I
recently traveled to 15 small towns in central Illinois over a period
of 28 days and provided free instant A1c tests and diabetes education
for over 350 patients.
After the education program we asked them to fill out a survey and
one of the questions
was as follows:
From the information you received today, will you make changes to your
diet?
The results: 88% replied Yes …….10%
replied probably …….2% replied No
As you can see, we were able to get them to agree to make some changes
to their diets. Because I only had 20 minutes with each patient, I had
to be short, precise and to the point.
During the 20 minutes we were able to talk briefly about food labels
and counting carbohydrates.
We started by showing them 2 packages of sugar wafers. One had Sugar-Free
on the front of
the package.
I then asked them, if you had a taste for sugar wafers and you went
to the store and you saw these two packages of sugar wafers, which one
would you purchase, knowing you have diabetes?
Here are samples of the packages I used; you decide which package is
best for a person with
diabetes. (This is not a trick question!)
Which One Is Best For a Person With
Diabetes?
Of the 650 patients and spouses ,only 3 people were able to answer
the question properly.
The correct answer: I would need to read the food label to see which
product had the least amount of carbohydrates.
All but those 3 people chose the sugar free package. When I told them
they were wrong, they looked at me with amazement and commented that
they thought that sugar free products were made for people with diabetes.
I explained that nowhere on the label did it say, that it was good
for people with diabetes.
What they needed to do was to turn over the
package and read the food label.
Sugar Free = 19G Carbs
Sugar Wafers = 18G Carbs
The Sugar Wafers have 18gms of carbohydrates and 15gms of sugar per
3 pieces, while the Sugar-Free Wafers have 19gms of carbohydrates and
no sugar in the same serving size.
In addition they were paying as much as 5 times more for the sugar-free
product and it was not any better for them. When they read a food label,
it is not necessary to look at the amount of sugar in the foods, but
look at the carbohydrate grams.
They began to understand if they go to the grocery store and buy foods
off the shelf without reading the food label, then they are purchasing
their foods with a blindfold on. Reading the food label will help improve
their diabetes control.
Next we ask, from what you learned, what is the most important item
on the food label? They replied, of course, carbohydrates! I then explain
the most important part of the food label is PORTION SIZE!.
Knowing how many carbohydrates are in a single portion will cause them
not to overeat.
Having a bag of potato chips with 18gms of carbs in 1 portion and not
knowing 9 chips is a portion will cause them to overeat. When asked
if they could eat a whole bag of chips during a football game many patients
said yes, but when asked how many portions were in a bag most answered
2-3. This means they thought the bag had 36 to 54 carbs when in actuality
there were 266 carbs.
I then go on to explain that there are other things that should also
be aware of on the label Calories, Fats, and Salt.
Because 98% of the participants agreed to begin to look at food labels
more closely, I felt confident that the time I spent on nutrition was
worthwhile.
More info on how to read a food label from ADA:
http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and-recipes/nutrition/foodlabel.jsp
To become a better label-reader, write for the free booklet How to
read the New
Food Label (distributed by the Consumer Information Center, Department
79,
Pueblo, Colorado 81009) prepared by the AHA and the FDA.
Continued……………………………………….
In Part6 we will talk about increasing physical activity.
Comments or questions: send to publisher@diabetesincontrol.com
Click here for the whole series
This Program was supported by an unrestricted grant
from Novo Nordisk and Therasense
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