How can we learn to cook for a person with diabetes?

my father has signs of diabetes and high cholesterol, my mom tries to feed him things with no sugar, like veggies, and some fruits, but he is a truck driver so being on the road for a week at a time is still hurting his health what can we do to prepare healthy meals for his trips and help his health?

Go to this web site: the Glycimic Index is a great way to figure out which carbs are good for you.

http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
The glycemic index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how much of a rise in circulating blood sugar a carbohydrate triggers鈥攖he higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. So a low GI food will cause a small rise, while a high GI food will trigger a dramatic spike. A list of carbohydrates with their glycemic values is shown below. A GI is 70 or more is high, a GI of 56 to 69 inclusive is medium, and a GI of 55 or less is low.

The glycemic load (GL) is a relatively new way to assess the impact of carbohydrate consumption that takes the glycemic index into account, but gives a fuller picture than does glycemic index alone. A GI value tells you only how rapidly a particular carbohydrate turns into sugar. It doesn't tell you how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving of a particular food. You need to know both things to understand a food's effect on blood sugar. That is where glycemic load comes in. The carbohydrate in watermelon, for example, has a high GI. But there isn't a lot of it, so watermelon's glycemic load is relatively low. A GL of 20 or more is high, a GL of 11 to 19 inclusive is medium, and a GL of 10 or less is low.

Foods that have a low GL almost always have a low GI. Foods with an intermediate or high GL range from very low to very high GI.

Both GI and GL are listed here. The GI is of foods based on the glucose index鈥攚here glucose is set to equal 100. The other is the glycemic load, which is the glycemic index divided by 100 multiplied by its available carbohydrate content (i.e. carbohydrates minus fiber) in grams. (The "Serve size (g)" column is the serving size in grams for calculating the glycemic load; for simplicity of presentation I have left out an intermediate column that shows the available carbohydrates in the stated serving sizes.) Take, watermelon as an example of calculating glycemic load. Its glycemic index is pretty high, about 72. According to the calculations by the people at the University of Sydney's Human Nutrition Unit, in a serving of 120 grams it has 6 grams of available carbohydrate per serving, so its glycemic load is pretty low, 72/100*6=4.32, rounded to 4.

Its easy to understand and use. Your dad probably has fridge or cooler in the truck , so easy for take along meals.

Tell your mom not to go overboard on avoiding sugar. Diabetics aren't "forbidden" from eating sweets anymore, it just needs to be in moderation. The key is to make sure his meals do not exceed the carbohydrate level set out by his doctor - it's often 40-45g of carb for the whole meal. That means he can have a sandwich and an apple, or some crackers and cheese and a banana, or a bowl of soup, some veggies and a couple of regular cookies. She needs to get comfortable with reading the nutritional labels on foods so she can have an easier time of it. It's hard at first, but he probably eats a lot of the same stuff regularly so it will become second nature to her within a few weeks. If he doesn't already have one, invest in one of those mini-refrigerators that you can plug into the cigarette lighter. He can keep ziploc bags of veggies and fruit in there to grab, and also diet sodas and "light" juices.

There are many, many, many good recipe books out there catering towards a diabetic diet. Also, just googling "diabetic recipes" brings a lot. You can also find good desserts recipes, so he doesn't feel cheated.I have been a type 1 diabetic for over 20 years, and know how hard it can be. Being in a truck, pack a cooler full of cut veggies and dip. Jell-O makes some good sugar-free pudding cups.
Cut out most pasta and bread. Only whole grain ones, small servings. (whole grain pasta tastes pretty much the same as regular, and can be found at the grocery store) Veggies and lean meats should be the basis of his diet. Good luck!

Well troll, If someone has signs of a health problem , that person should have a full physical check up.
Do not treat a disease you don't know exists.

Avoid sugar, red meat and high amounts of carbohydrates. Eat balanced meals with whole grains at regular times. Losing weight helps control diabetes.

ask him to stay away from truck stops, or if he does pick a healthy menu

Your father can eat healthy on the road; it鈥檚 really his choice to eat right. You can help by making sure he has healthy snacks like fruit, nuts and even popcorn. For his meals, he has to stay away from fried foods and foods that are high in carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes and pasta鈥檚. Not to mention avoid pop and candy.

Coffee often affects blood sugar and can raise blood sugar levels as well, so he may want to cut caffeinated coffee out of his diet. Being a diabetic is not easy, diabetes is as much a way of life as it is a health issue.

Tell your dad that you want him around for a long time, but he has to make the changes for himself.

Harry