Tart: The more tart, the better

Tart

Sugar and butter were my favorite additives to food growing up. When I first started as a diabetes educator, in my mid-20’s, it appeared that every time I looked up, the number of individuals being diagnosed with diabetes kept rising, as well as those with impaired glucose or as it is known now as Prediabetes. I used to wonder if it was something in the food. Although, the type of food you eat can influence your blood sugar, it is more about how much of that food we eat at one time.

I used to love some sweet lemonade and my mom’s sweet tea with a salty snack such as popcorn and peanuts…. Since nursing school and becoming a diabetes educator, I no longer crave the sugary drinks as much. I truly believe that our body work best when we eat foods in moderation. Our pancreas produces insulin to help keep our blood sugars in check, and the more sugar (high calories and high carbohydrates) we take in, the more insulin is produced by our body. The more we work our body (by ingesting large amounts of food at one time and consistently), the more we can wear our organs and body out. Once our body starts wearing down, that’s when we start seeing health conditions such as diabetes. Now, diabetes is more complex than what I have just noted. However, if we tailor our eating habits by eating foods in moderation, including sugar, then our body can work more efficiently.
I now prefer my lemonade, as well as other drinks, to be more on the side of tart instead of sweet. Just another way to train my body that moderation is okay…especially when it comes to food and drinks..

Timika
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