You have done the right thing by deciding to visit your local market to shop for your daily intake of food. We hope this means that you will stay away from fast-foods and restaurant cooking. We know that as a holder of the “Yes I’m a diabetic with hypertension” life card means that your lifestyle and health-first considerations are just not like everybody else’s, so let's just pretend we don't see how others are mistreating themselves and instead we'll concentrate on how to do more to take care of ourselves.
If you are a person that is dealing with diabetes and/or hypertension one task in particular that you perform differently than others is your grocery shopping. For example, you probably walk much faster (slow trot) through the bakery section than most. You seldom push carts for fear of bunt cakes, Frosted Flakes or deli sausage accidentally falling in and then somehow miraculously paying for themselves. Of course having support from your loved ones is always good and productive but few friends and family will grocery shop for us, including spouses that are shopping for the rest of the family too. Not that they’re really suppose to since as responsible and self-loving adults our health is truly our own responsibility and ours alone.
Enough chatter:
Let’s break the process of grocery shopping for diabetes and hypertension into 3 easy lessons (strong suggestions).
1) Stay out of the center isles.
Yes, the goodies are in the center isles. And yes, it may seem impossible to shop for edibles without including the frozen, cereal or condiment isles, but we’re going to do our best, for now, to just stay clear.
2) If its in a box, bag, can, a plastic container, jar or a bottle - second guess it.
This one is probably the more difficult of the three and the one that has more exceptions than the IRS. The exceptions have to do with some produce, meats, dairy, flavoring and seasoning and bread, but we’ll cover more on the subject shortly.
3) Shop often if not daily.
What, you don’t shop daily? Okay, if that’s just not practical then would you consider every other day? Three times a week? The point here is that fresh food is good food.
THE CENTER ISLES
Cookies, crackers, cereal, cooking oil, sugar, candy, soda, rice, pasta, frozen food, potato chips and ketchup - CENTER ISLES
When looking for food in supermarkets think “parameter”. We should try our best to limit our grazing-land to the outer most isles. The place where most markets have refrigeration for perishable “whole foods” (which incidentally should be the staple of everyone’s diet) produce, breads (usually), dairy products, fresh meats and water (some). Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined to a limit. They traditionally do not contain the added ingredients sugar, salt and fat.
Here is also where you’ll usually find racks and stations for “whole grain” products. Typically, if the ingredient lists “whole wheat”, “whole meal” or “whole corn” as the first ingredient it is a whole-grain food item. Terms like “enriched” and “bromated" could indicate that the product lacks whole grain. Whole grains are made from the whole kernels of grain, the inside part of the grain and the outer covering. Processing removes the outer covering which gives a lighter texture and taste but removes a lot of the nutrition and fiber.
“Diets rich in whole and unrefined foods, like whole grains, dark green and yellow/orange-fleshed vegetables and fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, contain high concentrations of antioxidant phenolics, fibers and numerous other phytochemicals that may be protective against chronic diseases” - J Coll Nutritionist.
In a 2002 study, consumption of whole grains, but not refined grains, was found to be associated with lower fasting insulin concentrations. This effect as well as improved insulin sensitivity was noticeably more pronounced among obese and hyperinsulinemic subjects, suggesting whole grain consumption to be an important component of reducing risk factors for type II diabetes. Consumption of whole grains has also been consistently linked with a significant decrease in risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Regular whole grain consumption lowers LDL and triglyceride levels, which contributes to an overall 26% reduction in coronary heart disease risk factors. In addition, whole grain consumption is inversely related to hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, all of which are factors in total risk for cardiovascular disease.
BOX, BAG, CAN, PLASTIC CONTAINER, JAR OR BOTTLE
The law of captivity: if its in a package its either processed just prior to being packaged or its a product of processing.
So where does that leave the foods we would like to add to our diet for health, such as bread, dairy and meat. LABELING. You might need to bring a pair of reading glasses or a magnifying device with you to the market, but so be it. The labeling on most packaging is usually incredibly small (wonder sometimes how they can print that tiny) and at times cumbersome but none-the-less we should get accustomed and have no excuses. What you’ll see on the label is a breakdown of the contents, plain and simple. Be sure to take notice of the serving size, since this varies from product to product and maker to maker. The serving size can make the difference in how you evaluate if that product is the one for you or not.
For example, if you’re monitoring fat intake, that’s usually the first listed on packaging under the “Nutrition Facts” box you’ll find on the labeling. If you’re looking at a package with no label, skip it and move on. Monitoring fat intake can be important tool for a diet that has to have good “weight” management. But exercise caution with thinking that eliminating all fat from your diet is healthy.
