• Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Diabetes
  • Pantry
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Diabetes
  • Pantry
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Diabetes
  • Pantry
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Blog
  • One of my favourite ingredients

One of my favourite ingredients

Posted on Jul 27th, 2018
by The Artisan Diabetic
Categories:
  • Blog
  • Diabetes
  • Diabetes awareness
  • Flu and diabetes
  • Insulin dependent diabetes

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ Hippocrates

 

I am sharing one my favourite ingredients and why I feel it has contributed to my health and well being despite having type 1 diabetes for over 50 years. I don’t think one particular ingredient keeps us healthy, rather a combination of different ones that work together to keep all parts of the body functioning well.

 

Garlic 

Health benefits:

  • Garlic produces a chemical called Allicin, which gives garlic its antibacterial and antifungal properties.  It’s anti-bacterial properties help to keep my immune system healthy. I get fewer colds and flu in recent years and I think this is due to me focusing on eating healthy food and making sure to eat garlic and other nutritious foods most days. Having diabetes for a long time usually results in slower healing which is a nuisance for colds and small cuts but can be very dangerous for more serious injuries or illness. My healing power is definitely better than it has ever been and only slightly slower than my non-diabetic husband. I don’t have any other way of making a comparison.

 

  • Garlic can help reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL). People with diabetes are at a higher risk of cardiovascular issues and it is very important to keep cholesterol and blood pressure in range. Anything as simple as eating garlic is an easy win.

 

  • There is a lot of focus on gut health at the moment. Garlic helps to prevent inflammation in all areas of the body including the the gut. It also helps to kill bad bacteria and feed good bacterial in the gut.

 

  • Some of garlics beneficial properties are reduced by cooking. That said. I eat very little raw garlic. I don’t want my friends to move to the other side of the room when we meet! Chewing parsley or lemon peel is thought to reduce ‘garlic breath’, but unless someone tells me I stink of garlic or I notice people backing away I’m not bothered.

 

  • Eating plenty of vegetables including garlic helps prevent or at least minimise the impact of colds and flu. Illness plays havoc with my blood sugar, so as well as feeling horrible from colds and flu having high blood sugar makes things worse. “An ounce of prevention is better than a cure”.

 

  • Garlic contains sulphur which is essential for healthy skin. This together with its anti-bacterial properties helps keep skin in good condition. Sorry, it won’t keep wrinkle away,  but it does help to keep skin healthy and cuts, grazes, spots, not to mention all the finger pricks, injection prods and canualla sites heal a little quicker.

 

 

How I use garlic:

 

 

  • Garlic, onion and peppers are the base for lots of our meals. Saute sliced or chopped onion first, add the diced pepper and cook for about 8 minutes and lastly add the chopped or crushed garlic. This can be a base for stews, bolognese, lasagna, omelettes or risottos.

 

 

  • Baked garlic is a firm favourite. Slice an unpeeled garlic bulb in half, across the middle. Rub a little olive oil on the cut sides and bake at 200°C for about 40 minutes. Wrap them in tin foil or bake in a covered dish if you want a soft texture but I usually don’t bother covering them.

 

  • Christmas dinner wouldn’t be the same without garlic potatoes. I use lots of garlic so we get benefit from all the calories!

 

  • A lighter version of garlic potato is to boil peeled potato and chopped garlic. Drain when cooked and whiz them with a good knob of butter with an electric whisk until velvety.

 

  • Another version is to roast some sliced regular or sweet potato or even butternut squash (lowest carb) in olive oil and add some sliced garlic half way through the cooking. Rubbing the baking tin with a cut clove of garlic before use will add to the flavour. 

 

 

  • Sauteed garlic, red onion and rosemary or thyme add nutrition and flavour to mushrooms. 

 

  • Salad dressing made with olive oil, lemon/lime juice, minced fresh garlic and balsamic vinegar. 

 

 

  • garlic
  • Health Benefits

The Artisan Diabetic

About

About

Thank you for visiting “the artisan diabetic”. This is my website about living with type 1 diabetes, which I have for over 50 years. I would like to share some of my recipes and tips with you.

I have learned a lot about diabetes in those years. While information is more readily available today, the changes in food processing and lifestyles has introduced challenges. I hope my site will help you with these.

I am a fan of home cooking but love eating out with family and friends too. I will share some recipes that are good for diabetics but also for people wishing to reduce their or their children’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. These are recipes for good wholesome food and treats that everyone will enjoy.

Carbohydrates are the currency of insulin (for everyone), so you will see a lot of references to carbohydrates on this site. I’m not an advocate of ‘no/very low carb’ diets, but I believe high carb and processed foods are not good, especially for anyone with diabetes.

I have a lot of practical experience of how different carbohydrates behave once they are digested and am currently studying nutrition. I carb count my recipes using the ingredients and brands that I normally use. Even vegetables vary in their carb content, never mind different brands of ingredients, so the nutritional value in the recipes are a guide and will vary depending on the the brands used, the ripeness and variety of fruit and vegetables.

anne@theartisandiabetic.ie

Categories

Breakfast

Breakfast

Chicken

Chicken

Desserts

Desserts

Fish

Fish

Mains

Mains

Meat

Meat

Salads

Salads

Snacks

Snacks

Soup & Starters

Soup & Starters

Vegetables

Vegetables

Popular Posts

  • Tea BrackTea Brack The Irish traditional Halloween or Barmbrack (bairín breac) contained various wrapped…
  • Smoked salmon & brown bread with a twistSmoked salmon & brown bread with a twist
  • Wholemeal sconesWholemeal scones Bread has got some bad press in recent years and…

Popular Tags

#diabetesawareness apple Aussie flu Aussie flu and diabetes Australian flu BBQ beef beef burgers beetroot birthday cake blood glucose Blood samples breakfast brown rice carbs carrots Celeriac chicken colds and flu Cork diabetes eggs feta Flourless galway garlic green lentil Lentils low carb mushrooms newly diagnosed orange restaurant review salad salmon smoked salmon soup Tomato tomatoes Treat type 1 diabetes type 2 diabetes vegetables vegetable soup wholemeal flour

Archives

Instagram Feed

Load More...
Follow on Instagram

Facebook Friends

Popular Recipes

  • Tea BrackTea Brack
  • Smoked salmon & brown bread with a twistSmoked salmon & brown bread with a twist
  • Wholemeal sconesWholemeal scones

© THE ARTISAN DIABETIC | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | DISCLAIMER | SITE BY Boon Agency