Here's a few sugar-free and low carb tips we'd like to share with you, including tips for preventing or managing high blood sugar and type 2 diabetes.  We'll be adding more tips each month and will include them in our monthly All Sugar-Free Recipes, Tips and More newsletter!

 Eliminating Sugar From Your Diet... 

* Don't focus on what you can't eat, focus on what you CAN eat... there's a world of delicious healthy food out there!

* Eliminating sugar from your diet can be difficult, especially if you're accustomed to consuming loads of sugar on a regular basis.  Cutting back a little at a time may work for some people, while others may need to quit cold turkey.  You may experience sugar-withdrawal for the first few days, but it will pass. 

* I use a few sunflower kernels and nuts for a snack at work.  They are high in protein and taste great.  A friend who had diabetes referred them to me years ago.  I remembered how good they were so thought I would give them a try.  I started buying them a few weeks ago and found them to be good when combined with an apple for a snack mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon.  They are great with yogurt, too!

* I buy the low-fat fruit flavored yogurt.  My nutritionist told me as long as the snack has no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates it is a good snack. You can also purchase Dannon Light 'n Fit Smoothies with only 13-15 grams of carbohydrates, which make a great refreshing drink for a snack.  Just add a few sunflower kernels and you have a great treat.  The sunflower kernels could be sprinkled on yogurt for something different that tastes great, too.

* When I go to the movies (I love to see a good movie) it helps me to take a couple of packs of sugar-free gum.  I chew one piece at a time but change to another piece as soon as the flavor dwindles.  This keeps me from buying any popcorn, yet I get to chew during the movie.  If it is an action thriller for some reason I need to chew throughout the movie.  Call me nuts but it’s true.

* Since I work in the city there are cafés nearby.  I walk to one of these cafés for lunch at least three times a week, weather permitting.  I can get a light lunch and get in some exercise too.  Sometimes I even get to meet new people.  This week our entire office staff walked to a restaurant just four blocks away and celebrated birthdays for two of my co-workers.  I think I am rubbing off on my colleagues.  

* Some restaurants now have Weight Watcher approved meals on their menus. Applebee's is one that does so you can eat out without going off your diet and still have an attractive, delicious meal.  You may even want to ask for a 'to go' box up front so you can divide that wonderful meal in half before you even take the first bite.  This way you have a perfect lunch already prepared for tomorrow!

*  A great midday snack is a navel orange. Carefully peel the orange and eat the rind off the peel because this is where all the vitamins are found. You would be surprised how clean your pallet will be and how full you are afterward. Eat the rest of the fruit and enjoy. (Did you know that if you would put the peeling from an orange down your garbage disposal once a week, it will clean your garbage disposal and make it smell fresher?)

*  Lately, when I eat out, I order a grilled chicken salad.  I ask the waiter to omit the cheese and the croutons, and ask them to add extra sliced onion and green bell pepper.  I ask them not to bring any bread to the table.  (If I don't see it I won't eat it) ;o) I then order Lite Ranch dressing on the side. (You could order your favorite). I keep in a baggy in my purse 'No Salt' which I use on the salad and then add some ground black pepper.  (It's working, I am losing weight! Yeah!)

 Health & Nutrition... 

* Controlling your blood sugar can help lower your risk for developing diabetes and the health problems associated with it, such as kidney disease, blindness, foot and leg amputations, high blood pressure, decline in mental ability, heart attack and stroke!  This is very serious folks!!!

* If you've been diagnosed with high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes it means your body has become insulin-resistant; your body's natural hormone insulin is unable to carry glucose out of the bloodstream and into the body's cells, where it's used for energy.  (Whereas with type 1 diabetes the body produces little or no insulin and will usually require daily insulin medication.)  The good news is that about 90% of the diabetes cases in the US are type 2, and can be controlled by losing some of that extra weight, getting regular exercise and eating healthier.  And if these efforts do not work, your Dr. can prescribe medicine to assist you.  The goal is to keep your blood sugar at a healthy level, at all times.  (110 or less.) 

* High blood pressure and high cholesterol are now considered risk factors for developing diabetes!

 Inspiration... 

* A subscriber sent me this verse as words of encouragement recently, and I wanted to share it with you.  It says it all!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
lean not on your own understanding
but in all your ways acknowledge Him and
He will direct your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

 Exercise... 

* I gave this response to a lovely lady who requested help with her husband who has a hard time staying on his diet. "Invite your husband to take a long walk with you in the park or in your neighborhood four times a week.  It will change your lives!  I wish I had someone who would do that with me! "

* One thing that must be realized is that we all need daily exercise.  I am not talking about cleaning the house or doing some gardening.  I am talking about a regular sweat workout.  A lung specialist told me a couple of years ago that as you get older you must do a planned regular workout everyday.  I know it works because I did it and yet have let it slip away.  Well, encouraging you is encouraging me!  So I got my treadmill back out of the garage and put it in the living room next to the couch last week  (Yes, in the living room next to the couch).  It is in my face everyday reminding me to get on it, which I am and, even after one short week, my step is quicker and faster.  I have a way to go before I feel better but I know it will happen.  We must accept the fact that as we get older there is more work to be done to be healthy.  You have to do it!

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If you'd like to submit a tip for this section, please send your e-mail to brp-juliem@hotmail.com, we'd love to hear from you!!!