I need to get healthy

[Rita C.]

Thanks Margo. I didn't know if you could eat them raw. Good idea.

[E.M. T.]

Especially !! if you have a sweet tooth !!

[Margo C.]

Sweet Potato Ranks Number One In Nutrition

According to nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the single most important dietary change for most people, including children, would be to replace fatty foods with foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes.

CSPI ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of all vegetables. With a score of 184, the sweet potato outscored the next highest vegetable by more than 100 points. Points were given for content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. Points were deducted for fat content (especially saturated fat), sodium, cholesterol, added refined sugars and caffeine. The higher the score, the more nutritious the food.

Sweet potato baked 184
Potato, baked 83
Spinach 76
Kale 55
Mixed Vegetables 52
Broccoli 52
Winter Squash, Baked 44
Brussels Sprouts 37
Cabbage, Raw 34
Green Peas 33
Carrot 30
Okra 30
Corn on the Cob 27
Tomato 27
Green Pepper 26
Cauliflower 25
Artichoke 24
Romaine Lettuce 24
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington D.C. copyright 1992


The reasons the sweet potato took first place? Dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. The sweet potato received a score of 184; the vegetable ranked in second place was more than 100 points behind with a score of 83.

[E.M. T.]

Learning to balance our individual needs for blood sugar control takes some time....we all respond a little differently
and working out how to maintain and still manage our lifetime habits and desires for certain foods (I LOVE my spuds !)
is so important for success. Make changes in small steps and keep a food diary...a big PiA ! but a real help . :roll:

[E.M. T.]

'Pure, White & Deadly' - is a book by Prof John Yudkin and is about sugar not cocaine, that is everyone's enemy, it is just as addictive as the so called 'bad drugs' and will affect your health just as much, but over a longer period of time, because we all think it is 'safe' or 'good'. http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&k...l_69mliyrs6e_e

Back in '84 a paper was bought out about what was healthy to eat by the US government, unfortunately the people who wrote it were 'got at' by the Sugar Lobby (who are every bit as bad as the Tobacco Lobby), so instead of saying that sugar was bad it said that fat was bad, and we all should be eating low fat, not low sugar! So what have we got but loads of foods that are supposedly good for us becasue they are 'low fat', but in order to make them taste halfway decent then are then loaded up with sugars, 'oses' and gums.

Natural fats found in meat and dairy products are very good for us, are much more filling than any carbs could be, and they are not addictive. Do not eat low fat - your body needs it! It is not possible to overeat on them unlike sugary baked goods.

If you are eating grains go for the brown/wholemeal ones for your every day, that said I have heard of several people who having given up all grains now don't have any problems with arthritic joints which they did in the past. Another interesting article you could read is http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.p...william-davis/ which touches on diabetes amongst other things. and follow on from there.

[Mary A.]

Reetzobeetz, what part of the world are you in? I think all of us in the U.S. know that porridge is oatmeal (maybe from reading Dickens?) . And raw sweet potatoes? I have never tried that. But I will now. Thanks for the tip.

[Betty J.]

I think my point was lost a bit from the discussion of potatoes. I was just suggesting you keep careful notes on what you have eaten and correlate it with your blood sugar tests for several weeks. Soon you will realize what sends your blood sugar higher and what does not. This is theoretically captured in the glycemic load, but I have found personally that some of those guidelines don't always work for me but do give a clue.

A couple of notes: Per the Harvard glycemic load index, a boiled medium white potato has about 22 glycemic points, a baked medium sweet potato has about 21. An average serving of rice has over 70. I have found no difference in my response to brown rice or white rice. Some probably do.

Cook books I have found to provide really yummy dishes that my friends and family love also are:
Better Homes and Gardens Diabetic Living Slow Cooker Recipes, and the Betty Crocker cookbooks for diabetics. They really seem to work too in my journal tracking. I use Perfect Diet Tracker on my computer, that costs around $30 to keep track of my food, weight, and blood sugar. It's simple and works well. There are probably others out there.

Today I am cooking one of the stews in my slow cooker from the BH&G cookbook.

It's an adventure that can be fun.

[Betty J.]

Also, sweet potatoes were very important to me when I lived in Japan especially. They are such a wonderfully complete food. Where I was, you could buy them on the street from a street cart where they had been roasted, and eat them for lunch...wonderful.

[E.M. T.]

I love those those recipe sources, too. Many are proportioned for smaller # servings ...good for our house !

[wendy w.]

Thanks Margo. I didn't know if you could eat them raw. Good idea.

:shock: :shock: You try first Rita

[Margo C.]

:lol: :lol: Try it! You'll like it!! :lol: :lol:

[Rita C.]

Oh Wendy, it'll be fine, honest. 8)

[Mary A.]

Well, we are all being educated! I was not aware the white potatoes and sweet potatoes were so close on the glycemic index. I do know that sweet potatoes and brown rice have far less effect on my blood sugar than white potatoes and white rice. Interesting that others do not find the white rice makes much of a difference in theirs. And of course, portion size is also critical. I like the Weight Watcher's credo that no foods are off limits; you just have to moderate the intake and keep track of your consumption.

Another quip from Dr. Oz, said off the cuff, but which I found interesting - meat is not making us fat, sugar is.

[Annis C.]

Sprinkle a little cinnamon on your sweet potato. It makes it easier to eat without the brown sugar and marshmellows.

[E.M. T.]

Well, I like them just with S/P and a little butter flavor...But if the family is a little hesitant..try boiling and mashing ,
about 1/2 and 1/2, with russets like usual, but use milk for cream and add a bit of garlic... Learned that from
Graham Kerr long ago. My DH won't have mashed any other way now ! :lol: