Diabetes and Eating Clean

This week I am so excited to have diabetes educator Trisha Wood here with us to share her knowledge. Diabetes education is at the core of healthy nation. An estimated 285 million people worldwide are afflicted by this disease. And the reality is it can and should be managed with the right approach to nutrition. Read why Trish recommends The Eat-Clean Diet to her clients. I encourage you to comment below as I'm interested in your opinion or experience with this. P.S. American/Canadian Diabetes Associations... I would love to partner with you!!!

Take it away Trisha...

Hi Eat-Clean Dieters. I am a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator.  The first time I heard about the Eat-Clean Diet was from a client who had asked my opinion on whether or not this would be a good option for him as a person with diabetes.  There are many fad diets out there which have a “loose now…gain later” approach to weight loss so naturally I was very sceptical.  I took the book home and read it cover to cover.

I was quite impressed that Tosca’s way of thinking was very similar to mine when it comes to nutrition and healthy eating.  I love how she promotes a “whole foods” approach to eating.  I am always telling my clients meals are not meant to come from a box. If we simply cooked more foods from scratch and ate “from the land” we would all be healthier.

She suggests eating every 3 hours and having a balance of lean protein and complex carbohydrates.  This causes less swings in blood sugar levels and therefore allows for better blood sugar control - this is at the root of diabetes management.

Tosca also describes refined sugar as a drug, comparing it to cocaine and heroin in terms of addiction.  As an alternative, she suggests honey or maple syrup in moderation. People with diabetes can eat honey and maple syrup BUT they should be aware that even though they are “natural” foods, they still affect blood sugar levels the same way that sugar does.

I always tell my clients that the diet for someone with diabetes is basically healthy, clean eating. In fact, this is the way everyone should be eating - but most of us don't.  Overall, the Eat-Clean Diet IS a very appropriate healthy, clean eating lifestyle that can be individualized for different people including people with diabetes. I would DEFINITELY recommend this as a jumping off point, but be sure to work with your diabetes educator and registered dietitian to monitor your progress.  Don't have an educator? Visit www.diabetes.ca (in Canada) or www.diabetes.org (in the US) for more information.

I believe if people with diabetes adopted this type of lifestyle they would have better blood sugar control and their overall health would improve immensely!

My hope is that one day Tosca and her team will partner with experts in the area of diabetes to write an Eat-Clean Diet book geared specifically for those people with diabetes!

Thanks Trisha! Excellent message. Don't forget to comment below. Please also visit our community support network, the Kitchen Table, and meet Roxie-Girl who pairs Eating Clean with diabetes management.