Diabetic Eating and Veganism

There's a certain part of the blogging- nay, the internet world- that I have long admired. Almost daily I have bathed (to a shameful extent!) in the posts issuing forth from the great minds who, in my mind, drive the movement. Do I speak of great matters? Do I hint at issues of the heart or soul?

Nay. I speak of earthly things (with, I think, some potential spiritual connection); I speak of something which I lack the wisdom and love to properly utilize myself without slipping into shallow gluttony, literally. You see, I speak of food blogging.

I LOVE FOOD. I am very, very glad that God made us organisms that eat. What doesn't make me glad, though, is that so much of what is ate is derived from animal life. What also doesn't make me glad is that now eating is a guessing game of insulin vs. blood sugar vs. exercise. Thus, I wish to make a feeble attempt at providing a look into my VERY INDIVIDUAL (DIABETICS, PLEASE, BE CAREFUL; I am just a teenaged girl and a fool at that) diet in the hopes that perhaps (at least on occasion) a vegan meal might be enjoyed which will not send one into DKA or into an A1C in the 8s or above.

Today I think I shall comment upon snacks and dessert.

As a food lover, I like desserts. I also like variety (which is good; it helps those with veg diets get a wider variety of nutrients and vitamins), so I like snacks. Now that I have diabetes, most- but not all- of these snacks are 30g or less in usable and relatively low in calories. Here's a few of my favorites, sans photos, because I am terrible at photography.

Snacks

• 2 tbsp hummus with cucumber (very low GI, only 15g or so usable carb)
• Raw cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, or sunflower seeds ( Range from 2-10g usable carb, plus they have lots of fiber and protein).
• Small apple, pear, peach, or plum (10-15g carb depending on size and fruit)
• Celery and unsweetened nut butter (childish, but I'm learning to love it; I often add a few chocolate chips on top. Typically 5-10g carb)
• Unsweetened or lightly sweetened soy/almond/coconut milk (1-10g carb per cup; soymilk has best profile, really)
• Small bowl of unsweetened cereal, like puffed millet, with unsweetened almond milk (approx. 10g usable carb)
• Builder Bars (these are no as low in carb; they're at about 25g per bar. If I can take that, I eat the whole thing; otherwise, I split it. It's very high in protein and vitamins)

Desserts*

• So Delicious' NO SUGAR ADDED COCONUT MILK "ICE CREAM" tops my list because it is phenomenal that a vegan product exists that is sweetened naturally yet has only 10g usable carb for serving. THANK YOU, SO DELICIOUS!
• Banana "ice cream." This is nothing more than a frozen small banana with 1/2 cup of a nut/soy milk blended in. Cocoa powder can make this into chocolate "ice cream." (This has about 25g usable carb per serving; if protein powder or flaxseed meal is added, the GI is lowered)
• Small banana slathered in nut butter (about 25g usable carb per serving; you can also mash it together)
• Coconut milk sugar-free pudding (this isn't very healthy, but... I took a cup and a half or so (your choice, really) of full-fat, canned coconut milk and mixed it with sugar free chocolate pudding mix and let it sit in the fridge. VERY creamy... Yet it has aspartame :\)
• Fresh fruit in smallish amounts (This varies widely in carb counts)

* I do not include anything with agave nectar because 1. I am too poor to buy it, and 2. it's not that suitable for diabetics... Or, at least, it is no less suitable than regular sugar.

I have yet to really experiment with what can be done with stevia, xylitol, and other lower carb baking/sweetening alternatives. Maybe one day I shall, and maybe then I can report on some neat recipes.

Diet, Health, and Diabetes

I spent (as is my custom, really) some time today delving into the not-oft spoken of detrimental health effects of low-carb paleo diets (I am interested in them because they pit themselves 1. against veganism, my diet of ethical/health choice, and 2. as a wonderful way to manage type 1 or 2 diabetes). By diving head-first into the massive ocean of contradictory health claims, I am emotionally ready to be done with- for a while- the notion of health via a certain diet (this excludes veganism, which I desire to uphold mainly due to morality). I am quite willing, at the moment, to drift within my vegan parameters, eating this, that, and the other thing in the portions I desire and watching to see how I felt, looked, and weighed. Yet I cannot do so.

Why? Am I addicted to the control of my diet?

