Health
How to Cook Diabetic-Friendly Meals Your Family Will Love
Guest Blogger: Zach Ball
Here are some helpful guidelines for cutting calories off meals or snacks without taking 
anything away from the taste, so that the concerned, health-conscious diabetics can eat well without compromising their heath.
Use sugar substitutes
Cooking with sugar substitutes is a good way to add sweetness to any dish that calls for sugar. Sugar substitutes are often sweeter than sugar, so you should use less of them than you would normal sugar in your recipes. Often, your family will not even be able to tell the difference between the substitutes and the real thing.
Use salt substitutes
Salt substitutes can be a way to help reduce the side effects salt has on a person with diabetes. Salt can raise blood pressure and make the body retain water, which could cause swelling in the extremities. So using salt substitutes is a good way to help reduce these effects. Just make sure to look at the label carefully as some of these substitutes can have high potassium content, which can have the same effects on the body as salt and be hard on the kidneys.
Use herbs and spices for taste
Substituting herbs and spices for salt is a good way to add flavor to a dish. Herbs and spices can add many varied flavors that you can use to get any kind of kick you want while still making a healthy meal. Fresh herbs have better taste, but the dried variety will work too. These herbs also often have their own health benefits.
Avoid store-bought products with high sugar and salt content
Even supposedly healthy foods that you buy from the store can be packed with insane amounts of sugar and salt. Canned vegetables are a good example, as the manufacturer loads them with salt to add more taste. The problem is that you get used to all that salt after eating it and you begin to think that is what green beans should taste like. It is not that they taste better with all that salt; it is just that your brain does not get the same stimulation as it is used to, and you do not enjoy it as much. So buy fresh if possible and if not, look for reduced salt versions of products.
Sugar is another thing to watch out for in store bought products. Consider that a reasonable amount of daily sugar intake for a healthy person is around 50 grams. Then consider that a 12 ounce can of Pepsi contains 41 grams of sugar. Drink one can of soda and there is no way you can keep your sugar intake below 50 grams for the day.
Also be wary of salt and sugar content in low fat foods, often the salt or sugar content is jacked up to make up for the loss of flavorful fats.
Avoid fast food
Not only is fast food loaded with salt, fat, and sugar, but eating it will only get your body used to elevated levels of these substances and make you crave them more. After a fast food meal, a meal with a reasonable amount of fat, sugar, and salt just will not be as satisfying. So avoid fast food and you will begin to be able to appreciate the taste of a good home-cooked meal with a sane amount of salt, fat, and sugar.
About the Author
Zach Ball is an online publisher and healthcare enthusiast for magic bullet suppository provider exmed.net. He writes articles on topics of health and wellness.
