Diabetes, Glycemic Index and The Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)I was interviewed for a national Diabetes Magazine the other day. Of course they wanted to know how a diet such as the SCD would be for Diabetes sufferers, considering that in
Australia 10% of Diabetics are also diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. For Diabetics the all important factor is how carbohydrates effect their blood sugar level, and that these foods have a low GI (Glycemic Index). The Glycemic Index is a measurement of the type or quality of carbs in a particular food, and how fast 50 grams of this carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels, (and consequent insulin secretion and effects produced by the pancreas) as it is digested. But it is also important to consider the Glycemic Load of Foods. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, the Glycemic Load was devised to make the Glycemic Index useful in the real world.

The problem with the Glycemic Index is that the tests use 50 grams of carbohydrate worth of the food being tested. On a practical level, that means they test a plateful of spaghetti, but a truckload of cucumbers! It doesn’t take into account how food is eaten in the real world, and makes foods seem damaging that really aren’t.

The Glycemic Index is the measurement of how rapidly a given carbohydrate food is absorbed, and therefore how fast and hard it spikes blood sugar. In general, a fast, sharp rise in blood sugar triggers a big insulin release . The Glycemic Load is defined as the Glycemic Index times the actual number of grams of carbohydrate eaten. Ten or below is a low Glycemic Load, 11-20 is medium, and anything over 20 is high.

Take carrots. Carrots have a high Glycemic Index for a vegetable – around 50. But do you know how many carrots you’d have to eat to get fifty grams of carbohydrate? More than fifty! So basically the carbohydrate content of say eating two whole carrots with a meal is too insignificant to cause a rise in blood sugar levels. But let’s say you take oatmeal, which has about the same GI as carrots, but one cup serving of cooked oatmeal has 25 grams of carbohydrate, for a Glycemic Load of 12.5 in contrast to say 5 baby carrots which has 4 grams of carbohydrate and a Glycemic Load of 2 – very low.

So how do the foods allowed on the SCD rate in regards to the GI and GL and is this a good thing for Diabetics and everyone else wanting to be healthier?

The SCD is based on ‘Simple Carbohydrate Foods’ or rather monosaccharides which are the single molecule carbs which need no enzyme to break them down to be digested. Carbohydrate foods naturally divide themselves into two groups: starches and refined sugars, and everything else. It’s the concentration of carbohydrates in the starches, and the artificial concentration of refined sugars, that makes them a problem to bowel disease sufferers and diabetics. So the specific carbohydrates allowed on the diet and used in the ‘Healing Foods’ cookbook are the ones that are represented in most low GI foods. These foods are simple fresh foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, some low starch pulses, nuts, meats, cheeses and yogurt. Even the baked goods which are sweetened with honey are acceptable as the almond meal used instead of the wheat flour contain monounsaturated fats which slows the absorption rate of glucose from the honey into the bloodstream.

So considering all these factors diabetics, digestive disease sufferers and generally everyone who wants to live a more energetic and healthy life should be able to benefit from the recipes in ‘Healing Foods’ ‘Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn’s and IBS’.

Sandra

I was speaking to an elderly gentleman the other day who had just undergone life saving surgery to his heart and he mentioned that the doctor recommended that he should start eating lots of bananas “at least two a day”, he said. The Doctor said that the high potassium content helped to regulate the heart beat. So when I started investigating the health value of bananas I came upon a great article on how bananas help with bowel diseases. Keep in mind that it is important to eat bananas only when they are really ripe, with brown flecks appearing on the skin.

This article was written by Terence Oth, who also keeps a great site for tips for IBS sufferers http://www.ibs-relieftips.com/

When someone talks about bananas, one thing comes to mind – energy food. The reason for this is because we often see the tri-athletes gorging on this before and during their race events.

Well, it is a known fact that it contains three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose – combined with fiber. The sugars give us the instant and sustainable energy. Research has shown that just two bananas can sustain one for a vigorous 90-minute workout. But for an IBS sufferer, it is the insoluble fiber that we are interested in. The abundance of insoluble fibers helps in relieving constipation without the need for laxatives. So keep a banana or two in your daily diet. One banana has 16% of the fiber, 15% of the vitamin C, and 11% of the potassium we need every day for good health. Bananas are unique because it helps in both IBS constipation and diarrhea. A few (no more than 2) large bananas a day provide the fiber to promote bowel movement. Eating more bananas a day can help stop diarrhea. Bananas have other benefits as well.

• For anemic patients, bananas are high in iron, which helps in the production of hemoglobin – the foundation of blood. This is especially important to women when they have their menses.

• For high blood pressure and stroke sufferers, bananas are high in potassium but low in salt. Research, has shown that potassium reduces blood pressure. In one research, keeping bananas as a regular diet can reduce the risk of death by stroke by as much as 40%.

• For heart burn patients, bananas have antacid properties. Gulping down a couple of bananas provide relief in heart burn patients.

• For ulcer sufferers, bananas coat the lining of the intestines, thus providing relief for over-active ulcers. A banana’s antacid properties will reduce acidity in the stomach as well.

