My daily breakfast:I have Type 2 Diabetes and am using a low daily dose of a common drug prescribed by my doctor which has been working well for some years. I also changed several food habits, but I certainly do not feel I am depriving myself badly. One of the very first changes I made is in my use of Iced Tea, a beverage I really enjoy. I used to buy and use the big cans of powdered Iced Tea, although I prefer it more dilute that the instructions - it is too sweet to my taste. So I changed how I made it. I happen to prefer the Earl Grey flavour version of tea, and I am not really picky about the exact taste and quality. So I got one of those large plastic juice jugs that holds more than a large 48 oz tin of canned juice. Then I buy a supermarket's in-house cheaper brand of Earl Grey tea bags.I put 2 bags in the jug, fill it with boiling water, let it steep for 15 to 10 min and remove the bags, then chill it off and store in the fridge. I do not add any sugar - never did use sugar in hot tea, anyway - so it's just flavoured water, but cold and ready any time. That switch must have removed a bunch of sugar from my daily intake.
Another small easy step. I surveyed the breakfast cereal boxes in the supermarket and identified the ones with the lowest sugar contents.It is amazing now much sugar is added to simple cereals, AND to certain flavour versions of common ones! I found the lowest are Shredded Wheat and plain (no extra flavour) Cheerios, both of which I have liked for a long time, so no problem using them! I was amazed at how much sugar is in the "natural" commercial Granola products - surely a bunch of that added and NOT part of the basic ingredients!
That's fine once a day. Rest of the day, you can have Avocado smoothie (only water and honey in it or maybe low fat plain yogurt mixed in) and healthy nuts like Macadamia or walnuts. Limit peanuts since they contain Omega-6.I would like to think that my weight would come down if I just eat this two or three times a day.
On joining the senior center - why wait? Is membership really that $$$? Or are you really just looking for an excuse to put it off...So the troubling thought: What's going to happen and what am i going to do? I know I should "try and stay calm" and get off the Aspartame water. Maybe try and go forward with my garden. Things -- mostly little things -- happen and take their toll on morale . . . .
I suppose I should make a point of getting connected to the local senior center as soon as the real-estate sells and I have the money tucked away and earning 5%/annum.
I don't think I'd be having this anxiety if I had children and/or perhaps grandchildren. I'm not going to pursue these thoughts anymore to burden our communi-titty. But I was unusually off-center this evening with these thoughts.
I think I've developed an aversion to crowding my schedule. I'm going forward to investigate the senior center and schedule a "debut". I don't think it costs much of anything. Certainly not something I cannot afford!On joining the senior center - why wait? Is membership really that $$$? Or are you really just looking for an excuse to put it off...
I don't mind you sharing. We're in close to similar boats. Granted, I'm only 50. But you're in better health than me!
My best recommendation: STAY ACTIVE PHYSICALLY, for as long as you can.
Loosing physical mobility (due to weight-gain, lethargy, or just sheer laziness, or a combination of the three in my case) is utterly devastating.
Do mentally stimulating stuff like reading or solving puzzles. This website is based on research by PhDs on keeping the brain from degenerating by engaging in special games: https://www.lumosity.com/en/I can't find anything on TV to occupy my mind.
I wasn't referring to workouts, just make sure to get up and walk 10-15-30 minutes per day, or equivalent.Exercise is also especially good, but harder to effectively do with COPD. I'm working on that, too . . . .
Today I'm going to work in my garden. But I need to resume my daily walk of 1/2 mile with 1/4 mile uphill. Right now, I'm eating my breakfast with my pills and ready to inhale my Trelegy.I wasn't referring to workouts, just make sure to get up and walk 10-15-30 minutes per day, or equivalent.
Iow, don't sit in a chair or bed all day long.
And you wonder why you are still gaining weight...My daily breakfast:
1 cup of plain classic Cheerios
1 handful of Pecan halves
An appropriate amount of fresh lo-fat milk
1 banana, sliced into small pieces
I would like to think that my weight would come down if I just eat this two or three times a day. But maybe I should limit myself to 1 banana daily.
You can use xylitol, although not too much or else you'll get diarrhea. It's birch tree sugarI'd like to THINK I care about my health; I agree that I am relatively naive.
After the spot this morning with Velshi and his remarks about artificial sweeteners, I made another web query and very easily and quickly came up with this:
Time Magazine: Artificial Sweeteners Aren't the Answer for Obesity
In my case, obesity wasn't a serious problem, and I was going to get my weight down to 190. But at 206 lbs, it is an emerging problem.
So I have to confront my weakness for soft drinks with a discipline of plain water, and get back to the Kombucha option I was pursuing through end of the last year. I just went out yesterday and bought 24 bottles of the "Golden Peach" aspartame sparkling water. I should immediately go the grocery and buy a pile of drinking water to consume instead. I'll need to inform my primary care doctor about this stuff. Maybe I can treat myself once a month to a bottle of the Golden Peach.
