CHAPTER 1
The Secret to Healthy Weight Loss, Diabetic or Not
Do you like chili? Who doesn’t? So take a look at the two dishes of chili shown here.
The one on the left is your standard meat chili. It tastes good—no doubt about it—but at 530 calories, with a heavy dose of saturated fat, it’s also the equivalent of a preassembled unit of unhealthy weight gain that, down the road, could contribute to all sorts of unhappy consequences for your body, your well-being and your longevity. In other words, it isn’t just that your waistline will increase because of the calorie load; you’re also increasing your load of cholesterol and triglycerides and adding to your body’s insulin resistance—all thanks to the kind of fat this meat-based dish provides.
You can’t taste the veggie-and-bean chili dish pictured, but take the word of this book’s coauthors, the photographer who took the picture, the photography session stylist and the publisher’s representative that it is a major treat for the taste buds. And at 150 calories, a low level of saturated fat and an utter lack of cholesterol, it’s also a feel-good food where healthy weight loss is concerned.
But that’s only for openers. With its high content of fiber, soy protein and other plant-based nutrients, this chili actually constitutes a weapon of proactive diabetes prevention. It easily earns a Beat Diabetes award, given to those foods or meals shown to be particularly effective in fighting the disease—not just medically, but because the food or dish has been road tested for taste, convenience and impact on weight loss. That’s also why this chili is such a good bet for any lunch or dinner table—whether you’re diabetic or not.
Why are we showing you these photos—the legendary food comparison demonstrations pioneered by Dr. Shapiro? There are two reasons.
First, because they illustrate precisely why the way you eat is a two-edged sword in the ongoing effort we all must wage for health in general and to prevent or control diabetes in particular. One edge plays defense, mitigating the adverse impacts of increased cholesterol and triglycerides (which can lower insulin resistance) and of C-reactive protein (a signal of the kind of inflammation that can portend cardiovascular problems). The other edge—and it’s the real secret of this book—plays offense, actually attacking the components of metabolic syndrome and beating back diabetes and its consequences.
The second reason for showing you this demo—and all the others featured in this book—is that the real secret to healthy weight loss is choice. And as has been shown time and again, the best way to understand what that means is to see it for yourself. This book is all about helping you to see—literally, in the case of these food comparisons—the great difference you can make in your life by the way you choose to eat.
We can’t say it too often: the tools to beat diabetes are in your hands. The key to healthy weight loss is also in your hands. The two things—beating diabetes by preventing or controlling it and healthy weight loss—are equivalent. The way you choose to eat is the single path to achieving both results. It’s as simple as that.
THE BEAT DIABETES PYRAMID: A LOT TO CHOOSE FROM
Choice happens every day, several times a day. Mealtimes, snack times, the coffee break and at the meeting, the nibbles at cocktail hour, the attack of the munchies while watching TV or before bed: all of these situations, plus a zillion more you know only too well, offer us choices about eating.
In fact, unless you head for a restaurant every time you feel hungry, the choosing starts even earlier—at the market, if you’re the one who does the shopping for your household, or in the kitchen, if you do the food preparation and cooking.
For people diagnosed as diabetic or prediabetic—or for those told by their doctors that they ought to lose weight—the choices used to be limited. They were told precisely what not to eat and what they could eat. That meant carrying around a list of forbidden foods when they went to the market or out to a restaurant. It meant sitting down to a meal thinking about the foods they were supposed to avoid. On many diets, it meant counting calories, measuring portions, eating only at certain times of day or eating certain combinations of foods, deprivation and often going hungry.
Not anymore. Today we know that there is a bounty of foods playing both defense and offense in the fight to control weight and stay healthy. We know that neither dieting nor deprivation works and that counting and measuring are not just out-of-bounds for today’s lifestyles but pointless in terms of controlling weight and enhancing health. We know, in short, that food is not the enemy of the healthy weight loss that can prevent or control diabetes; it is instead the way to ensure healthy weight loss. It is precisely the way to beat diabetes.
