Any Jewish Diabetics out there?

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Registered: 03-25-2003
Any Jewish Diabetics out there?
1
Sun, 04-20-2008 - 11:34pm
I was wondering what you eat for Sedar as a diabetic? The food for Passover is yummy but so high in carbs.

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Registered: 04-03-2003
Mon, 04-21-2008 - 12:23pm

Not Jewish but related to a wide range from Reformed to Orthodox so I've been to a few Seders.

Obviously, the main course (whether you use lamb or some other meat) is a good choice because it's roasted (less fat that way) plus it's basically just protein, not carbs

The various veggies (raw and cooked) are also pretty safe

If matzoh ball soup is one of your traditions, you might want to just have a small (meatball) size matzoh ball rather than the softball size ones I've sometimes seen (and had). The soup itself is fairly low carb (depending on the recipe of course)

You've got 3 big carb areas: wine (or grape juice), matzoh, and haroseth. The latter isn't all that bad because the nuts, cinnamon and diced apples aren't too bad (lots of fiber included and cinnamon is helpful to some in regulating blood sugar). The fruit juice/wine can be a biggie but if you just have a small amount AND it's with food (which it is) you can probably find a balance somehow (it'll take practice to find out what works best for you - maybe do a couple 'trial runs' ahead of time if you can - well, not this year since we're already there). The matzoh is a toughie since it's basically flour and water - all carb. I think there are whole grain matzohs out there which would help a bit (more fiber, slower digestion, slower into the blood stream).

You might also want to get in a tad more exercise as well to turbo charge things and help reduce any insulin resistance (obviously, you'd need to figure out what is permissable within the parameters of "work" and "distance" and such, for wherever you fall on the spectrum of beliefs within Judaism).

And, too, maybe have a talk with your rabbi - I know that it's possible for certain things to be 'tweaked' a bit to account for health-related issues (for instance, a strict Yom Kippur fast could be problematic for diabetics since you eat nothing at all for the day - bad blood sugar drops could happen).

--Deb