The rising cost of food is on the minds of many Central Texans as they plan menus for themselves and their families. But that shouldn't shift your focus away from eating healthy foods, especially if you have diabetes.

"Cost of buying healthy food is one of the concerns patients with diabetes express to me all the time," says Kimberly Morris, MS, RD, LD, a clinical dietitian with the Seton Family of Hospitals Diabetes Education Program. "The price of food really is increasing and manufacturers are continuously coming up with new expensive products branded low carbohydrate or low sugar, implying better sugar control. But people with diabetes don't need to buy these products to control their blood sugar."

"One of the most important tools in diabetes management is portion control. Sometimes people think that if they choose foods that are low-carb or low-sugar, they don't have to be as diligent about portion size. Several studies have shown that when people buy what they believe is a healthier option, they eat more."

The goal of the Seton Diabetes Education Program is to teach those with diabetes to eat with balance, moderation and variety.

"There are no 'good' foods or 'bad' foods," adds Kimberly. "To many people, 'good' means that more is better, leading to over calorie consumption, and 'bad' means never, so it becomes a food you will crave. We really don't like the forbidden food concept. In our program, no food is banned, but we also don't recommend fad dieting. The best solution is lifestyle change."

"Managing diabetes is a lifelong responsibility. It's 10 percent knowledge and 90 percent behavior modification - people have a difficult time breaking habits they have been forming over their lifetimes, but that's what it's all about."

American Diabetes Association Issues Food Shopping Guidelines

The leadership of the American Diabetes Association is concerned enough about the rising cost of food that they issued advice for people with diabetes to help them control spending.

In a recent news release, American Diabetes Association President of Health Care and Education Ann Albright said: "Eating well and spending less are not mutually exclusive. In fact, healthier foods can actually save you money by reducing portion sizes and buying fewer high-calorie, high-priced foods."

The ADA offers the following advice:

• Special "dietetic or diabetic" foods are costly and not necessary.
• Boneless cuts of meat are often a better buy, since you're not paying for the weight of the bone.
• There's no nutritional difference between white eggs and brown eggs, which are more expensive.
• Not only do vegetables frozen in butter sauce cost twice as much as plain frozen vegetables, they have more calories.
• Instead of buying small containers of yogurt, buy a quart and separate it into one-cup servings yourself.
• You can save a lot of money if you don't buy individually packaged snacks.
• When buying fruit, consider the cost per edible serving. If you're paying by the pound, you'll be paying for the weight of inedible seeds and rinds.
• If fresh fruit is too expensive, buy frozen or canned fruit packed in water. If you buy fruit canned in syrup, rinse it before eating.
• Use nonfat dry milk for drinking, cooking and baking. It's inexpensive and has a long shelf life.
• You can make your own cooking spray by putting vegetable oil in a spray bottle.
• Use regular or quick-cooking oats rather than instant oats, which are much more expensive.
• When soaked and cooked, dry beans triple in volume. A one-pound bag will make six one-cup servings.
• If you buy fresh greens by weight, give them a good shake before you put them in your grocery cart. An amazing amount of excess water (and weight) can be hidden between the leaves.

"I think these new ADA guidelines are really sound and consistent with what we would say," adds Kimberly.

Helpful Tips

Kimberly has several useful tips to help people with Diabetes make good food choices.

• Look at your grocery bill and see how much you are really spending on products that have little nutritional benefit. "When you cut back on buying these types of packaged, processed foods, you'll find you have more room to include healthier foods," recommends Kimberly.
  
  
• Don't believe the health claims you see on the front of a food package. "That's marketing. The real information is on the Nutrition Facts label and in the list of ingredients. Always remember that 'sugar free' doesn't mean carb free and 'no sugar added' doesn't remind you that sugar that was already there in the first place. One of our goals it to teach people how to identify all foods that impact blood sugar," says Kimberly.
  
  
• Don't drink your calories. "Most flavored water has sugar in it," adds Kimberly. "It can be a very expensive option. The only calories you should drink are in low fat milk."
  
  
• There really are 'free' foods. "Choose all the broccoli, cauliflower, green peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, celery and salads you want. Just make sure you don't add too much fat or sugar in the form of dressings, cheeses, bacon, etc."
  
  
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals and choose healthy snacks. "Eating this way can help stabilize blood sugars and prevent overeating at meals. Some ideas of healthy snacks include a handful of nuts, cottage cheese with a small fruit, carrot stocks, celery sticks with peanut butter or tomatoes with string cheese," suggests Kimberly.

Seton Diabetes Education Center

If you have recently learned you have diabetes, need better control of the disease or if you have complications from diabetes, we can help. Our nationally-recognized program can help you learn about:

• Healthy Eating: carbohydrate counting, label reading, meal planning and tips for dining out
• Starting an Exercise Program: safely starting an exercise program you can really live with
• Reducing Your Stress: strategies for decreasing your stress
• Taking Care of Yourself: monitoring and understanding your blood sugar, tips for skin and foot care, and reducing your risk for diabetes complications
• Importance of Goal-setting and Behavior Modification
• Understanding Your Medications ... and more

Both classes and individual sessions are available, and you don't have to come alone. A friend or family member can join you without cost. Ask your doctor to send us an order for diabetes teaching. When we receive the order, we will call to set up your first appointment. Most insurance plans and managed care companies cover the cost of our programs. We are happy to discuss payment options for costs not covered by insurance.

Call the Seton Diabetes Education Center at (512) 324-1891 for more information or email at diabeteseducation@seton.org.

Convenient Location

The Seton Diabetes Education Center main office is centrally located with convenient, free parking:

5555 N. Lamar Blvd,
Building D, Suite 125
(Koenig and North Lamar, across Koenig from the Department of Public Safety)
Austin, Texas 78751

Classes are also offered at Seton Southwest, Seton Medical Center Williamson and Seton Outpatient Rehabilitation Services at Cedar Park.