You’ve seen “food pyramids” before. They have become the standard mechanism for laying out a particular eating plan—for good reason. Pyramids not only define the kinds of foods the plan advocates but also map the proportionate representation of foods in the plan.
Here’s the Beat Diabetes Pyramid. It’s the perfect guide to the choices that will help you lose weight healthfully and prevent or control diabetes.
This book devotes a chapter to each level of the pyramid—Chapters 4 through 8—telling you how to apply the pyramid on a practical basis, day by day, in order to achieve healthy weight loss and beat diabetes. But in general, here’s what the Beat Diabetes Pyramid demonstrates.
Just as the pyramid is necessarily widest at the base, let vegetables be the foods you eat most—most often, most regularly and most of. Raw or cooked, from a can or a package, in soups or stir-fries, vegetables should be the foundation of your eating.
Next, focus on protein—mainly on the protein in beans and other legumes, fish and soy products.
The next level up is starches—preferably starchy vegetables or breads that are whole grain, light or low carbohydrate. Think of the starches as accompaniments or side dishes rather than the main focus of the meal.
Where fats and oils are concerned, choose canola, flax and olive oils, and eat nuts, seeds, olives and avocado.
For sweet treats, go for fruit and certain products with no added sugar.
We’ll tell you much more about the extensive and varied range of options for each level of the Beat Diabetes Pyramid in its own chapter. Suffice it to say that there’s nothing particularly complicated about “eating the Pyramid way,” as we like to call it. It’s pretty simple and straightforward, although, as you’ll see in the chapters that follow, it presents an almost dizzying array of food choices and a spectacular range of recipes.
Certainly, the mainstay of eating the Pyramid way is the focus on vegetables and healthy proteins. But no food is forbidden, and we never tell you what to eat or what not to eat. It’s a matter of choice, and the choice is yours. What we might suggest, however, if you’re a meat lover, a cheese freak or someone who can’t resist scrambled eggs for Sunday brunch, is simply that you adjust your thinking a bit and relegate some of those favorites to the category of foods you eat less frequently or less of. Let’s say you’re a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. No problem: just maybe try to make meat the side dish and perhaps accompanied by lentils and even a salad with a delicious olive-oil-and-vinegar dressing. It’s a matter of emphasis: in featuring the potatoes accompanied by lentils, salad and other vegetables, you’re putting your emphasis on the kind of healthy weight loss that will help you beat diabetes.
THE FOUR PHENOMS: YOUR SECRET WEAPON
But there’s a secret weapon inside the Beat Diabetes Pyramid as well. Four secret weapons, in fact. We call them the Four Phenoms. The reason? They represent four groups of nutrients that play a pretty prodigious role not just in controlling diabetes but in beating it—in literally helping to reverse its effects. The four are:
- Fiber
- Phytonutrients
- Soy protein
- Good fats
Here’s a look at what each is and what it does for your health:
Fiber
Fiber is the structural component of plants. It’s a very, very complex carbohydrate that cannot be digested. In Europe, in fact, it isn’t counted as a carbohydrate—something to keep in mind if you’re reading nutrition labels on your next trip to Paris or Rome.
All edible plants—vegetables, beans, grains and fruits—contain fiber. There is no fiber at all in meat, poultry, seafood, dairy foods, eggs or fats.
There are two main types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. As the names suggest, soluble fiber partially dissolves in water; insoluble fiber does not. Both types of fiber are a real boon for people trying to lose weight because fiber foods make you feel full. The reason is simply that fiber has bulk and takes up space in the intestines; you feel sated, tend to eat less and therefore take in fewer calories. In addition, a lot of high-fiber foods are themselves low in calories, require more chewing and are simply digested more slowly. All of those factors help to diminish your calorie intake, which is the basic requirement for weight loss.
