JIS said:
Recently diagnosed as Type2. Taking bloods 4 types per day. Still getting to grips with impact of certain foods.
So, here's the problem. We are off to Spain soon. Pre-diagnosis we were excited about trying all the Tapas and other delights. Now though we are nervous about how we can order food that is "safe" for me.
With so many Brits in Spain, I am sure that someone has a list if diabetically-friendly Spanish foods that we can look for on Spanish restaurant menus.
I too have had to turn my thoughts to what to eat on holiday. I mostly prepare everything myself here having studied and tested over the past two or three months. I am in the process now of cooking and testing bavarian and austrian meals. Fortunately the bread is mainly rye and with cheeses and hams, that will be OK. I suppose the nudeln and spätzle will be off my menu though and I don't think I have any chance of asking for things like brown rice.
You should be OK with many of the tapas dishes as the often have cheese, chicken, chorizo etc. But, it can be annoying because just about everythng in a paella would be OK except the rice and, I doubt you'll get it with brown rice. The breads are all wrong though, but they taste fantastic, so it's a really annoying temptation.
This might be a starting point for you: Life with Diabetes in Spain
http://www.diabetesmine.com/2011/02/lif ... spain.html In particular, this comment is of interest:
"People admire the Spanish culture, the lifestyle and cuisine, and if you are from the UK, especially the weather. Fruit, vegetables, fish, and a wide variety of meat and dairy products all available in abundance from supermarkets and the daily street markets. Traditionally, lunches were taken at a snail’s pace and finished off with pastries and coffees. Now the fast food chains dominate, turning a novelty into a necessity. The “Mediterranean Diet” is being replaced by its fat-and-carbohydrate-filled western cousin, causing an avalanche of new type 2 diabetes cases."
It seems that many diabetics in Spain don't think too much about their diet and, whilst the traditional Mediterranean diet is good for them, they, like everyone else, are moving to a more western fast food diet. There is a study entitled, "The Diet of Diabetic Patients in Spain in 2008–2010: Accordance with the Main Dietary Recommendations—A Cross-Sectional Study" which concludes
"Finally, diabetic patients in Spain should reduce their intake of saturated fats, cholesterol, sugar and salt, and should increase their intake of complex carbohydrates and fiber." Basically, what you have probably learned already.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3382177/
From my cursory glance, it would appear to me that whilst Spain is moving to the sort of things we have on offer here and which you and I need to avoid, the traditional diet is still available and is suitable. You will find restaurants and cafes. What I don't know is however, what the hotels are like and what they serve up. It certainly used to be the case that you could go into an inexpensive cafe and get a plate of grilled sardines with tomatoes, and very tasty they were too, but you may have to look a little harder to find these places now. Anyway, looking for places to eat is part of the fun on holiday.
I suddenly feel very hungry.
