Diet or Meal Planning? Part 7

What should we increase in our diet

Again, I must apologize for taking so long to get back to this series - it is very important in managing our diabetes to manage what we eat, to make sure our bodies are getting the right supplements, and other nutritional products.

Some house keeping before getting into the topic.  People continue to find this blog and I want to welcome everyone to a blog that simply is designed to pass on what I have done and managing diabetes in my life.  I also want to thank my loyal readers for sticking out my time off.

I also want to take this time to ask you to lift up a couple of people to your higher power.  Dora and Gabby could really use your prayers at the moment as they are struggling with effects caused by diabetes and other diseases.  As I have said in the past, I thank God I am only diabetic.  I also ask that you lift up Lyndol as he has numerous illnesses and some procedures coming up.  Please add these people in your conversations with your higher power.

Where have we been on this subject

Since I have taken so much time off, I should do a little review.  The following list will allow you link back to the previous posts in this series.

Do I watch what I eat or plan what I eat - that is the question

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-1.html

Other Valuable Nutrients

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-2.html

USDA and HHS Guidelines - Introduction

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-3.html

Balancing Calories To Manage Weight

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-4.html

What Foods to Reduce

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-5.html

Unloading Fats

http://robertdant.blogspot.com/2013/12/diet-or-meal-planning-part-6.html

Again this series is based solely on the FDA and HHS guidelines.  Not that they are the only guidelines but they have some great information.

What the guidelines say about what we should add

"A wide variety of nutritious foods are available in the United States. However, many Americans do not eat the array of foods that will provide all needed nutrients while staying within calorie needs. In the United States, intakes of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, milk and milk products, and oils are lower than recommended. As a result, dietary intakes of several nutrients—potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D—are low enough to be of public health concern for both adults and children. Several other nutrients also are of concern for specific population groups, such as folic acid for women who are capable of becoming pregnant. Recommendations are based on evidence that consuming these foods within the context of an overall healthy eating pattern is associated with a health benefit or meeting nutrient needs. Guidance on food choices for a healthy eating pattern generally groups foods based on commonalities in nutrients provided and how the foods are viewed and used by consumers. The following recommendations provide advice about making choices from all food groups while balancing calorie needs.”

Here is what I and many Americans are guilty of - not knowing.  We have stopped buying products from farmers as it is cheaper to buy in large stores - so many of our products are picked long before they ripen by the nature of the product.  We have a tendency to take on way too many foods that have large amounts of preservatives.  I have lived outside the US and in many countries, you stop and buy your food each day so it is fresh as they do not have the preservatives we do have in our food in the US.  I think it is important for us diabetics to understand the food we eat and be careful.

I have two people in the ADA I trust and learn a lot from, Marty who has made comments here and Dolores.  Each have their focus in life and are amazing people in how they manage their diets, foods, and, supplements.  Marty can cook up anything from nothing and make it taste like a desert for the king.  Dolores has spent a long time getting to know supplements and vitamins our bodies need because we do not have the proper food intake.  She grows her own stuff so she knows the quality of the supplement or herb.

I find encouragement from both of these people and admire what they do.  If I had 10% of their courage and tenacity - I would be healthy - I have so much to learn.  Marty and Dolores, I know you read the blog - try not to shoot me for mentioning you - you are truly amazing and I think people should know that.

Key recommendations

Individuals should meet the following recommendations as part of a healthy eating pattern and while staying within their calorie needs.

Increase vegetable and fruit intake.

Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas.

Consume at least half of all grains as whole grains. Increase whole-grain intake by replacing refined grains with whole grains.

Increase intake of fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, such as milk, yogurt, cheese, or fortified soy beverages.

Choose a variety of protein foods, which include seafood, lean meat and poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.

Increase the amount and variety of seafood consumed by choosing seafood in place of some meat and poultry.

Replace protein foods that are higher in solid fats with choices that are lower in solid fats and calories and/or are sources of oils.

Use oils to replace solid fats where possible.

Choose foods that provide more potassium, dietary fiber, calcium, and vitamin D, which are nutrients of concern in American diets. These foods include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and milk and milk products.

Recommendations for Specific Population Groups

Women capable of becoming pregnant

Choose foods that supply heme iron, which is more readily absorbed by the body, additional iron sources, and enhancers of iron absorption such as vitamin C-rich foods.

Consume 400 micrograms (mcg) per day of synthetic folic acid (from fortified foods and/or supplements) in addition to food forms of folate from a varied diet. 

Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding

Consume 8 to 12 ounces of seafood per week from a variety of seafood types.

Due to their methyl mercury content, limit white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces per week and do not eat the following four types of fish: tilefish, shark, swordfish, and king mackerel.

If pregnant, take an iron supplement as recommended by an obstetrician or other health care provider. 

Individuals ages 50 years and older

Consume foods fortified with vitamin B12, such as fortified cereals, or dietary supplements.

My wife has been following these recommendations for years and she is very healthy - I might have been wise to listen to her a long time ago.  When I was a young man in the military, I had the opportunity to serve in Okinawa.  It was hard on me but it was the start of teaching me how to live with and understand people from other nations.  I always knew the Okinawan people lived a special life - now look they are trying to sell me the fact I can get that life in a bottle.  NO YOU CANNOT AND PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THESE FALSE STATEMENTS.  I do not advocate buying everything - no what and why you are buying something.

Do you want to know why the Okinawan people live longer, think of this live style and you will get it.  They all have community gardens and they grow their own food.  They share their crop with the community so there is a lot of natural products delivered daily - NO PRESERVATIVES.  They do not lock their homes as they are not worried about each other stealing or entering someone's home.  They live a very peaceful life with little stress.  They do not drive to work and live high stressed lives, they fish, they farm, they build homes for each other, and they live as family units taking care of each other.

YOU THINK YOU CAN PUT THAT IN A BOTTLE - NOT!  What is important and you should understand, what supplements are they putting in the bottle and will they help your situation.  

I think for now I will end this discussion as the aspect of what we should add to our food is critical and there is a lot of material and foods to add.  We have an idea of what to remove and what to add.  I think it is time to move on to the discussion of meal planning and what we can do.

The next post will be a small research on the Diets that exist out there and which ones might work given what we have discussed up to this point.

Although I detest the term Diet because it is associated with "limiting" something versus planning something.  However, in many circles or with legitimate Diets, they are attempting to help with meal planning.  Therefore, discussing some of these diets in the next post will help with meal planning.

God, please grant us the "will power' and knowledge to know what our bodies need and what we need to add to our food intake.  Give us the ability to listen to others and to learn from their successes and failures. 

On a personal note, God thank you for keeping my readers in my life and for them sending me messages and caring for me.  Thanks you for this opportunity to share my thoughts and how important you are in my life and in my Diabetes management.

Bob,