But fiber does even more. Precisely because it slows digestion, fiber retards the process by which sugar enters the bloodstream, thus reducing blood glucose spikes and helping to maintain insulin levels. It also lowers blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, thus in turn reducing the risk of heart disease—a central consideration given that 80 percent of deaths among diabetics are from cardiovascular failure.
All fiber food sources provide all these benefits, so it is little wonder that fiber figures so prominently in the Beat Diabetes Pyramid. But, as you’ll learn in more detail in Chapter 6, some high-fiber foods are also high in calories and therefore will have to be taken in moderation.
Fiber is the one diabetes-beating phenom for which there is a recommended daily amount. Experts say that to get the optimal benefit of fiber’s weight loss and disease-fighting power, aim for at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. What constitutes 25 to 30 grams of fiber? This chart will help give you an idea.
But the truth is, if you eat the Beat Diabetes Pyramid way—that is, if you follow the guidelines it represents—you are likely to get all the fiber you need to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
FIBER AND WEIGHT LOSS
A meta-analysis of studies on increasing fiber found that an additional 14 grams per day resulted in a 10 percent decrease in calorie intake and a weight loss of nearly five pounds over a four-month period.
Phytonutrients
Phytonutrients, as their name suggests, are nutrients found in plants. Actually, to be precise, they are not really nutrients; that is, they’re not substances essential for life, like proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and water. Instead, what phytonutrients do is toughen the cells of the plants, interacting in complex ways to counter stress, toxins and deterioration. They do the same inside humans, which is why they promote health and advance healing—primarily by defending the cells of the body from damage.
So far, scientists have identified some two thousand phytonutrients. You’ve probably heard the names of many of them—like the lycopene in tomatoes and the beta-carotene in carrots. But chances are you’ve never heard of—and may find difficult to pronounce—zeaxanthin, a carotenoid found in leafy greens that helps protect vision, or daidzein, an isoflavone found in soy products and a powerful cancer fighter. Yet these tongue-twisting substances—often responsible for the vivid colors of the fruits and vegetables from which they derive—are a key reason why a diet that emphasizes plant-based foods is such a powerful tool for fighting infection and for strengthening your vitality and well-being.
Where diabetes is concerned, the power of phytonutrients is particularly important, for it is well known that many of the complications of diabetes result from damage to the body’s blood vessels, large and small, and phytonutrients are powerhouses of blood vessel protection. For example, the phytonutrients in red wine, called polyphenols, may relax the artery walls and raise HDL cholesterol. The allicin found in onions and garlic can both raise HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol.
The genistein and phytosterols that come from soy reduce the formation of plaque in the arteries, and the coumarins found in cucumbers, squash, melons, parsley and citrus fruit prevent platelets from sticking together to form a clot or thrombosis, which is often the immediate cause of a heart attack.
Phytonutrients also fight inflammation, which, in the arteries, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. In fact, the intake of phytonutrients is inversely related to the formation of C-reactive protein—as mentioned, a key measure of inflammation—so the more phytonutrients you ingest, the less C-reactive protein you are likely to form.
A FLAVONOID FAVOR
If you like the taste of either apples of onions—or both—you’re doing yourself a favor. Researchers have found that people who eat foods high in quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant found in both foods, had a 21 percent lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease and were 19 percent less likely to have type 2 diabetes. You can also find quercetin in grapes, tea and citrus fruits.
KEEPING YOUR ARTERIES FLEXIBLE
The power of soybean phytonutrients to help blood flow through the arteries has been well demonstrated in an Australian research study. The study focused on arterial compliance—the technical term for the capacity of large arteries to stretch and bend in response to changes in pressure and volume. Obviously, flexible arteries do far better than stiff arteries in preventing coronary problems, and the Australian research documented how soybean isoflavones improve arterial compliance—that is, they help keep the arteries flexible and thus help keep heart disease at bay.