• For mosquito bites and warts. Forget your creams, just use the banana skin and rub some on the mosquito bite. It not only provides irritation relief, but reduces inflammation as well. Keep the inside of the banana skin on the wart by using plaster and see the wart go away.

Tips: Do not take bananas late at night. When you take bananas, also take lots of water after that if you want to prevent constipation. Apples are also unique because they are both beneficial in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea. Uncooked apples are good for constipation. On the other hand, baked apples are good for diarrhea as the cooking process softens the cellulose and provides bulk to stools. For the best IBS treatment, apples should be peeled. The sugars in apples are harder for the body to digest. And what the body can’t break down, it pushes out. So apples are a natural laxative. Personally, I find combining bananas and apples into a drink is even more effective as a constipation relief, so here is a recipe for one IBS constipation relief drink. Banana, Apple Lassi (Yogurt drink) Combine two fruits with natural laxatives and digestion booster properties, and you get one of the best IBS constipation treatments. Yoghurt builds ‘good’ bacteria in the gut.

Early Monday morning I received a phone call from the U.S. Dr. Ron Hoffman who wrote the forword for the book wanted to interview me about the book on his radio. It was a very well conducted interview. Dr. Hoffman was fun and easy to talk to and afterward I received an email from his office, saying the phones were running hot.

Here is the podcast for anyone who is interested to download: http://podcast.wor710.com/wor/695432.mp3

Well the book has arrived. They are filling the warehouses in Australia and the U.S. Amazon is selling them by the hundreds and Australia is not far behind. The first orders were sent out yesterday and I am looking forward to getting some feedback. I hope everyone loves them.

We have an extensive publicity campaign planned for me. Hopefully you’ll be seeing me on the tv and hearing me on the radio soon. What I need now is to hear from people who have been on the diet and their experience with it. Your story could help others to realise how great the SCDiet is and how it can help. Send me an email with your story, I would love to hear from you: sandra@elephantpublishing.com

Sandra

A few days ago I posted on the Long Island SCD List Group that I am developing the “Ultimate Weekly Cooking Plan”. I spent two full days writing the plan and then cooked the food the following week. We ate like kings for that week. It is a great plan, but could be too involved for those who either do not have a family of four or are single. I don’t have a family of four and my partner eats out for lunch. So I just cooked it for my son and I mostly, and obviously had to adjust the recipes sizes for this.  I realise that a simpler plan also needs to be developed and have enlisted the help of the Long Island SCD Group to help develop the comprehensive and simple plan. I think if newbies and oldies to the SCD were able to resort to these plans when the going gets tough, it might help to put people’s minds at ease that being on the SCDiet is easy, practical and incredibly healthy.

Sandra

Not long now the books are on the boat and on their way to us and then we will ship them directly to all those people who have pre-purchased the book. This is very exciting and wonderful, a bit like giving birth, but a lot less painful.

Sandra

Buying canned coconut milk is convenient but due to various gums and additives not advised on the SCDiet. Making coconut milk is dead easy. In the cookbook I have a recipe for almond milk. Basically it is 1.5 cups of almond meal plus 3 cups of water. You place the ingredients into a food processor and process for 3 minutes. Strain the liquid through a double layer of kitchen cloth and hey presto almond milk. It is the same for coconut milk, just use unsweetened coconut meal….. But you can also make coconut milk from fresh coconut.

To make coconut cream, let the coconut milk sit for 1 day and then pour off the seperated water from the cream. Coconut milk made at home is much better tasting than store bought canned coconut milk.

For facts on nutritional values of coconut milk read this article: http://www.templeofthai.com/cooking/coconut_and_cholesterol.php

I received the first proofs of the cookbook this week. The book looks amazing and I am so excited. Because we are printing overseas the production time of printing is at our printers mercy and our original launch date of 24 August is looking more like the 7 September now. Never the less we are still crossing our fingers to get the bulk of the books by end of August. So our countdown has to have a few days added to it. Keep reading the flogs for up to date info.

We have also added some great new products to our purchasing site. Check out the ‘Garnish Magic’, with a simple turn of a handle you can turn zucchinis into instant pasta. We are also offering a great ‘package’ deal with serious savings.

You are going to loooove this book!

Sandra

I have recently been asked about honey and some of the issues surrounding honey. Since this is an extensive post I have posted my response on the forum page.

Sandra

Since having been on the diet, very rarely do I catch any viruses. This time it got me though. Colitis and the other bowel diseases are also very much stress related in my opinion. So I am particularly careful what I eat when I am under stress. I stay away from raw fruit and vegetables and stick to the cooked vegetables and soups. The cookbook has a great recipe for a beverage called the flu fighter. It’s made from garlic, ginger, lemon, green tea, honey and a dash of cayenne. I drink liters of the stuff over a three day period and I find that I can get over the worst of the flu over a three day period. I also usually go back to the basic diet of chicken soup (jewish penicillin). It is important to take time off, sleep as much as possible and eat only well cooked foods.

 Sandra