Diabetic question

[chiefchewy]

Hi All,
My 86 yr old dad has diabeties which he controls with diet and a pill. It is very mild and his blood sugar stays around 124 (120 or less is normal)with what he is doing now.
They are coming to stay with me for a week in april. I am trying to figure out if the things i make with dry fruit or whole fruit will be harmful to him.... I always soak any dried fruit before using it.. say for example banana pie...

I never use any sweetner(other then fruit) except raw agave...

any help will be appreciated.

[juliebove]

There is no such thing as mild diabetes. It is life threatening to all of us who have it. Sounds like your dad has type 2 diabetes as I do. I am new to raw food, but not new to diabetes.

The thing to keep in mind is that carbs are what raise BG (blood glucose) the most. Protein will raise BG but to a lesser extent. Fat will not raise BG. So in planning meals, the best combination is something that has some carbs, some protein and some fat. The body tends to be the most insulin resistant first thing in the morning. Many of us find we can't eat much in the way of carbs then. Figure a serving of carbs to be 15 grams. How many servings your dad can eat at one time is very much an individual thing based on his metabolism and how active he is. My typical breakfast is 1/2 a grapefruit and a Tablespoon of pumpkin seeds. But if I wake and find my BG too high, then I can eat only the seeds and nothing else till lunch.

Fruit in any form should be handled with caution. Some people find that berries are the most doable for them. Others find they can eat melon, apple or pears. Dried fruits can be a real problem because they are so high in carbs. I can eat dried Wolfberries (Goji) but I do not eat any other dried fruit. Juice from fruit and vegetables is another thing that is often not doable because of the carb count. When having a hypo (low BG) fruit juice is what we drink to bring BG up quickly. A little bit of fruit juice in a recipe is probably okay and juice made of low carb vegetables made into a soup or something is probably okay too.

But for the most part, the main portion of the diet should be made up of non starchy veggies like onion, cucumber, celery, greens, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.