Perhaps above all, phytonutrients act as antioxidants. In fact, that’s probably why they evolved—as defense mechanisms against the free radicals of unstable oxygen that can threaten plant life. Free radicals, of course, are the loose cannons of the cellular world, unstable molecules that can damage cells by destroying the cell membrane. That’s what they do to plants, and they can do the same to humans—where diabetes is an issue, they specifically do it to human blood vessels. Yet the antioxidant properties of phytonutrients can inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the blood, and since oxidized LDL cholesterol is much more likely to form artery-blocking plaque, preventing its oxidation is as important as—if not more important than—lowering the amount of LDL cholesterol.
In short, these health-promoting substances in plant foods can greatly decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and other blood vessel damage so common in diabetics. How can you be assured of getting an ample supply of phytonutrients? That’s easy. Follow the guidelines of the Beat Diabetes Pyramid.
SOY MILK AND BLOOD PRESSURE
Soy milk—and specifically the phytonutrient genistein, found in soy—has been significantly linked to lowering blood pressure. A three-month, double-blind study of forty men and women with mild to moderate hypertension found that those taking soy milk lowered their systolic blood pressure by 18.4 mm Hg on average and their diastolic blood pressure by 15.9 mm Hg on average—significant reductions for heart health.
Here are some key phytonutrients that help decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease—and here’s where to find them.
BERRY HEALTHY
Berries are rich in polyphenols, and polyphenols are powerful fighters against the risk of cardiovascular disease, as a recent study documented. Study participants consumed a couple of servings of berries each day for two months. At the end of the two months, researchers found favorable changes in platelet function, a decrease in blood pressure and a 5.2 percent increase in levels of HDL cholesterol among the berry eaters, versus a 0.6 percent rise in HDL in the control group.
Soy Protein
If you want to give your heart health a real boost—and deal a knockout punch to diabetes into the bargain—you can’t do better than soy protein, found today in a range of products from veggie burgers to “chicken” nuggets, from edamame served as cocktail munchies to Asian dishes focused on bean curd, from smoothies to protein bars for athletes.
Of course, the soybean has been cultivated and used for thousands of years in Asia, and soy protein, as the name suggests, is the protein heart of the plant. What’s special about soy protein is that it is what nutritionists call a “complete” protein, containing all the amino acids that we need to obtain through the food we eat because they can’t be synthesized in the body. Animal products also offer complete protein, but they contain the kind of fat, especially saturated fat, that can harm heart health and make it tough to maintain a healthy weight.
As a diabetes fighter, soy protein has no match. There are four main ways that soy protein can help you beat diabetes:
- 1. It helps regulate glucose and insulin levels.
- 2. It proactively advances weight loss.
- 3. It lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and its severity.
- 4. It lowers the risk and slows the progression of kidney disease, a major complication of diabetes and one to which diabetics are particularly prone.
Let’s take them one at a time.
Glucose and insulin levels. Although we’re not sure why, studies have shown that diets containing moderate amounts of soy protein can slow the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, reduce insulin levels and improve insulin resistance. What do we mean by “moderate amounts”? Anywhere from 25 to 40 grams a day, equivalent to two to three servings of any of the soy products we talk about in this book.
In one of the most important studies confirming this powerful capability of soy protein, the study authors worked with two groups of volunteers with type 2 diabetes. All the volunteers took similar medications and in similar amounts. The difference was in their diet. The first group was given a diet in which the protein content consisted of one-third animal protein, one-third soy protein and one-third vegetable protein. Group 2 ate 70 percent animal protein and 30 percent vegetable protein. The test lasted for four years.
At the end of the four years, members of Group 1, the group that ate soy protein in addition to animal and vegetable protein, had reduced their fasting plasma glucose—that’s glucose measured after a fast—by 20 mg/dL, reduced their LDL cholesterol by 2 mg/dL and knocked 25 mg/dL off their serum triglyceride levels. Group 2 participants experienced minimal reductions in these heart-harmful substances—and in some cases even registered gains.
