Monday, May 3, 2010

Grandmas can learn nutrition, too

One of the best dietitians and diet instructors we have in Bulgaria, Galya Vutova, wrote a wonderful book about diabetes. The book is pretty, well designed, easy to read, simple and very straightforward. You will see no fake science and empty promises. It states what you can eat and what you can't eat much of and gives very precise portion sizes. Galya uses a simple system of handfulls, palm sizes and parts of the hand, cups and spoons, to tell people with diabetes exactly how much to eat at certain meals.

I gave that book to my grandma, about a month ago, along with a very well designed anti-lipid tea mixture from Tian Shi. My grandma is almost 75, and has been overweight for most of my life. She has a mixture of endocrine disorders, including type 2 diabetes, heart problems and joint pain. She has been on medication since she can remember.

That same lady, known as grandma, lost 10 lbs over the last month, and she said: "you know what I am still eating the same foods, I just know exactly how much to eat now. I wish someone had explained it to me that simply years ago''. It's not that my grandma didn't know that white bread is a no-no or that fruit should be eaten in moderation, or that vegetables and proteins are pretty safe, she always felt like her meals weren't organized for her, no matter what the foods were.

All she needed, at the age of 75, was meal sizes. We have had so many discussions over the years, but she never shared she had that challenge before. I was amazed at how much difference that book made to her and I am once again humbled at how multifaceted human behavior is when it comes to eating for a certain condition. Hats off to my favorite grandma for making changes at that age and being an inspiration!

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