Reader's Digest: Tame your Blood Sugar Forever

This month of July, we celebrate Nutrition Month. As part of the Activities, we collect old magazines, old books and other old newspapers. These are not just reading materials, but these are reading materials that were long forgotten, placed at the very top of the shelf where no one noticed it was there.

Among the old magazines, I found an old edition of Reader's Digest. It's one of the many reading materials that I love to read again and again. The Digest is not that old. It was dated November of 2009. I found one article that I have to share. It is a must read. It is at page 100 and the title of the article is "Tame Your Blood Sugar Forever!"

Here are secrets to better Blood sugar as revealed by Reader's Digest (source rdasia.com). With these satisfying food tips, one can control blood sugar.

1. Choose slow-acting or low Glycemic (low GI) carbs instead of fast-acting (higher-GI) carbs.
Low GI carbs help control the rise in blood sugar thus it can control diabetes. Low GI carbs also helps in weight management. Examples of Low GI include cereals based on wheat bran, barley and oats, grainy bread from whole seeds, pasta, vinegar and lemon juice dressings.

2.  Make three of your carb servings wholegrains and Eat two serves of fruit sand fice serves of vegetables daily. Fruits and veggies have little varb content and they are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.

3. Eat protein at every meal and favor good fats. Protein and Good fats helps lower the overall GI of meals. These are helpful for diabetic people control their weight.

4. Eat smaller portions of food not just carbs but all types of food. Add acidic foods to your meals like Vinegar or lemon to help blunt the meal's blood glucose effect.

Who knows that an old book from the top of the closet may help improve my granny's diabetes. I tried it myself and it really helped me lose those ugly fats. Try it yourself and thank Reader's Digest later. Have Fun

Michelle Ofiana

One-dish meal: Paellang Manok

July has always been Philippines' nutrition month. Students and teachers get busy for the activities prepared for the month. Most of the school activities include Jingle making, poster making, quiz bee and other programs related to this year's theme, "Sa pagkaing tapat at sapat, wastong timbang ang katapat" (With the right food and diet, proper weight and nutrition is achieved).

This year, schools both public and private will go through a cook fest where the meal will have to meet the food pyramid. A group of fourth year students came up with a one-dish meal they called "Paellang Manok". The dish's main ingredient is chicken and rice. The one-dish meal recipe is ideal for people on the go who has no time to cook rice and viand separately. With the recipe, it compliments the three basic food group.

This recipe is good for 5-6 servings. To prepare, you will need the following ingredients:
1/4 kg chicken cut into small pieces
1/8 kg of shrimps, peeled (leave the tail behind)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of green peas
1 chorizo de Bilbao
2 cups of rice
2 heads onions, sliced
2 heads of garlic, crushed
pepper,salt and olive oil
2 heads red bell pepper sliced into strips

Instructions:
Sauté ginger, onions and bell pepper (leave some of the bell pepper for garnishing) in a large frying pan. Add pieces of sliced chicken. Add flavor of ground pepper, salt and olive oil. Add a little water, cover and bring to boil until the chicken is a little tender. Add rice (rarely cooked), chorizo and shrimps. When rice is almost done, add the green peas (cooked in water with a little salt), tomato sauce. Stir, cover for at least 2 minutes.
Serve in a rice bowl. Good for 5-6 servings.

Nutrition guide. The one-dish meal recipe has complete nutrients. Carbohydrates from rice and  protein from chicken. Green peas are a very good source of vitamin C, K, A, B1, B2 and B6. They are also rich in dietary fibers. So in general, the recipe is a healthy meal for people on the go like students, professionals or just for the family.