PEPTIDE POWER
Homing in on some of the interactions that produce the metabolic dynamics of soy protein, researchers have isolated a soy peptide (a peptide is a compound left after protein molecules have been split) called Hinute. Volunteers following a Hinute-enriched diet for eight weeks lost between 4 percent and 7 percent of their body weight. Other studies have shown that other soy peptides also have this specific ability to decrease body fat and cholesterol without causing a decrease in body protein, or lean body mass.
SOY FOR THE HEART
A meta-analysis of results from thirty-eight clinical trials involving more than seven hundred subjects found that an average of 47 grams of soy protein per day reduced total cholesterol by nearly 10 percent, decreased LDL cholesterol by nearly 13 percent and lowered triglyceride levels by 11 percent. Translation? A 20 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack.
Moreover, the group that ate soy protein also lost significantly less protein in the urine—a sign that their kidneys were functioning better than the kidneys of Group 2 participants.
Weight loss. Soy protein helps people lose weight in two ways: through direct impact on the metabolism—by burning body fat and not lean body protein—and by increasing the sense of satiety so you actually eat less and thus, by definition, take in fewer calories. A number of studies have confirmed these facts.
In one, volunteers who substituted soy foods for an equal amount of meat and dairy lost significantly more weight while keeping lean body mass. In another, two groups of volunteers were placed on formula diets, each containing similar amounts of protein, fat and calories. But in one formula the protein was soy-based, while in the other it was milk-based. The soy group lost significantly more body fat—and dropped their cholesterol levels as well. In a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, half the participants included some 25 grams of soy per day in their diet; the other half ate no soy. After twelve weeks, the group that ate soy had lost three times more than the non-soy group—16 pounds, a healthy weight loss for the three-month period.
At the same time, soy protein has been demonstrated to stimulate the release of a natural intestinal hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) that slows down digestion and induces satiety. The result? You feel full, and your calorie intake goes down. And so, of course, does your weight.
Cardiovascular disease. Soy protein helps lower blood pressure, cholesterol, C-reactive protein and triglycerides—all factors that can endanger your cardiovascular system.
Two major studies on men and women documented soy protein’s effectiveness in lowering blood pressure. Participants who consumed 25 to 40 grams of soy protein per day lowered their systolic blood pressure by five points and their diastolic pressure by two and a half points. It is thought that these results were due, in part, to soy’s antioxidant properties and to its beneficial effects on inflammation, for both oxidative stress and inflammation are key culprits in hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
In another study, a diet that substituted soy protein for animal protein had a more beneficial effect on both total and LDL cholesterol than a standard low-fat diet. Researchers at the University of Toronto found that a diet high in soy protein and low in saturated fat was as effective as statin drugs in reducing levels of LDL cholesterol and C-reactive protein—that key marker for inflammation and a major risk factor for heart trouble.
Yet another study tracked two groups of volunteers who were given formula diets similar in all but protein content. The group eating soy-based protein had significantly lower levels of total and LDL cholesterol than the group eating milk protein.
Kidney disease. It’s one of the most serious complications of diabetes, and, unfortunately, it can be all too common. Some 40 percent of patients starting dialysis have diabetes; an even scarier statistic is that approximately 30 percent of diabetics will develop kidney disease—nephropathy, to give it its official name. Yet the research shows that soy protein can help you avoid this very real danger. Here’s why.
Protein increases the workload of the kidneys—which is why so many people with impaired kidney function are put on a low-protein diet. What scientists have now learned is that the type of protein you take in is more important than the amount of protein in affecting kidney function. Studies show that substituting soy protein for animal protein may actually help prevent and treat diabetic nephropathy.
