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.

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.

Source: Diabetes In Control.com.

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