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Pleasing the Special Dieters at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in our family means satisfying quite a few special dietary needs. There are vegetarians, diabetics, people with high cholesterol, and even a child who needs to eat high fat, high salt foods. I don’t want to prepare eight different meals and spend $400, but there needs to be options so that everyone can enjoy Thanksgiving. If you are in a similar situation, there are endless resources to help you not just get through the meal preparation, but wow your guests as well. For the vegetarians, consider little things, like leaving the turkey drippings out of the gravy. That way … Continue reading →

Pop Culture Potpourri: Death Of A Fashion Icon and Fashionable Vegetarians

DEATH OF A FASHION ICON I’ve been wearing her designs since high school so it was with great sadness that I learned legendary fashionista Liz Claiborne died yesterday. According news reports, Claiborne had been battling cancer and died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Tuesday. She was 78. Claiborne was born in Brussels, but immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in New Orleans. According to the Claiborne website, the designer founded her namesake company with husband Art Ortenberg in 1976 and retired in 1989. That was around the time when I started wearing her clothes to … Continue reading →

Pint-Sized Vegetarians

Last year my then 16-year-old cousin came home from school and announced to the family that he was becoming a vegetarian (never mind that he had just started working at a pizza parlor famous for their meat-lovers pie). My aunt was a bit taken aback by his declaration, but together they designed a menu with options that worked for both of them (she cooks all the meals for their family of eight). Personally, I was shocked by the announcement. After all, this was a kid who inhaled hot dogs for the first half of his life—now he was trading it … Continue reading →

Can A Vegetarian Diet Help Diabetics?

Changing to a vegetarian diet may not be a cure for diabetes, but it may offer some health benefits over a non-vegetarian diet. There are different types of vegetarian diets — some allow dairy products and/or eggs; others do not — and your dietician and doctor can help you choose a diet that is right for you. A vegan diet is the strictest vegetarian diet out there. Vegans eat no meat and no products that come from animals. That means no dairy and no eggs. In general, vegan diets are low in saturated fats and cholesterol. But switching from a … Continue reading →

Diabetes Cure for Mice in Toronto

Scientists in Toronto have managed to relieve diabetes in mice… starting with a relatively common food item. Researchers took a look at the similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis — a disease of the central nervous system. The pancreas (where insulin is produced) has “islets” that produce insulin that help the body process food and manage blood sugar. However, the researchers saw a large number of pain neurons around these islets. Using the idea that diabetes may be linked to the presence of these pain neurons, researchers injected capsaicin (the thing that makes hot peppers hot) into nerve cells near … Continue reading →

Reading Food Labels When You Have Diabetes

If you have diabetes, it isn’t enough to just watch your sugars. Reading the labels on your favorite foods can help you understand your blood sugar fluctuations and manage your diabetes better. Step One: Read the Ingredients Ingredients on the label are listed in descending order. The thing at the top of the list is in your food in the largest amount; each successive item is in a smaller amount than the one before it. Look for healthy ingredients like whole grains and monounsaturated fats. Know your sugars — anything that ends in -ose like lactose and sucrose or -tol … Continue reading →

Tip of the Day- Focus on fiber

Yes, I really did just tell you to go eat some cardboard. Unfortunately, that’s what most of us think of when you mention fiber. We know we need it, but we really don’t want it. Fortunately, the food industry is making great strides to make fiber more palatable to the average American carnivore. Just be wary, all foods labeled “whole grain” or “high fiber” are not created equal. Fiber helps keep your digestive tract healthy, helping to prevent constipation, diverticulosis and colon cancer. It can also help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, and regulate your blood sugar. Other sources … Continue reading →