Cathy Holmes / L’Observateur / November 24, 2000

Healthy eating is the first step in taking care of your diabetes. This beingAmerican Diabetes month, there is no better time than now to begin. You canmake a difference in your blood glucose control through your food choices.

You do not need special or diet foods.

The food that is good for you is good for the whole family. Here’s how you doit. Eat a wide variety of foods every day. Try new foods. Eat high-fiber foodssuch as fruits, vegetables, grains and beans.

Use less added fat, sugar and salt. Eat meals and snacks at regular timeevery day. Avoid skipping meals. To loose weight cut down on portion size.People with diabetes need not give up desserts. They just need to eat sweetsin moderation. It’s important to remember desserts are not a free food andshouldn’t be eaten as one that doesn’t need to be counted in the daily diet.

A new low calorie sweetener will appear on the market in 2001, but it may be ordered by calling (800) 877-5363. Information on the product can be foundat www.splenda.com. This product doesn’t loose flavor during cooking.Many times, artificial sweeteners will loose sweetness during cooking. Forinstance, Equal contains aspartame, which may loose its sweetness when heated.

To increase the stability of aspartame sweetener with another sweetener, such as saccharin, you can also add an acidic ingredient such as vinegar or you can add the sweetener to the food after the food is cooked.

In addition to using sweeteners there are other ways to sweeten foods.

Some of these include: Use apple juice concentrate or white grape juice as all or part of the liquid in a recipe. Juices may be counted as part of the carbohydrate in the recipe.Recipes prepared with juice become sweeter the longer they sit. You maywish to prepare them the day before you plan to serve them.

Aspartame stays sweeter longer during heating if the other ingredients in the recipe are acidic such as fruit. It will also stay sweet longer if it is mixedwith another sweetener.

Any artificial sweetener is sweeter when combined with another sweetener.

Sugar-free puddings and gelatins usually substitute perfectly in refrigerated desserts and congealed salads.

Spices can mask the after taste of some sweeteners. Using less of thesweetener than needed to substitute for the original amount of sugar may make the after taste less noticeable.

Cinnamon and vanilla make food taste sweeter with less sweetener.

Sugar-free baked goods will not stay fresh as long as foods baked with sugar. Be sure to cover and refrigerate to maintain freshness. Adding sugar-free pudding or 1/4 cup non-fat dry milk powder to a sugar- free cake may increase the volume and moisture.

Pureed fruit can add sweetness and bulk to sugar-free cookies, cakes and quick breads.

You can usually reduce the sugar and fat in a recipe by one-quarter to one- third without hurting cookies, pies and quick breads. This does not alwayswork with cakes.

Before adopting any diet plan, it is important to consult with a dietician. Thecost is covered by Medicare, as well as most insurance companies.

After you have consulted with a dietician, it is important to follow a healthy guide to eating and exercise. Plan meals that follow your doctor’s anddietician’s recommendations. Exercise, monitor your blood glucose (sugar)and weight. Take any medication prescribed by your doctor.For more information on diabetes and nutrition, visit www.agetr.lsu.edu/wwwac/catsmart/diabet2.htm. The River Parish DiabetesCenter, located on Cannes Drive in LaPlace, is also a good information resource.

CATHY HOLMES is an extension agent for the LSU Agricultural Center’s St. John Parish office in Edgard.

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