Vegetables

Your mama was right... you really SHOULD eat your veggies. But there are different categories of veggies, and each has a different kind of effect on blood sugar.

1. Starchy veggies. Dry beans, pumpkin, winter squash, peas, corn, potatoes, and other starchy vegetables are often vilified because they have to be counted as carbs the same as breads and rice. They contain essential nutrients though, and should be consumed on a regular basis, though care should be taken not to have too much at one time. The nutrients they contain can have a beneficial effect on blood sugar over the long term, and beans can be an important source of protein for people who wish to avoid overuse of meat.

2. Canned vegetables. Heat destroys many essential nutrients, and makes the carbs in foods absorb more quickly. Canning processes subject vegetables to extremely high heats for fairly long periods of time. It is estimated that up to 90% of the nutrient variety is destroyed during canning. It is for this reason that I prefer to rely on other forms of vegetables for best benefit. Still, canned veggies are better than NO veggies, so if that is all you can get, use them.

3. Fresh non-starchy veggies. The more whole and fresh they are, the better. Frozen and dried are next best and will be included in this category for simplicity. For sheer nutritional punch, fresh veggies cannot be beat! Very few fresh veggies count as starches, so you can choose from a wide variety of items that many diabetics can eat as "free foods". This makes them excellent fillers.

The great thing about fresh veggies though, is that when I eat a meal with lots of veggies and test my blood sugar, the values will be lower than if I eat the SAME MEAL, but without the veggies.

Some experts write this off to slower digestion. But that does not explain it all. I feel that the essential nutrients in veggies contribute to healthy metabolism, so insulin gets used more effectively for that meal. I do know that nearly EVERY supplement that I have found that can affect blood sugar is listed as occurring naturally in vegetables, or that veggies contain the building blocks for the nutrient. And several veggies specifically are known to affect blood sugar if consumed regularly.

Veggies are also quick food. Fresh ones are fast to prepare, since you just wash, cut, and serve. We love bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese, or cream cheese and turkey or ham, for a quick protein/veggie snack. Fast, portable, and easy to fix and eat on the run.

I also find that if I get a good variety of veggies each day, my blood sugar values tend to run lower on a consistent basis, regardless of whether I had veggies specifically with the meal in question or not. If we run out of good veggies, and I get sloppy about including them, then my blood sugar levels are more erratic.
 

You don't have to love every vegetable. Generally the two things you should look for are yellow, and green. Darker colors tend to be richer in nutrients, and fresher (less processed or less cooked, and unpeeled) gives a higher nutrient content than aged, or processed veggies. Choose what you like, and then nudge yourself into getting used to eating them in a little better way that what you already do if you struggle with veggies.

We choose Romaine lettuce instead of Iceberg. Better nutritional content, but still crunchy. Romaine is fabulously easy to prepare also, because you can just make some verticle cuts in the head, and then chop it from top to core very quickly. A salad spinner makes it simple to wash it, soak it in water to crisp it a bit, then spin it dry. Bags of assorted greens are very convenient, but they do spoil fast once they are opened. We love baby spinach, but find it hard to use it fast enough (we live at high altitude, and veggies age faster here).

We serve carrots with the skins still on, just scrubbed well. Bell peppers and cucumbers both travel well in zip bags, as do carrots and celery. Tomatoes are really a fruit, but we count them as veggies and so does the ADA - in other words, they do not count as a starch. Carrots do not either, though some people still insist that they have a high sugar content: They don't. Eat them to your heart's content, the beta carotene in them is good for cardiovascular health, eye health, and helps ward off the affects of age.

Our family just loves broccoli with cheddar cheese. Frozen veggies (except greenbeans) should be heated just until the water boils, then removed from the heat while the veggies are just tender-crisp. Green beans require a little more cooking if you don't want them to be squeaky. Watch the contents on stir-fry veggies, they often contain starchy peas or corn, but use them too, because a nice vegetable blend with a little butter and soy sauce for flavor is a perfect way to extend small rice portions.
 

So find fresh non-starchy veggies that you can eat, and then get creative about using them in the majority of your meals. They make a measurable difference.

Since I did not have a category for fruits, I'll mention a bit here. Fruits must be counted, but follow the same rules as veggies: fresh is better, skin on is healthier. Two or three fruits a day is good, as they are rich in essential vitamins and minerals also. But fruit juices and other fruit items that are served in large quantities may have harmful affects if not properly portioned and counted. Just be careful about measuring, and they will be a help to your diet, and not a hindrance. Select small apples, tiny bananas, and small oranges, or make do with just half a fruit. Count your grapes, measure your pineapple, and weigh your melon servings. Learn to properly portion them, and then enjoy, because when sugar is limited, fruit becomes a delightful treat!

Written by Laura Wheeler, Owner of Firelight Business Enterprises, Inc.