Vegan for Life - Jack Norris [73]
Despite these quirks, it’s fairly easy to make healthy food choices to keep the GI low in your meals.
REDUCE THE GLYCEMIC INDEX OF MEALS WITH EASY REPLACEMENTS
Choose these foods . . . More often than these...
Bread made from unground whole, cracked, or sprouted grains (sometimes called “grainy” bread) Breads made from flour
Sweet potatoes White potatoes
Whole potatoes cooked in their skin Mashed potatoes
Spaghetti, oats, and barley White rice
Rolled oats or muesli Ready-to-eat or instant cereals
Whole raw fruits Juice or cooked or dried fruits
Raw or lightly steamed vegetables Canned or thoroughly cooked vegetables
Regular full-fat soymilk “Lite” or reduced-fat soymilk
Beans cooked from scratch Canned beans
Foods flavored with acidic ingredients, such as lemon or lime juice, vinegar, and tomato sauce Foods flavored with sweet sauces
Nuts and seeds Snack chips
Meals with small amounts of added fat and high-protein foods like tofu and tempeh Low-fat, low-protein meals
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: FOOD CHOICES FOR MANAGING CHRONIC DISEASE
It doesn’t matter whether you need to reduce heart disease risk or control diabetes, the guidelines on how to eat are generally the same. For many people, simply losing weight and getting regular exercise is all it takes. Here are some other dietary changes that are important.
• Reduce your saturated fat intake. Vegans are automatically off to a good start in this regard, since most plant foods are naturally low in saturated fat. (The type of saturated fat in coconut oil appears to be less harmful than other types, but all added fats should be used in moderation.)
• Replace some of the saturated fat in your diet with foods that are rich in monounsaturated fats—olive and canola oil, olives, avocadoes, and nuts. These foods help lower LDL-cholesterol without reducing protective HDL-cholesterol.
• Include one to two servings of nuts in your daily menu since they have been shown to reduce LDL-cholesterol and have other heart-healthy factors.
• Avoid trans fats. They are found in any food that lists “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil or fat on the label. Some brands of vegan cream cheese may contain partially hydrogenated oils.
• Increase your intake of whole, fiber-rich plant foods rather than refined carbohydrates.
• You don’t need to eliminate foods with a high GI from your diet, but it may help to emphasize foods with a low glycemic index (refer to the chart on page 186).
• It may be a good idea to include soyfoods in your diet since soy protein has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels.
• Reduce sodium intake if you have hypertension. Not everyone is salt-sensitive, but a diet high in salt is frequently related to high blood pressure, and it can also have a negative impact on bone health. Getting enough potassium is just as important as reducing sodium intake for managing blood pressure. The best sources of potassium are carrot, orange, and tomato juices, white beans, lentils, sweet potatoes, spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, sea vegetables, potatoes, dried fruit, and tomato sauce.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables since these foods are high in antioxidants, which appear to protect against a number of diseases.
• Make sure you are meeting the requirements for omega-3 fats as discussed in Chapter 5.
• Talk to your doctor about alcohol. Moderate intake can help raise the good HDL-cholesterol. But for women, even low levels of alcohol consumption can put them at a higher risk for breast cancer.
• Keep in mind that specific needs and recommendations vary depending on your particular health issues. These are general guidelines that can help most people manage CVD and type-2 diabetes, but they may