Good eats don't end with diabetes diagnosis

A diagnosis of diabetes means lifestyle changes are in order, but where does one begin?

It's important to get information from reliable sources, such as websites of The American Diabetes Association and National Diabetes Education program, said Katherine Younker of the Texas Diabetes Institute.

"Those sites have tons of very basic info on how to eat and info about living with diabetes," she said. They have materials that can be ordered and mailed for free.

However, controlling the disease requires more than dietary changes.

"Diabetes is really four facets of management: eating, activity, medications, and self-management," Younker says. "You can take as many meds as you want ... what you're putting in your mouth is how those things are getting in there to begin with."

Doreen Howarth has seen the difference diet and exercise makes. She cooks at the Milam Drugstore & Diner in San Antonio, and at home for her husband, John, who owns the restaurant and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about five years ago. They changed his diet and the diner menu, too.

"We have added healthier foods and vegetarian meals," including meatless salads, fish tacos, a veggie sandwich and a veggie burger made with a Portobello mushroom patty.

Eating at restaurants can be more difficult for children with diabetes, something Soonalyn Jacob knows well. Her teenage son, Raymond, has Type 1 diabetes. "As a consumer, you have to be hypervigilant in requesting information," Jacob says.

Her family has found restaurants with healthier options, such as whole-wheat pasta at Maggiano's. And at mealtime, she now uses half cauliflower and half potatoes in mashed potatoes.

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BY JENNIFER M CINNIS - San Antonio Express-News