Valentine's Day Links

Diabetes-Friendly Valentine's Day from DLife

The Kaboose Family Network features many free, fun activity ideas for kids on Valentine's Day.

Kid's Turn Central has great, printable (free, of course) Valentine's Day cards as well as coupons and craft projects.

Cocoa Sponge Drops

From: Skinny Chocolate By Phyllis Magida and Barbara Grunes (Surrey Books)

Ingredients

Non-stick cooking spray
1/4 cup real egg substitute
1/4 cup fructose
3 tbsp skim milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
14 tbsp unsifted cake
    flour (1 cup less 2 tbs)
2 tbsp unsweetened
    Dutch cocoa
3 tbsp (9 tsp) low-sugar
   red raspberry spread
   confectioners' sugar

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to center and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray. In electric mixer bowl, beat egg substitute with fructose, milk, baking powder, and vanilla until thick. Sift flour with cocoa, then beat into batter, mixing well. Drop batter, by teaspoonfuls, onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until risen and firm when touched lightly on top. Transfer cookies to wire rack. When cool, spread each cookie with 1/4 teaspoon low-sugar red raspberry spread. Sprinkle liberally with confectioners' sugar before serving. Or stack two, using 1/2 teaspoon of spread.

Yield: 18 Servings, 2 cookies each

Per serving: 18 calories, .1 grams fat, trace of cholesterol, 14 milligrams sodium, .5 grams protein, 4 grams carbohydrates

   Alternatives that may satisfy the sweet tooth for some include one Hershey’s Kiss which only has about 3 carbs, or one Hershey’s “mini” bar which have 5-6 carbs per serving depending on which little bar you choose.

Not all candy is fast acting.  Another thing to consider is glycemic action.  If you are craving a candy bar (and let’s face it, even people with diabetes are human) consider the peanut or almond bar instead of the plain chocolate bar.  Although the insulin required to cover the carbs in plain or nut bars is the same the protein and fat in the nuts will slow down how fast the sugars hit your blood stream.

Best chocolate fix.  New on the market are 60% to 80% cocoa chocolates.  These have less sugar but no sugar alcohols.  Read labels carefully as the carb count does vary product by product.  They do taste less sweet, but the carbs are often half that of regular chocolate bars.

Happy Valentine’s Day 

Yet another holiday where we have to deal with sweet treats and saying “no” to something the general population takes for granted.  Candy.  Glorious, gooey, sugary -- and as bad for us as it is tasty.   February 14th often means gifts of candy hearts, candy flowers and lips – chocolate, chocolate, chocolate – all intended with love, but which wreak havoc on blood sugars and waistlines.

  “Sugar-free” does not mean “free food.”  Sugar-free chocolates are somewhat of a false blessing to those of us with diabetes. They don’t quite taste the same and are usually higher in calories and fat so it’s easy to overeat “sugar-free” products. We may feel like we are being more responsible if we give in to sugar-free treats than if we go for the real thing but it's still junk. And frankly, when you are going to give in for that occasional indulgence I personally feel it is better to go for the real thing.

Sugar alcohols are chemicals not food.  Many products use sugar alcohols to replace real sugar (which is at least a somewhat predictable carbohydrate when calculating insulin, has far fewer calories and tastes, well, like the real thing because it is the real thing). 

Sugar alcohols, also known as “polyols” are found naturally in fruits and vegetables;  however, the kind added to food products are chemicals that somewhat resemble the molecular structure of both sugar and alcohol, hence, the term “sugar alcohols.”  These chemicals, which are usually created from starch, glucose, or sucrose may appear on food labels as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, maltitol, maltitol syrup, lactitol, erythritol, isomalt, or hydrogenated starch hydrolysates.

Net carb, low carb, impact carb.  These are all terms that may be found on products containing polyols.  But don’t be fooled by these marketing words -- these terms are not defined by the FDA and should not be used to count carbohydrates!

While these products claim to have a minimal impact on blood glucose (there is even some valid science behind this claim) anyone with diabetes knows this is not the case. Labels that say for example, 18 (polyols) carbs but only “2 impact carbs” are dangerous and misleading because that “2” carbs is actually closer to 9. You might even think you can eat two, sugar-free candy bars with a total “impact carb" count of 4 and call it a free food – but you’d be wrong and end up hyperglycemic in no time flat.

The American Dietetic Association recommends that you calculate (and therefore, would bolus insulin for) about half of the sugar alcohols since this is the average amount your body will absorb (American Dietetic Association; The glycemic index: what is it? March 19, 2004). Further, the American Diabetes Association says it is “the total amount of carbohydrate in meals or snack is more important than the source or type.” (American Diabetes Association, Nutrition principles and recommendations in diabetes-Position Statement. Diabetes Care, Jan.2004).  That said, why not have the real thing rather than an imitation that just has to be unhealthier for you?

Eat sugar-free now, be near a bathroom later.  Eating anything ending in “ol” carries the risk of having some serious, not-so-fun gastric side effects.  “Ols” often have a laxative effect in many people, as well as can cause bloating and severe intestinal gas.  Some studies also seem to indicate that the mouth tastes “real” sugar and reacts based on that perceived notion to the sugar alcohols just as if you had eaten the real thing.  This can lead to even more erratic blood sugars than had you eaten real sugar as well as increase your hunger.

Best advice?  Eat healthy.  When you do give in, do it in moderation.  And, if you are new to “sugar-free” products be sure to carefully watch how your body, or your child’s, reacts to eating sugar alcohols.

February 2, 2007.  Apollo Life Sciences (ASX:AOP) has just announced the success of its oral insulin in Phase 1 toxicology trials. Apollo's oral insulin consists of its oral delivery technology, Oradel™, loaded with generic insulin. The treatment proved safe at both low and high doses in animals and is ready for human trials.

Oral insulin may still be a long way off, but we are one step closer to someday seeing the end of needles, even before we see a cure.  One of the problems faced with developing an oral insulin has been bypassing the stomach.  Insulin cannot be absorbed in the stomach and must pass through to the intestine.  But insulin is a protein, like the protein in food, it is broken down in the digestive tract.  By the time insulin reaches the intestines where it can be absorbed, little is left and what little does get absorbed may be filtered by the liver.

Apollo claims to have developed a new oral delivery system where pills are coated. Specifically, “Apollo's oral delivery technology, Oradel™, provides a coating that protects insulin from the stomach and uses targeting agents to promote absorption of insulin from the intestine.”

Read the article