Sweet Killer

President of Malaysian Diabetes Association, Prof Dr Ikram Shah Ismail said that diabetes posed a bigger threat than H1N1 virus or AIDS to Malaysians unless we changed to healthy lifestyles.

President of the Consumers Associations of Penang (CAP), S.M. Idris, said sugar was devoid of nutriens and 'acted more like a drug', was linked to more than 60 ailments like cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, osteoporosis, kidney problems, asthma and allergies.

Reader's Digest, Nov 2009 highlighted on the 7 tips of food intake to better control the blood sugar (glucose) :

1. Choose low glycemic-index (GI) and keep carb portions moderate.
(Dense bread with wholegrains, linseed, stoneground flour and sourdough, light fruit yogurt, dried fruits and long grain white or medium grain brown rice).

2. Make three of your carb servings wholegrains

3. Eat 2 serves of fruits and 5 serves of vegetables daily

4. Eat protein at every meal

5. Favour good fats

6. Eat smaller portions

7. Add acidic food to your meals

Here are some tips on how to add acids to your meals.

1. Use mustard, which is made of vinegar instead of mayonnaise.

2. Eat pickles with sandwich.

3. Mix pickle liquid with a little olive oil and chop fresh herbs as food marinade.

4. Eat citrus fruit such as fresh grapefruit.

5. Pick sourdough bread.

Besides controlling the blood glucose, these diet also helps to lose weight.