I had been ignorantly dinning at public eateries prior to May 10, 2021, the date, I was diagnosed a diabetic. I say ignorant because as a trained Public Health Officer, who is trained and knowledgeable in non-communicable diseases-ones that are not spread by through infectious process-I could had known better before indulging on feasting where trans-fasts were order of the day.
Having acquired diabetes. It was my defining moment and a wake-up call to check my diet and I drew my recipes plan as follow-:
Fats: I purchase that are in conformity with the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act CAP 254 laws of Kenya,section 258. Which prescribe general standard for vegetable fats and oils where manufacturers are obligated by the same Act to indicate on labels.
Proteins; I take a total of 250 gram of lean meat or liver spread per week as my source for first class proteins. And boiled beans for second class proteins.
Carbohydrates: I alternate high fiber maize flour-one not refined or polished but milled without separating bran, husks, endosperm, germ and scutellum which are nutritious parts of most cereals-with whole-grain rice instead of long or short grain white rice. Whoever, whole-grain rice takes longer to cook and is harder to chew. So, I first soak it for some hours before cooking. A few drops of lemon juice in the cooking water also make it softer.
Vitamins: I source them from low glycemic index fruits and leafy green vegetables. Samples of low glycemic fruits are; thorn melon, avocado, cucumbers and pears. For vegetables, my choices are; cabbage, asparagus, celery and broccolin because all contains few carbohydrates and rich in vitamins and minerals [ I got it from nutrition literature review], which personally, I have tolerated as a diabetic.
Cabbage should be cooked carefully to protect its vitamins becoming denatured by overcooking. For my case, I have eating it almost raw with avocado and tomatoes.
For vitamin B12, in that B complex; meat is major source that why I take 250 gram spread per week. For it’s very essential for diabetics.
It”s worthy to mention or explain that, glycemic index [GI] shows how much a certain food can raise a person’s blood sugar after they have eaten it.
Snacks: I take cucumber, broccoli tender stalks, because they contain very few calories and produce a certain feeling of satiety thus control my bulimia like tendencies.
Water: Since I need to take at least eight glasses of water per day. And bottled water standard is not prescribed in the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act. I boil piped and conventional chlorine treated water at boiling point for 15-20 to kill the most resistant spores or cysts and in the process dissociate residue chlorine. However, boiled water has one disadvantage and that is the flat taste due to loss of dissolved gases during the process of boiling. This can be remedied by keeping the boiled water for a few hours in partially filled containers or by pouring the water between two clean containers several times to aerate it and restore taste.
In summary, after religiously observing my diet, just for three month, from May 10, 2021, my healthcare provider where I attend Diabetes Mellitus {DM}, at Pope Benedict XVI Hospital, has now as per last clinic on July 23, advised to halt medication after my Random Blood Sugar [RBS] stabilized from a reading at 16.4 mmol/l to average of 5.1 mmol/l.