I had always hated the taste of diet soda, before they started using the aspartame sweetener. I avoided them. So my exposure to this stuff has continued for only about four months or so.
Well, folks! Dr. Gaatjes most certainly initiated a very interesting thread.
I've mentioned it elsewhere: Two years ago, my primary care doctor told me to cut back on soft drinks and bottled fruit juice because I had "pre-diabetic" blood sugar or A1C levels. Dummy that I am, I didn't pay much attention. Taking care of my bed-bound Moms (who died in October '23), we were really enjoying the Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. After Thanksgiving, 2022, I was buying and consuming between 5 and 10 bottles of that stuff per week. Then in spring, 2023, the doc told me that I'm diabetic -- type-2 diabetes. Maybe I mentioned that before in this thread, but then, that's how I took a keen interest in Dr. Gaatjes original post.
So I had discovered this sparkling water at the grocery store in about ten different flavors sweetened with Aspartame. And I also gave a long dissertation about that here.
I saw my pulmonologist on Friday, and I was STUNNED! -- I had been trying to lose weight from the last measurement of 200 lbs. But instead, at time of the Friday visit, my weight had increased to 206!!!
This morning, I woke up to Velshi on the MSNBC news, conversing with some author over the topic "Food Inc." Velshi observed -- I THINK this is what I heard -- that these artificial sweeteners actually TRICK the body into storing more fat.
So people drinking diet soda to lose weight may find the opposite effect to occur?! And my weight increased 6 lbs in two or three months after hydrating myself exclusively with the flavored, artificially sweetened sparkling water?!!!
I was REALLY beginning to love that stuff! My brother told me today that I should look for some beer with low alcohol content. I can also switch back to plain sparkling water mixed with powdered Kombucha. That's somewhat more trouble, though, than just popping open a bottle of the Aspartame stuff.
I have Type 2 Diabetes and am using a low daily dose of a common drug prescribed by my doctor which has been working well for some years. I also changed several food habits, but I certainly do not feel I am depriving myself badly. One of the very first changes I made is in my use of Iced Tea, a beverage I really enjoy. I used to buy and use the big cans of powdered Iced Tea, although I prefer it more dilute that the instructions - it is too sweet to my taste. So I changed how I made it. I happen to prefer the Earl Grey flavour version of tea, and I am not really picky about the exact taste and quality. So I got one of those large plastic juice jugs that holds more than a large 48 oz tin of canned juice. Then I buy a supermarket's in-house cheaper brand of Earl Grey tea bags.I put 2 bags in the jug, fill it with boiling water, let it steep for 15 to 10 min and remove the bags, then chill it off and store in the fridge. I do not add any sugar - never did use sugar in hot tea, anyway - so it's just flavoured water, but cold and ready any time. That switch must have removed a bunch of sugar from my daily intake.
Another small easy step. I surveyed the breakfast cereal boxes in the supermarket and identified the ones with the lowest sugar contents.It is amazing now much sugar is added to simple cereals, AND to certain flavour versions of common ones! I found the lowest are Shredded Wheat and plain (no extra flavour) Cheerios, both of which I have liked for a long time, so no problem using them! I was amazed at how much sugar is in the "natural" commercial Granola products - surely a bunch of that added and NOT part of the basic ingredients!
Yeah when I was younger, I had to have something sweet at least once a day. My dad (diabetic) would freak out at me eating something too sweet and he would make sure that I got a blood sugar test when I visited the doc for any reason. But I was under 30 at that time so of course it always came back negative. Then after I turned 30, I started researching food a bit more coz I knew that the body starts degrading after age 30 and metabolism slows down. Found lots of articles saying that sugar was nothing more than "white poison". That was very concerning for me so I made a very conscious effort to start avoiding it.In time, when you consume hardly any sugar, you feel it especially when on a weekend sugar binge. You feel, you get nacious and do not want to eat anymore. At least i do.
Thanks for your insight here. I never would've imagined ten years ago that I would drift into a diabetes-type-2 status. I'm still changing my diet and my beverages.Fun to share information.
Sometimes, it is not only the body that responds to sweeteners. People are also susceptible to fungi. The Candida ones are known to infect humans, often with overweight but that does not have to be the case.
Candida can infect the innersides of the digestive system, the mouth, and all other orifices one can think of with respect to the human body.
These fungi seem to be able to modulate chemical signals in the human body at least. And the fungi hijacks the chemical messages that your digestive system and the rest of the body is communicating with.
The brain where our conscious can be found, is also susceptible to those messages. If that may also be because of the important role vagus nerve plays with two way intercommunication between the digestive system and the brain.
We share genes it seems with fungi probably thus also chemical messengers and proteins, enzymes. Perhaps the first eukaryotic cell or first protozoa are a hybrid of fungi and bacteria combined.
I still hope to learn more about one day.
