Bad Information… Again!

In an article titled Stock Your Kitchen for Diabetes Health by Jeanie Lerche Davis (reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD) on the WebMD site the truism “Healthy cooking and snacking means having the right foods on hand” is offered. The article goes on, however, to suggest a variety of foods based on the old (and now known to be incorrect) concept that fat is bad and whole grains are the basis of good health.

Some of the foods suggested are:

* Canned beans: Garbanzo, pinto, black, red kidney, navy beans.
* Whole-grain pasta.
* Grains: Brown rice, barley, oats.
* Cereals: Fiber One, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, Kix.
* Diet, light, low-carb whole-wheat: bread, pancake mix, tortillas.
* Chocolate treats: Cocoa Via Crispy Chocolate Bar; Cocoa Via Chocolate Snack Bars; Cocoa Via Chocolate Blueberry Snack Bar.
* Water-packed tuna, chicken breast, and salmon (canned or pouch).
* Canola and extra-virgin olive oil and cooking sprays.
* Low-salt canned tomatoes, tomato soup, broth-based vegetable soups, V-8 juice, tomato juice, Diet V-8 Splash.
* Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop popcorn (snack-size bags).
* Ritz Chips crackers.
* Reduced-sugar jams, jellies, pancake syrups.

More than half the items on this list are, in my opinion, questionable at best. On the one hand Davis gallantly recommends “low carb” bred while, on the other, she offers brand name products loaded with carbs! Pancake mix and tortillas scare the proverbials out of me. And what’s wrong with soaking dried beans? Far less salt which, though not a problem for diabetics per se, is an issue for high blood pressure and heart disease that may well parallel a diabetic course.

The article goes on to include items for a well-stocked diabetic-friendly refrigerator:

* Fresh fruits: Berries, cherries, oranges, tangerines, peaches, grapefruit, grapes, kiwi, plums, watermelon, peaches, melons.
* Fresh vegetables: Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, cucumber, Romaine lettuce, mushrooms, radishes, snow peas, sugar snap peas, cabbage, carrots, green beans, asparagus, garlic, tomatoes, small sweet potatoes, small russet potatoes, edamame (soy beans).
* Low-fat salad dressings.
* Low-fat dairy: 1% or 2% cheese like Baby Bell or Laughing Cow; string cheese (part-skim mozzarella); fat-free sugar-free yogurt; skim or 1% milk; I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray; Butter Buds.
* Fresh lean protein:
o Boneless skinless chicken breast
o Turkey loin
o Ground turkey white meat
o Laura’s Lean 4% fat ground beef
o Pork tenderloin
o Beef: fillet, flank steak
o Eggs
o Salmon
o Tofu
o Meat-substitute/soy products.

This list is considerably better but grapes stand out as one of several high-sugar “natural” products diabetics may need to watch and there is an obvious bias in support of the Ancel Keys doctrine of dietary fat, especially saturated fat, is BAD! We now know that the research that supported his conclusines was, at best, flawed and, at worst, fraud. He fudged and cherry-picked his results and nearly all government, medical, and food-industry positions over the last 30 years have been based on his incorrect conclusions.

New studies, and reviews of old ones, too, are suggesting that dietary fats are not only not bad for you, they are necessary and actually assist in controlling diabetes. Atkins, you win!

As we look farther along the list in the WebMD article we see recommendations for stocking a diabetes-friendly freezer:

* Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries.
* Green Giant Select:
o Broccoli florets
o Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
o Broccoli, carrots, and water chestnuts
o Sugar snap peas
o Whole green peas
o Spinach
* Birds Eye:
o Pepper stir fry
o Sugar snap stir fry
o Seven vegetable stir fry
o Szechwan vegetables in sesame sauce
o Winter blend vegetables and cheese sauce
* Frozen lean protein: salmon, tuna, tilapia, orange roughy; Louis Rich, Butterball or Jenni-O turkey sausage; egg substitutes.
* Ground flaxseed (sprinkle over fruit, breakfast cereal, yogurt, smoothies, sandwich spreads for extra omega-3 fatty acids).

Berries are good and so are vegetables. Raw, of course, is the better choice but having some choices in the freezer is a must for many of us. The protein list is good but why the brand names? Turkey is, after all, turkey. For those of us on a budget we might just have to settle for utility grade! And egg substitutes? Give me a break. Davis obviously hasn’t read the current literature on real eggs… not the cholesterol bumpers they were once thought to be. Perhaps her company doesn’t sell eggs!

The section Spicing Up a Diabetes-Friendly Spice Rack is interesting, if limited (by imagination or, perhaps, once again brand).

* Spice rubs for meat and seafood.
* Garlic and onion powders, not salts.
* Mrs. Dash; Mr. Dash.

So now you say “not salts” — of course you don’t want extra salt since you loaded us up with canned beans at the top of your list. If you start with raw, fresh or dried, ingredients most of us can actually use salt! And, with all the brand names here I can only lead one to ask, “Company sponsored article?”

WebMD has been considered by many as a great help in an otherwise overly regulated and overly expensive arena of medical services. This single article now makes me suspicious of any content on the stie!

Rev. Stephen B. Henry, PhD., is a website architect, researcher, writer, philosopher, and diabetic.