Diabetes Cooking Class
by Anne Kelly KFYR-TV
Posted on 4/20/2009
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More than 30,000 North Dakotans live with diabetes. Many could ward it off if they simply changed the unhealthy eating habits they`ve developed over a life time. Once a person develops diabetes, there`s really no choice but to change those habits, because by then it`s a matter of life or death.
But making the change is easier said than done.
Because a change in eating habits is crucial for patients with diabetes, St. Alexius offers classes to help patients understand the basics of handling their disease. Cooking healthy is second nature for some, but not everyone knows olive oil is a smart substitute for butter, or that steaming food is one of the best ways to keep nutrients in vegetables. Especially those who have been eating unhealthy for their entire lives.
“The biggest question that I get in my office from patients is ‘Okay I’m diabetic. Now what do I eat? How do I cook? How do I change my meal planning?,” says Cindy Renner, a certified diabetes instructor at St. Alexius.
These are questions St. Alexius nutrition experts are hoping will be answered through the cooking classes they`re holding through the end of May. The focus in this class is portion control. It`s what dietician Kathy Stewart calls one of the most important factors in managing Type 2 diabetes. “It`s not necessarily avoiding certain foods or do`s and don`ts, it`s a matter of the amount,” Stewart says. “If they`re eating larger portions it`s going to be difficult to keep their blood sugars under control and over time that high blood sugar level increases the risk of certain complications of diabetes.”
Stewart says sweets are okay, but in small portions. This cookie has twice as many carbohydrates as two Oreo cookies. This cake has four times as many grams. To make the best choices, Stewart stresses you have to be aware of portion size and sometimes, that means being aware of the size of your plate or bowl. Take this cereal. Each bowl has the same amount in it. But the bowls are different sizes.
The bigger the bowl, the more likely you are to eat more. It`s one of the many realizations St. Alexius hopes people with diabetes can add to their arsenal of information that will help them in managing their disease. St. Alexius is offering two more cooking classes for diabetic patients. The next is April 30th and focuses on how to properly read nutrition labels.
For more information or to sign up call 530-7860.
Click Here the upcoming cooking class