The reason? It’s soy’s ability to improve both the health of the kidney’s blood vessels and the composition of the blood. It does this in four basic ways: by lowering total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and decreasing oxidation of LDL, by decreasing inflammation in the arteries, by lowering blood pressure and by decreasing platelet aggregation along with the clot formation that can result. The net effect of all this is that soy protein helps unblock the arteries and improve the flow of blood through the kidneys. In fact, studies on type 2 diabetics show repeatedly that even a moderate incorporation of soy protein can decrease the risk of developing kidney disease and slow the progression of already existing kidney dysfunction.
SOY PROTEIN IMPROVES KIDNEY FUNCTION
In one study, three groups of type 2 diabetics with kidney disease were put on three different diets: a low-protein diet, a high-soy diet and a diet high in milk-based protein. Kidney function was measured by urine albumin excretion (UAE). That’s an important gauge of kidney function: the higher the UAE, the worse the kidney function. Here’s what the results of the study showed: the low-protein group had no significant reduction in UAE, the soy group reduced UAE by an impressive 9.5 percent and the milk-based-protein group increased UAE by 11.1 percent—a very substantive increase in a very harmful measure.
Bottom line: if you’re diabetic, prediabetic or eager to avoid diabetes through weight loss, you want to incorporate adequate amounts of soy protein in your diet. The best way to do that? Follow the guidelines of the Beat Diabetes Pyramid.
Good Fats
We call them “good” fats to distinguish them from those that raise cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein and insulin resistance in general. You know the ones we mean: the saturated fats and trans fats that are always so much in the news—and which you can read about in the sidebar as well.
Good fats, by contrast, are the monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and omega-3 fats that do just the opposite: they lower cholesterol and may decrease insulin resistance—along with other benefits. The monounsaturated fats found in olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil and nuts and the polyunsaturated fats found in corn oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil—also called omega-6 oils—all decrease both total and LDL cholesterol levels. The polyunsaturates do so to a greater extent than the monounsaturates, but they may actually lower HDL cholesterol a tiny bit. The monounsaturates have no effect on HDL cholesterol, and they may decrease insulin resistance. So both types are good fats that fit in any healthful diet.
The omega-3 fats are a branch of polyunsaturated fats. They are powerful tools for lowering triglycerides; they also lower total and LDL cholesterol, raise HDL cholesterol and decrease blood pressure and blood clot formation. The omega-3s may also reduce resistance to the hormone leptin, which helps regulate appetite and metabolism; anything that boosts your leptin level is a plus for weight loss. In addition, omega-3s may turbocharge the body’s fat-burning mechanism. What’s more, if you’re overweight, a diet high in omega-3s and low in saturated fats may reduce the risk that impaired glucose tolerance will morph into full-blown type 2 diabetes. That makes them powerful diabetes fighters indeed. You can find omega-3s in such foods as flaxseeds and flax oil, fatty fish, walnuts, canola oil, soy oil and salba (see sidebar).
“BAD” FATS
Saturated fats are the fats found in meat, poultry, dairy, eggs and palm oil. They make it difficult for insulin receptors to work well, thus lowering their effectiveness and raising the risk of diabetes. Trans fats do the same: they also decrease the body’s ability to burn fat, may lower HDL cholesterol even as they raise LDL cholesterol and can increase the levels of C-reactive protein. Half of the trans fats in our American diet come from beef, butter and milk. The other half come from the hydrogenated vegetable oils used to make stick margarines, solid shortenings and all sorts of commercially processed pastries, crackers and fried foods.
The polyunsaturated omega-6 oils—corn, safflower and sunflower—are, as mentioned, all good at lowering cholesterol. But a high ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s can actually increase inflammation and raise the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction. How can you be sure your ratio isn’t too high? Just follow the guidelines laid out in Chapter 7, “Fats and Oils.”
Every diet needs fat. To beat diabetes and its complications, make sure your diet is low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol and that it includes ample amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. One way to be sure: eat the Beat Diabetes Pyramid way.
