UNDERSTANDING the frustration that diabetes patients as well as caregivers go through in preparing suitable daily meals, celebrity chef Nik Michael Imran, has been roped into the "For Your Sweetheart Campaign" to create a series of recipes that can be prepared in less than 20 minutes.
The recipes were developed in consultation with council member of Diabetes Malaysia (DM), Poh Kai Ling.
The For Your Sweetheart Campaign is a nationwide public awareness and education campaign organised by the Malaysian Endocrine and Metabolic Society (MEMS) and Malaysian Diabetes Educators Society (MDES) and supported by Boehringer Ingelheim.
It is important to understand the facts about diabetes so that both patients and caregivers can make informed decisions about a diabetes diet.
"Skipping meals or eating less does not help to reduce sugar intake. It is advisable to follow the hunger cues, eat when the body needs. Ignoring hunger cues tends to create craving issues, making it hard for the person to control food intake in the subsequent meals," says Poh.
It is also important to read food labels to understand nutrition content better, as not all sugar-free products are carbohydrate-free.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and corn are all part of the carbohydrate food group. It is true that carbohydrate intake will increase blood sugar levels. However, these starchy vegetables are highly nutritious and contain various vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fibre which are essential to our body.
One should never avoid these foods. The key is to control the portion size.
According to Poh, a diabetes friendly diet does not need to be restrictive, boring and hard to swallow. Having diabetes does not mean limiting one's meal choices. Healthy eating for people with diabetes is no different than for everyone else.
"What is important is to eat a controlled amount and serve a portion of carbohydrate rich food. One of the ways is to take note of the Glycemic Index (GI) of foods."
GI is a value to measure the rate of how quickly carbohydrate in food raises blood glucose. To put it simply, foods that are low GI (between 0-55) are considered good carbs and high GI (70-100) foods are considered bad carbs. The higher the GI value, the greater the effect on blood sugar levels.
"Understanding the GI of foods can help us in controlling diabetes along with carbohydrate counting," says Poh.
The collaboration between Nik and Poh in developing the recipes included in the Simple Healthy Cooking e-book, has led to meals which are not only enjoyable but also simple, easy to prepare and appropriate for people with diabetes.
The result is a variety of win-win recipes – restaurant-style meals that are also healthy and GI appropriate.
"My dad, who was a chef and loves good food too, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I understand the heart of caregivers in wanting to give the best to their loved ones who are living with diabetes. That was what drove my inspiration in developing these ten recipes," says Nik.
Research shows that 1 in 5 adults in the country is living with diabetes, a long-term chronic illness which requires prolonged caregiving and long-term management. Unhealthy levels of glucose in the blood can lead to long and short term health complications, particularly affecting the heart and kidney.
Eating right can help reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications such as heart and kidney disease.
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