All About Diabetes

A rich dessert that combines luscious white chocolate with the tangy strawberry sauce. You can use milk or dark chocolate if you prefer.

Yield: 6 to 8 portions

Ingredients:

• 10 oz Sugar-free White Chocolate (about 2 1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
• 2 cups Fat-free Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Strawberry Sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups Fresh Strawberries, sliced
• 1/4 cup Splenda or sugar substitute
• 1 tablespoon Orange Juice

Procedures:

1. Place white chocolate in heat proof bowl.
2. Blend cornstarch with 1/2 cup milk.
3. Bring remaining milk to a simmer. Whisk in milk cornstarch mixture. Stir until thick for about 15 minutes.
4. Pour milk mixture through strainer into chocolate mixture.
5. Let stand for 5 minutes before adding vanilla. Stir to mix ingredients.
6. Pour into 6 to 8 custard cups (depending on size) to fill 3/4 full. Cover tightly and chill for about 2 hours.
7. Prepare strawberry sauce: Puree strawberry and heat over low heat until liquid is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Strain and add to Splenda and orange juice.
8. Serve pudding with a tablespoon of sauce on top.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 276
• Carbohydrates (g) 31
• Protein (g) 5
• Fat (g) 15

Make these easy chocolate bars that will please everyone, even the kids.  Bake in a square baking dish (8″ x 8″).  Double the recipe if you want to make a bigger batch for emergency chocolate rations.  Sugar-free chocolates may take a longer time to melt, so be sure to chop into small bits to help quicken the melting time

Yield: 20 portions

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup splenda or sugar substitute, pinch salt
• 1 piece egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all purpose flour sugar free milk chocolate, chopped (about 1 1/4 cup)
• 1 cup pecan nuts, chopped

Procedures:

1. Cream butter and sugar substitue.
2. Add egg, vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
3. Add flour in batches at low speed, scraping down sides after each addition.
4. Pour mixture into baking pan and bake in preheated 350F oven for 20-25 minutes.
5. Take out and top with milk chocolate.
6. Return to oven and leave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
7. Remove and spread melted chocolate. Top with pecan nuts.
8. Let cool before slicing.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 179
• Carbohydrates (g) 12
• Protein (g) 2
• Fat (g) 14

You can use the milk chocolate bars as a base for another chocolate snack – use the crumbs to make Chocolate balls.  An easy to whip up snack from leftover cake crumbs.  Let your kids have fun making it with you.

Yield: 50 pieces of chocolate balls, good for at least 30 portions

Ingredients:

• 4 cups leftover milk chocolate bar crumbs (or any sugar-free cake crumbs
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/4 cup sugar-free jam
• 2 tablespoons Dark Rhum (optional)
• 2 tablespoons Water (increase to 4 if not using rhum)
• 3 tablespoons sugar free sprinkles

Procedures:

1. Combine crumbs and cocoa powder in a bowl.
2. Add jam, rhum and water.  Stir until mixture holds together.
3. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll into balls.
4. Roll over sprinkles and chill before serving.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving:

• Calories (kcal) 50
• Carbohydrates (g) 8
• Protein (g) 0.7
• Fat (g) 2

Today, the term low-carbohydrate diet is associated with the Atkins Diet, a popular weight-loss diet composed of high-fat, high-protein and low-carbohydrate foods. Some of these low-carbohydrate, high protein diets advocate the restriction of rice, bread, pastas, noodles, sugar, fruits and vegetables while emphasizing meat, chicken, milk, egg and cheese. (more…)

Living by the great endocrinologist Dr. Elliot Joslin’s famous words and making these the basis for being, the Philippine Center for Diabetes Education Foundation (PCDEF) was born out of the desire to give more time to diabetes education out of the physician’s office.

With the firm belief that diabetes education is the cornersone of diabetes management, and following the example of other countries with established diabetes clinics, Dr. Litonjua, along with other diabetes advocates, created the PCDEF in October, 1990.

PCDEF was established with the primary purpose of providing an intensive education program on diabetes by establishing a Diabetes Center in Metro Manila. The first ever Diabetes Center in the country was established at the Makati Medical Center in July, 1984. The originators of PCDEF envisioned the Diabetes Center to be a place where they could train doctors, nurses, and nutritionistdietitians who would man the satellite educational clinics of the Foundation; create and develop educational materials on diabetes prevention and management; and supply all its satellite clinics with these educational materials.

According to Dr. Litonjua, the first diabetes clinic in Makati Medical Center is considered a first also in the sense that it caters not only to one physiciann but to others who treat diabetic patients. PCDEF advocates patient education through a team approach wherein a group of health care professionals work closely together with the patient. The team includes a doctor who acts as the coordinator and main decision maker, together with several other health professionals such as a dietitian, nurse educator, and social worker among others.

Doctors say ‘brain attack’ can be prevented, but only if people with risk factors for stroke take heed of the warning. The American Stroke Association lists the following primary tell-tale signs of stroke which occur suddenly and last for minutes, hours, or even days.

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

To confirm above symptoms, patients are advised to undergo a practical FAST test (National Stroke Association).

F ACE (Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?)
ARMS (Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?)
SPEECH (Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred? Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?)
TIME (If the person shows any of these symptoms, consider it an emergency. Physician’s care is crucial.)

Vanessa is distressed about her father who recently experienced a mini stroke attack, his second in a span of three years.  Her family didn’t make a big fuss at first since it was just a minor stroke.  After seeing a physician a couple times after the attack, his father returned to his old unhealthy lifestyle despite having been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes the year before.  The succeeding mild stroke, however, alarmed Vanessa’s father and the whole family. (more…)

Diabetes Mellitus is just one of the myriad of diseases prone to formation of blood clots which makes a diabetic in rendezvous with events like heart attack, stroke and blood vessel diseases involving the legs and feet. Uncontrolled blood glucose levels lead to dysfunction of the lining of arteries and veins causing coagulation or blood clotting defects. Platelets play a vital role in this coagulation system thru thickening of the blood resulting in clot formation and consequent impaired blood flow. (more…)

According to a study done by the Nurses’ Health Study, women should start eating green leafy vegetables and whole fruits and stay away from fruit juices if they want to stay diabetes-free. (more…)