A FISH STORY YOUR BLOOD WILL APPRECIATE
Think of a blood clot as a papier-mâché creation. The shredded newspaper is provided by fibrinogen, long strands of protein that circulate in your bloodstream, while the glue that holds the strands together is your blood platelets. Sometimes, under certain conditions, the fibrinogen can become entangled with the platelets—and with other elements—and the result is a clot, officially known as a thrombus. So the more fibrinogen in your bloodstream, the higher your risk of clotting and of the consequences clotting can bring. In fact, a recent survey showed that people with high levels of fibrinogen had five times the normal risk of heart attack, recurrent heart attack and premature death.
Enter omega-3 fish oils. They keep unwanted clots from forming in two ways. First, they make your platelets less “gluey” and thus less likely to stick together. Second, they decrease the production of fibrinogen. End result? A greatly reduced risk of a heart attack.
GOT THE PICTURE?
It’s really pretty simple. The secret to beating diabetes is healthy weight loss, and the secret to healthy weight loss is eating. Specifically, it’s eating in a way that will ensure you defend yourself against insulin resistance and everything that causes it—in other words, getting the nutrients you need to battle metabolic syndrome proactively.
Bottom line: a diet that is low in saturated fats and trans fats, that includes ample amounts of soy protein and focuses on the phytonutrients and fiber of plant-based foods—emphasizing these ingredients in favor of those that raise cholesterol, increase insulin resistance and retard weight loss—is a diet that can keep you thin and healthy for life.
1 cup meat chili
530 calories
vs.
150 calories
AZTEC ENERGY
Among the Aztecs, whose civilization dominated Central America hundreds of years ago, the only way to get word from one village to the next was on foot. That’s why Aztecs were such superb runners, and it’s why they relied so much on salba, which they referred to as their “running food,” believing it gave them energy and power.
They were right. Salba is a grain and a member of the mint family. Its botanical name is salvia hispanica, and the ancient Aztecs, like their present-day descendants, cultivated salba and treasured it, even offering it in annual tribute to their rulers.
Today, you can find salba in health stores and organic markets as whole seeds or ground meal. Just one tablespoon contains approximately 2 grams of omega-3 fatty acids—a whole day’s worth. And salba is also an excellent source of both fiber and antioxidants. We make no claim as to what it may do to your running skills, but it may just give you the same kind of energy and power it gave the ancient Aztecs.
Take another look at this Picture Perfect Beat Diabetes demonstration. It shows you everything you need to know about this food’s power on defense and offense as discussed on Chapter 1. As you go through the levels of the Beat Diabetes Pyramid chapter by chapter, and as you study demo after demo, you’ll quickly learn the role of different foods in your fight for healthy weight loss. You’ll come to understand how the foods you love and the dishes you’d like to try can become your “partners” in arriving at and maintaining the weight you want for the health you deserve. Pretty soon, the knowledge will become automatic—and so will the healthy weight loss.
But first, it’s important to remind yourself why you’re making these healthy choices.
SMALL CHANGES, BIG IMPACT
Studies have shown that as little as 3 grams per day of two particular omega-3 acids, EPA and DHA, found mostly in fish, can lower your systolic blood pressure by five points and your diastolic pressure by three points. This decrease in blood pressure would reduce the number of Americans with hypertension by 40 percent—a big difference from a little change! Another omega-3 acid, ALA—found in flaxseeds and flax oil, walnuts, canola oil and soy oil—can also lower blood pressure. In fact, a 1 percent increase in blood levels of ALA is linked with a five-point reduction in blood pressure.
PICTURE PERFECT CHILI
1 cup coarsely chopped bell peppers, any color
1 cup chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
1 12-ounce package veggie crumbles*
1 15-ounce can black or red beans, drained
1 15-ounce can chili beans in sauce
1 15-ounce jar tomato-based pasta sauce
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 4- or 5-ounce can chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon oregano
½ teaspoon cumin
1. Sauté peppers, onions and garlic in oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in veggie crumbles and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Yield: about ten 1-cup servings;
approximately 150 calories per serving.