So instead of “attacking“ fat, when you need an appropriate measure of how well you’re doing with maintaining a good fat to muscle ratio, measure your waistline. Its the fat we store around our middles that is an indicator of how well we are picking and choosing the good fats compared to the bad ones which contribute to health problems, including diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.
A healthy and balanced diet for the maintenance of diabetes and hypertension is usually defined as vitamin and mineral nutrition intake, while sugar, salt, cholesterol and fat are kept at acceptable levels. “Acceptable” levels can be defined as moderate rates or just “very little”. Meaning show restraint by following the percentages. In fact, most labels give you an idea of what is recommended for a healthy diet. We suggest taking at least 20% from that total when calculating a healthy diabetic or hypertension diet for fat. For sugar or carbohydrates, cholesterol, sodium/salt, reduce by at least 50%. The recommended intake of sodium per day is 2,500mg, thus we strongly suggest you make your target 1,200 to 1,300mg per day. Which means that products like processed meat, bottled condiments, puddings, soups, cottage cheese, and chips are out. It has been estimated that for most Americans at least 75% of their daily intake of sodium comes from processed foods. If you are going to purchase a particular type of product regardless, choose the one that has as little of the things that you know you do not need.
As footnotes:
Your body needs some sodium to function properly. Sodium helps maintain the right balance of fluids in your body, helps transmit nerve impulses and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Stay clear of “fat free” products since while much of the bad press about fat “replacers” has centered on the side effects, which are said to include stomach crams and diarrhea, little has been said about their effectiveness. A new report from the American Heart Association has claimed that most of the people who use fat replacers fail to lose weight or gain any health benefits. As an example, products that contain Olestra or olestra-a reduce the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, such as caroteniods, and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Vitamins A and E are antioxidants, which research has linked to a decrease in coronary heart disease and diabetes, while the body uses vitamin K in the blood clotting process and vitamin D is needed for normal calcium absorption and metabolism. Also, eliminating fat from your diet can cause more issues than it solves since the human body uses fatty acids to do everything from building cell membranes to performing key functions in the brain, eyes, and lungs. Very good fat: Polyunsaturated Fats, Good fat: Monounsaturated Fats, Bad fat: Saturated Fat, Very bad fat: Trans Fats.
SHOP DAILY
Fresh food is good food. When its at all possible make what you consume fresh food.
Fresh meaning; newly purchased, freshly cooked, not leftovers, not restaurant food, and not past an expiration date or time.
Even freshly cooked food is no longer considered so after sitting for more than two hours.
Shopping weekly or monthly means freezing, refrigerator storing or that you’re buying packaged food. None of which is healthy.
Freezing can mean a loss in food quality, nutrition (if contaminated), texture, and/or taste when not done properly. Freezing does inactivate any microbe, bacteria, yeast and mold present in food but once thawed these microbes can again become active multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to food-borne illness. And there is that issue of “freezer-burn” when the food is not wrapped properly or placed in a container correctly.
Refrigeration has inherent issues as well. One being the most frequently troublesome problem, containers. Even some Tupperware users forget or neglect to properly close or “shut” their containers. Leaving the contents to contaminate the refrigerator atmosphere and thereby tainting the taste, texture or appearance of any other no container or loose top foods. Never simply cover containers with paper towels, rags, aluminum foil or a top that was not designed for the container and then place it in the refrigerator. You will no longer have anything resembling fresh within two hours. Second, the length of time you allow food to remain in the “fridge” can be as or more damaging than not refrigerating. There are cases where children are sickened after eating food that has been refrigerated for as little as 3 days. And, of course we are all guilty of not dating our containers and of eating food that is long past its safe consumption time. We pay the price later, in real-time.
Another caution is in purchasing from deli or restaurant “open” bars. Such as salad, pasta, soup and chili, etc. Although these bars at times do serve what amounts to “good” food, this type of shopping should by no means be thought of as a place to find fresh food. Most have inherent dangers of airborne contamination, personnel not rotating food properly or personnel not practicing good hygiene.
In conclusion,
shop often, stay to the whole foods sections and be attentive of what ingredients are present in what you buy.
May sound difficult but its really not as troublesome as it might seem. Just like with any other constructive venture, necessary assignment or quality of life measure; Commitment, practice and reflection are the keys.
Later we can look back at the beginning days of when we decided to take charge of how we look at food shopping and when we finally decided to do something about it. Through good practices and continued success we’ll enjoy and be proud of our new found achievements.
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