becky]

You have a very healthy perspective on this @ChesterV and I admire that

 

[ChesterV]

You have a very healthy perspective on this @ChesterV and I admire that

My granny always taught me to think for myself and learn all that is learnable (lol).
She always said you can never depend on anyone other than yourself, so you have to know as much as possible so you can take care of anything that comes along.

So, I've learned how to sew, knit, cook, bake, paint (art and houses), construction, mechanics, architecture, and bits and pieces of medical, law, and such. Aside from all the other things people should know about life, like how to grow food, work land, and all that farmer stuff.

Unfortunately, nobody appreciates people like that anymore.

 

[Becky]

Unfortunately, nobody appreciates people like that anymore.

Their loss

We try and do whatever we can too - I'm quite creative, and my husband has a background in engineering, so our skills complement each other and we always like to try and tackle jobs (eg DIY) ourselves. Quite honestly I think we do a better job than if we'd got someone in to do it! I think when you are doing a job for yourself you take the time to do it properly.

It's always good to learn new things

 

[djordjem87]

My father has diabetes and his mother had it too. I was always healthy and I never thought about it in this way. I was just having some general thoughts about how sugar is not healthy and what it does to our bodies. Now, reading all this I realize I should be more careful and decrease the intake of sugar in general or I might develop the condition myself and I really do not want that. These advice here and replacements are very good to know and even though I am not a hypochondriac I fear for my health. I guess that is normal.

 

[Winterybella]

My granny always taught me to think for myself and learn all that is learnable (lol).
She always said you can never depend on anyone other than yourself, so you have to know as much as possible so you can take care of anything that comes along.

So, I've learned how to sew, knit, cook, bake, paint (art and houses), construction, mechanics, architecture, and bits and pieces of medical, law, and such. Aside from all the other things people should know about life, like how to grow food, work land, and all that farmer stuff.

Unfortunately, nobody appreciates people like that anymore.

Fortunately, we appreciate those people and we thank granny for training you that way. Because of that training you get to teach even a 'senior' like me.

 

[ChesterV]

Fortunately, we appreciate those people and we thank granny for training you that way. Because of that training you get to teach even a 'senior' like me.

Grandma's rock!!

 

[ChesterV]

My father has diabetes and his mother had it too. I was always healthy and I never thought about it in this way. I was just having some general thoughts about how sugar is not healthy and what it does to our bodies. Now, reading all this I realize I should be more careful and decrease the intake of sugar in general or I might develop the condition myself and I really do not want that. These advice here and replacements are very good to know and even though I am not a hypochondriac I fear for my health. I guess that is normal.

The one thing people need to keep in mind at all times, as far as food and health goes, is the difference between
PROCESSED and UNPROCESSED.

Processed foods are "bad" for you, because they have already been processed and had additives, preservatives, and other chemicals added to them....and sometimes processed many times over. Apparently our bodies and metabolisms cannot handle this type of food for long.......as we get older, our bodies have a more difficult time of dealing with already processed (multiple processed) foods.

UNprocessed foods are better, because they are closer to the natural source of the food, or they are the whole food itself. This includes starches and sugars. For those who like their sweets and sugars and starches.....the older you get, the more UNprocessed these items need to be. Making your own ground sugar from pure sugar cane is a start. Using pure crystalized cane sugar is also a start, because you can ground this up yourself. Using honey instead of sugar is also a better option.


For those of you who are not diabetics and do not have health problems......start training your food thought processes to recognize "processed" and "unprocessed". When you start thinking in the ways of processed and unprocessed foods and food groups, you will then train yourself to eat foods that your bodies can handle.


Think about it this way....your great grandparents. In the era previous to so many artificial chemicals, fillers, additives, and preservatives, they lived off of what was available for that week. Pretty much the only preservative still in use was salt and canning or drying foods.

BUT...these foods were UNprocessed foods, regardless of being dried out or canned, or even cured in salt.
Most of your great grandparents and great, great grandparents lived to be in their 90's+, I'm sure.

Most people will say it's because most jobs back then were still physical labor. Well, that is true, to a point. But they still ate the "real" foods back then. Real sugar, real butter, real meat, real veggies. Not the crap we have today that has been chemicalized and/or processed to death in one way or another. THIS is the major reason they lived so long....and most of them were healthy until they died.

I find it hysterically funny that people today think that just shopping at some place called Whole Foods is better for them than a regular grocery store!!!! SOME of what these "whole food" stores sell is actually what they say it is, but only about 20% of the items they sell. The rest is raised and processed just like any other foods....foods you will find at every other grocery store. The "whole food" stores just make MORE money from the millions of people that can't be bothered to do their research on this stuff sold in these stores.

Regardless of all that.......just keep in mind, when shopping, when cooking, when baking..........
PROCESSED and UNPROCESSED.

 

[Winterybella]

Grandma's rock!!

Oh how I wished I had known my grannies. Maybe it's why I gravitate towards older people. Hopefully I'll live long enough to be a granny myself. I actually think I'd be a rocking granny. Maybe I should go talk to my son.

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

When my father was diagnosed with diabetes all of us in the family got aware because the doctor said there is a tendency that we might inherit this kind of disease depending on our health and eating lifestyle. But although he said that it is not always the case as it maybe. That is why since then all of us in the family started to change the kind of foods that we are eating. Fresh fruits and vegetables and just lean meats once in a while. Avoidance of processed foods. We seldom eat sweet desserts and bakery goods and if in case we eat in moderation only. We also started to be physically active by engaging ourselves on an exercise program that each one of us got interested to. Even a person had a diabetes they can live a normal life as long as they are following the right kind of foods that they should eat and as long as they always take care of health.

 

[ChesterV]

I was in the mood for pie AND for banana pudding this weekend.....so I made this....
(yes, I "cheated", but I couldn't find the pudding I really needed)

Diabetic Banana Pudding Pie

1 pre-made graham cracker crust (preferably with cinnamon added)
6 vanilla or French vanilla SUGAR FREE pudding cups.
2 bananas, sliced thin
1 small container of SUGAR FREE whipped topping

Cover the bottom of the pie crust with sliced bananas.
Put 3 pudding cups of pudding over that.
Put another layer of banana slices over that.
Put the other 3 pudding cups of pudding over that.

Chill in fridge for a couple of hours or over night.

Put on whipped topping before serving.


The taste is a bit bland, but if you are diabetic.....well, it's better than nothing.

 

[justme4910]

So, I've learned how to sew.

come and sew up my comforter,it is leaking from the sides

and i will bake croissants and a souffle

and a pie

 

[ChesterV]

come and sew up my comforter,it is leaking from the sides

and i will bake croissants and a souffle

and a pie

Would if I could!

Why don't you learn to sew!!!
It's easier than learning to bake!!!
LOL