Maybe... Yet even if I am, there is a greater force keeping me from NOT worrying a bit: diabetes. I must count carbs, fat, fiber, and protein so as to guess when to take insulin and how much to take or when to exercise and how long to exercise. Thus, I am stuck examining my diet and worrying about whether it truly will wreck my long-term health to indulge in too many carbohydrates and take the insulin to cover or whether it would be best for my short and long-term health if I ate vegan low-ish carb (nuts, veggies, some beans, seeds, soy...).

In reality, I just want to enjoy food. I don't know how to fully do this with diabetes. Then again, the varying consequences of food choices have slowly been unfurling to my mind since my vegetarian conversion. (Rarely is a food without its negative effect, except, perhaps, home-grown "veganic" non-starchy vegetables. They seem like a safe bet.)

Anyhow, because this is something that shall not disappear, I must adapt to it. I don't want to begin to stress over something as hypocritical as what non-animal food to choose. I just want to be thankful for the food, savor it, and still have a good glucose reading. ;)

Thoughts on Vegetarianism and God

This list will not, alas, demonstrate the thoughts of one who is well-versed in logic or whose great insight into matters really has a chance at shedding new light on situations. This is just a collage of sorts of various viewpoints on the matter and my corresponding thoughts.

With that said....

1. If God's intent is to redeem a fallen world and if, as it states in Genesis, all creation was vegetarian in the beginning (meaning no death of beings capable of feeling pain or pleasure), then should not Christians hold a general interest in returning to this state, just as Christians are to be zealous in returning love, charity, and meaning (all of which were natural to creation initially) to a fallen world? Or is vegetarianism something seen as a lesser good- a thing that shall be rectified in heaven but is perfectly permissable on Earth? If so...
2. Has God no mercy upon the lower animals? I can comprehend His loving humanity above all (because we, as far as reason can show, are imbued with a bit of God's nature [reason] which other animals lack; at least to the extent we have it), but I cannot quite see his gladly (gladly being the key word) giving the lives of countless of his other, lesser creations so that we may eat something that is more or less (in most situations) unnecessary. In short, I can't see God not caring for the lesser animals (after all, he made them, too), and if He cares for them, I can't see His considering their death an optimal thing.
3. C.S. Lewis, in his book The Problem of Pain, dedicates a short chapter to non-human suffering. I have yet to finish it, so my observations thus far may be inaccurate of the piece as a whole; however, he seems to view animals as falling into two categories: in the first are the higher animals, such as dogs, cats, livestock, dolphins, etc., and these animals may be said to have a soul through their human caregivers and therefore might have eternal life; the second category- lower animals- lack this vicarious soul. I am curious as to whether or not he shall directly answer the question of consuming any of the higher (or lower) creatures; I suppose he shall answer in favor of doing so, for I see no indication that he practiced vegetarianism.
4. On that great site of wisdom, Youtube, I saw a video not too long ago telling Christians to beware the demonic deception of the Animal Rights movement. Obviously, this upset me, for I have long struggled with my identity as a Christian vegetarian/vegan. Most Christians remain indifferent to the issue or state that meat is a God-granted privilege, to be truthful, I see both positions to be lacking (the first because I fancy that they are unwilling to change their statement should they decide that the ethical thing to do is abstain; the second, really, is likely in most people to only be a modification of the first, except they believe they have reached an ethical stance). If the issue obviously wasn't too big of a one in the history of Christianity and if the Bible does indicate many times over the killing of animals for sacrifice and consumption and the fact that false doctrines may arise in the Church and lead some astray, then it can be assumed that the Bible is either indifferent towards the matter (which would be strange, considering it is an ethical choice) or offer only the consumption of an omnivorous diet as God-pleasing, if natural, choice. Yet my conscious and reason tell me that this could not easily be so (Granted, I am fallible and able to be deceived).
5. If only for health and environmental purposes, the Church, if it will not advocate a vegetarian diet (not force, mind you), should incorporate some of its tenets into its functions. For instance: many church functions I've attended (hosted by many different denominations of Christianity) offer food that is known to be quite unhealthy (hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, pizza, ice cream, sausage, etc.). This in a country where so many are afflicted with illness due to poor choice in diet! Not only that, but the environmental toll of such unappreciated and generic meat is great and shall only serve to burden future generations (should they even come) with greater levels of pollution, famine, and poverty. The Church, to show love in all ways it can, should help promote health, not death; it should protect all, not exacerbate their future endangerment; it should help all to make wise decisions and perhaps assist church members and non-members to learn the true value of food and appreciate it as a gift from God.

That is all for now. I hope everyone is well.