The problem is , that we are thaught through commercials and social pressure to constantly drink fluids, with high sugar content. And when you consume those high sugar content fluids like softdrinks daily, fluids with a lot lower sugar content seem to taste bitter, or tasteless, just bad.
My bloodsugars are regularly tested on a yearly basis and perfect although at times and ocassions i to also love to consume some coca cola , candy or just chocolate paste on bread. But that is not my standard food pattern.
I do try to make sure that these sugars are just the normal glucose sugars like for example from sugar beets. I do not use any sugar on a regular basis, my (herbal) teas, coffee are always plain without sugar.
I have to, because that HFCS and EU made HFS derivatives give me stomach issues , like bloating , gas and not feeling well. So although i consume split glucose -frustose syrups , it is because it is just there.
That is why i also make my own fresh fruit pies and prefer to use a bit of coconut (palm) sugar albeit sparsely .
From a person who also has to watch the sugar intake because of age, i got the tip to use in the summer just plain water with a small slice of lemon. I add some icecubes and that is it. Tastes wonderful and does cleanse the digestive system.
And it lessens the thirst a lot better than those sugar laced drinks or sweetener laced drinks. In time, when you consume hardly any sugar, you feel it especially when on a weekend sugar binge. You feel, you get nacious and do not want to eat anymore. At least i do.
Also, drinking plenty of water is good for the body, the skin, the pores , and very important : The joints (uric acid levels) by means of urinating on a regular basis. This prevents arthritis and in the long run reumatic conditions that can no longer be cured.
A lot of people in the western world and for example Arabic world consume a large amount of sugar. Way to much meat like at least a 1 kg (around 2 pounds) a day. And drink not enough water. Smart people who metaphorically read religious text would think : "Gluttony !" .
But reality is a combination of :
- stress,
- habits,
- folklore,
- urban legends,
- urban myths,
- food additives,
- and sometimes indeed : Greed.
Also, drinking plenty of water is important for cartilage and also for the intervertebral discs. The intervertebral discs are sort of like really tough to squeeze sponges. The intervertebral discs are highly dependent on the amout of water a person takes in on a daily basis.
Especially before you sleep, your body must hold sufficient water.
And last but not least, the build up of muscles and allowing to maintain muscles even without constant exercise and with a normal healthy diet ,water is very important.
See this post for more information how to prevent : Gout, tendon issues, arthritis , and in the long run reumatic conditions that cannot be cured, but only kept at "Status Quo".
Had/have carpal tunnel syndrome? Had surgery, it's working out.
I have it, severe, in both hands. First knew I likely had an issue with it over 20 years ago when I had a difficult to diagnose and treat left shoulder problem. That came crucial one day almost 30 years ago while doing my daily 2 mile lap swim. Had to stop and I have never tried lap swimming...forums.anandtech.com
It's not really fit for human consumption. Crazy amount of sugar. Then there is benzine and phosphoric acid.
When you say "sweet" do you mean sweet or sweet?You guys that have a need for "sweet" are paying a horrendous biological price that's impacting the medical system that we all have to use...just stop it will you!!
I just don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners. Especially if its a mixer! 🤢That's why I prefer normal sugar. If you control your intake, you can enjoy normal sugar instead of using sweeteners.
Yup they suck and worse, they are poison to the microbiome of intestines. The last thing you want is to destroy the delicate balance of bacterial species there.I just don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners.
just make yourself a bowl of delicious oatmeal in the morning. No added sugar unless you add some fruit.I have Type 2 Diabetes and am using a low daily dose of a common drug prescribed by my doctor which has been working well for some years. I also changed several food habits, but I certainly do not feel I am depriving myself badly. One of the very first changes I made is in my use of Iced Tea, a beverage I really enjoy. I used to buy and use the big cans of powdered Iced Tea, although I prefer it more dilute that the instructions - it is too sweet to my taste. So I changed how I made it. I happen to prefer the Earl Grey flavour version of tea, and I am not really picky about the exact taste and quality. So I got one of those large plastic juice jugs that holds more than a large 48 oz tin of canned juice. Then I buy a supermarket's in-house cheaper brand of Earl Grey tea bags.I put 2 bags in the jug, fill it with boiling water, let it steep for 15 to 10 min and remove the bags, then chill it off and store in the fridge. I do not add any sugar - never did use sugar in hot tea, anyway - so it's just flavoured water, but cold and ready any time. That switch must have removed a bunch of sugar from my daily intake.
Another small easy step. I surveyed the breakfast cereal boxes in the supermarket and identified the ones with the lowest sugar contents.It is amazing now much sugar is added to simple cereals, AND to certain flavour versions of common ones! I found the lowest are Shredded Wheat and plain (no extra flavour) Cheerios, both of which I have liked for a long time, so no problem using them! I was amazed at how much sugar is in the "natural" commercial Granola products - surely a bunch of that added and NOT part of the basic ingredients!