Sharing Common Sense

 

About a month ago, I stepped into my doctor's office and announced that the more fiber I ate, the lower my blood sugar seemed to be.  She had a look on her face like she had not connected those two dots - - - ever!  I must say, I do believe I may have triggered an "ah-ha moment" for her!

 

My morning snack today was a piece of low-fat string cheese and a sliced apple.  Doesn't that look good?  It really was.  I try to eat an apple a day because as the old saying goes, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  So far, it's worked like a charm!  Fiber is our friend, and for a mere 95 calories per apple, it packs a punch where fiber is concerned!  They're filling and a perfect source of vitamin C.

 For some reason, apples are often overlooked as a super-fruit and passed up for things like mango and pomegranates.  Not only are apples a more economical choice, but they offer a little bit of sweetness for diabetics without sending our glucose soaring out into space!  Sometimes I like to sprinkle just a little cinnamon on top of my apple slices to give them a little kick.  

One type of fiber found in apples called pectin is thought to lower cholesterol and the antioxidants ward off cellular damage.  Mama taught me that the pectin also keeps your skin soft and supple and you don't get as many wrinkles as you get older.  Apple eaters also have lower levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation whose presence in the blood suggests an increased risk for diabetes.  

An apple is simple to prepare - peel off the little sticker, slice, sprinkle with cinnamon (or not), and voila' you have a snack!  Tear off a piece of string cheese to provide a protein balance, and you're all set.  I never get tired of that snack! 

When I was in college, I used to eat an apple and a cup of low-fat yogurt every day for lunch.  It's hard to believe I was ever that young (or that disciplined), but it's true.  I've always liked apples.

A study was done by Finnish researchers with data collected over 28 years from 9,208 men and women.  It was found that frequent apple eaters had the lowest risk of suffering strokes compared with those who did not eat apples.

Apples deliver an antioxidant called quercetin, which aids endurance by making oxygen more available to the lungs.  If you eat an apple before your workout, it provides some much needed endurance for exercise!  An apple and a piece of low-fat or light string cheese is the perfect pre-workout snack!

Since the blood of an uncontrolled diabetic looks like red syrup, it makes sense that stroke is a risk factor associated with diabetes.  Heart disease is also a huge risk factor with diabetes.  The heart was not meant to pump syrup through our bodies.  It was meant to pump blood.  Blood is not supposed to be thick and gooey.    

This is a lifetime commitment I'm making for my health.  Is it easy?  No.  Is it worthwhile?  Yes!!!  I know I have to adopt this lifestyle and I'm ready to do it!  Actually, it's like any other 12-step program - it's moment by moment by the grace of God.  I have moments when I fall off the horse, but what do you do when you fall off a horse?  You dust yourself off and you get right back on the horse and keep going in the right direction!  I have a made up mind.

Remember the story of Daniel in the lion's den?  The king wanted Daniel to eat all the rich food and Daniel refused.  That's me.  I have the fast-food neon signs screaming at me - EAT HERE!  But I have to stay focused and keep my mind on the health and happiness I want (and I know God wants for me).  Feeling good and knowing I won't suffer complications from diabetes is worth everything to me.

Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king's rich food and drinking the king's wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way.  Daniel 1:8

Did you know that it's very important for T2D's to get their zzz's at night?  Read my article entitled, "Is A Regular Sleep Schedule Really That Important For Diabetics?" 
 
http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-A-Regular-Sleep-Schedule-Really-That-Important-For-Diabetics?&id=7152984

Today is NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!  This has to do with the two-legged variety of baby or child, but I want to extend it to the four-legged variety of baby as well.  I am an adoption success story.  I was adopted as a small infant and had wonderful parents.  My husband and I did not adopt the two-legged variety of baby, but we have adopted a couple of four-legged babies through our almost 27 year marriage.  Shelter dogs are great!  I encourage you to adopt your next pet.  Most of them will not be a pedigree, but they will love you unconditionally.

Not that any of us want to think about it, but today is also BLACK FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!  Of course, that's the day we begin to practice our good will toward men (yeah, right!) -

Here's hoping if you are out in the mayhem, that you will not be involved in anything that involves the police or jail or anything.  Have fun!!!

 



 

 

Today is also BUY NOTHING DAY!!!!!!!!!!  The point being that Christmas has become too much about buying stuff and less about the real meaning and purpose.  I personally do not go out on Black Friday but it is mainly to save my own sanity and has little to do with my beliefs one way or the other.  Which ever way you spend the day - have fun!