Taming Type 2 Diabetes

Oh, no! You’ve just learned that you have Type 2 Diabetes, and your first thought (well, maybe not your first thought, but right up there) is that you’ll never be able to eat dessert again. True or false?

Type 2 Diabetes is a complicated and confusing thing. The confusion isn’t helped by the number of diabetes myths that seem to run rampant. Chief among the myths are the diabetes-and-sugar myths.

According to the American Diabetes Association, one of those myths is that eating too much sugar causes diabetes. The fact is it doesn’t. Type 2 diabetes is caused partially by genetics and partially by lifestyle. The risk for developing type 2 diabetes increases if you are overweight, and eating a high-calorie diet can contribute to being overweight. And certainly, sugary foods – like a lot of desserts – are high in calories. But sugar, by itself, doesn’t cause diabetes.

Well, that myth is bad enough, but the second of the ADA’s myths is even more alarming: People with diabetes can’t eat sweets or chocolate! The truth is that no specific foods are “off limits” to people with type 2 diabetes. The key is that if you’re going to eat sweets, they need to be part – a reasonable part – of a healthy diet and exercise plan.

Probably the best way to incorporate a few sweets in your diet is to “trade” them for some of the other carbohydrates in a meal. Carb-containing foods include those made with flour (e.g., bread, crackers, muffins), rice, cereals, potatoes, corn, fruit, etc. You should remember when doing this though that sugar doesn’t contain the nutrients those other carbohydrates do, and your body needs those nutrients . . . so keep the substitutions within limits.

As a special Yea!-I can-still-eat-desserts celebration bonus, here’s a recipe from Endocrineweb and Recipes.com:

Chocolate Drizzled Meringue Kisses

• 2 extra large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/8 teaspoon (0.6 ml) cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) almond extract
• 2 tablespoons (28 g) semisweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment. Position a oven rack in the middle of the oven.

2. In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in honey and almond extract until egg whites form stiff peaks. Drop by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet.

3. Place the baking sheet on the middle oven shelf. Close the oven door immediately and turn the oven off. Leave the baking sheet in the oven for 1 1/2 hours (do not open the oven door during this period). Transfer meringue kisses to a wire rack.

4. Place chocolate morsels in a microwave-safe plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until chocolate is melted. Snip one corner of the bag and drizzle the chocolate over meringue kisses with zigzag motions.

Per 3-kiss serving: 26 calories (34% calories from fat), 1 g protein, 1 g total fat (0.2 g saturated fat), 4 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 0 cholesterol, 18 mg sodium
Exchanges: 1/4 carbohydrate (1/4 bread/starch)