Busy Woman's Health & Wellness Guide

18.2 million people in the United States, or 6.3 percent of the population, have diabetes, and the number of people – particularly those with type 2 diabetes – continues to grow. Furthermore, approximately 5.2 million people (or one-third of those who have diabetes) are unaware they even have the disease.

Complications of diabetes include: heart disease, strokes, highblood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous systemdisease, amputations, dental disease and complications of pregnancy.

Making Healthy Food Choices

Knowing what to eat can be confusing. Everywhere you turn, there is news about what is or isn’t good for you. There are, however, some basic principles that have weathered the fad diets. The following are a few of these recommendations tohelp you make healthy food choices for you and your entire family.

• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from a rainbow of colors to maximize variety. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products.Try brown rice with your stir fry or whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite pasta sauce. Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans) and lentils into your meals.
• Include fish in your meals 2-3 times a week. Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that end in “loin” such as pork loin and sirloin. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
• Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
• Choose water and calorie-free “diet” drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-ladendrinks.
• Choose oils such as olive, soybean, sesame or peanut that have a higher concentration of monounsaturated orpolyunsatuated fats (“good fats”). Solid fats such as butter and margarine are high in saturated or trans fats (“bad fats”) that are known to raise cholesterol. Remember that fats are higher in calories per gram than proteins or carbohydrates.If you are trying to lose weight, watch your portion sizes of added fats.
• Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
• Eating too much of even healthful foods can lead to weight gain. Watch your portion sizes.

Want more information on foods that are healthy? To learn more about diabetes and ways to prevent diabetes, visit www.vanderbiltdiabetes.com.