A pasta lovers 7 point guide to living with diabetes

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Tor Posted: Mon, Nov 16 2009 9:46 PM

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Pasta has been one of my alltime favorite carb sources, second only to, years ago, a slice of my mom's freshly baked whole grain bread right out of the oven and served with a dab of butter. But unfortunately all good things come to an end so now I'm left with the pasta.

After almost 12 years of living with diabetes type 2 I am still enjoying that pasta, albeit it not in the same size, shape or consistency as I did earlier in life. Here are some of the things I've learned about having my pasta, eating it, and not blowing my blood sugar count off the scale.

1. Choose a brand of pasta that is as high in fiber as possible. In my case I've settled on the Dreamfield brand, but there are various whole wheat varieties out there that would also fit the bill. What I like about Dreamfields is the taste, it doesn't have that sort of chewy, boiled cleenix feeling you get from some of the wholewheat pastas but is still high in fiber. Since it is only available at a few select locations and via internet orders, the shipping cost may make it a bit costly compared to locally available brands.

2. Choose a type of pasta, within that brand, that has the lowest G.I. (Glycemic Index) value, everything else being equal. As it happens, low G.I. is pretty much determined by how long it takes the stomach to break down and digest the carb source and turn it into glucose. And not surprisingly, the broad fettucini has a lower G.I. value than it's skinny cousin Spaghettini, and lausagna plates will take longer to break down than linguini, assuming that the brand and fiber content are the same.

3. Familiarize yourself with the phrase Al Dante, and imagine that it is synonomous with yummy. When you get used to it, pasta cooked Al Dante or until edible but still a bit chewy, is far more tasty than a can of mushy, overcooked spaghetti with or without meatballs. The less the pasta has been pre-processed on the stove, the more your digestive system has to work to break it down into sugar, and vice versa. If the package recommendation calls for 10 to 12 minutes, I will usually make it  about 8, though I'll experiment to find the best consistency.

4. After draining the pasta, give it a quick rinse with cold water. That will remove much of the excess starch that was extracted from the pasta during cooking and now is like a slick coating on the strands of spaghetti or twists of rigattoni. And that starch as it happens, because it is in liquid form, would otherwise quickly be converted to sugar.

5. Mixing some healthy fats - e.g. canola or olive oil - into the pasta before serving, will slow the conversion of the carbohydrates to sugar. It will NOT lower the actual carb count and the end result in terms of how much blood sugar is created will be the same. However, if you plan to go for a walk after dinner or otherwise do activities that require energy, that 'fat delay' can be helpful in giving your body time to use the sugars as they appear in your blood stream.

6. Regardless of how you prepare the pasta, and how you eat it, quantity counts. As an adult doing a moderate amount of exercise per day (about 1.5 hours walking) I find that a dinner portion of about 60 grams dry of pasta (240 calories, 36 grams of carbs) works pretty good for me. With more of a workout I'd increase that, and if I planned to spend the entire evening in front of the tv 30 to 50 grams would probably do. I also need to take into consideration that with most meals I'll have salads and/or vegetables that add their bit to the total carb count.

7. This might be controversial to some, but I can see why people in the mediterranean always seem to have a pasta fork in one hand and a wine glass in the other. I've found that in moderation (1 to 2 glasses of redwine with a meal) alcohol actually lowers my post prandial BG reading. The keyword there of course is moderation -  excessive alcohol not only creates a risk of hypoglycemia but also messes up the liver, which is the last thing we want to do in our fragile state of health.

Tor

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RobertIA replied on Mon, Nov 16 2009 9:56 PM

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Good layout Tor!  The only caution I can think of is what works for one person may not work for the next person.  I am lucky also that I can enjoy pasta.  Wine does not work for me although some can handle it very well.

Thanks for advice!

Bob

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Simi_Papa replied on Tue, Nov 17 2009 3:30 PM

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Amazon.com has all 5 varieties (and they are eligible for Amazon Prime), but you have to order by the case (the unit cost is around $2.50 US).  For those of you not familiar with Amazon Prime, it is a "free" shipping option that costs $80/year that you can share (i.e. split the cost with) 4 other users which brings the individual cost down to $16.00/year.  With items that are Prime eligible (and you can select that option when looking for a particular item so you only see a list of the choices that are Prime eligible) you get "free" two day shipping.  We buy hundreds of items from Amazon every year and we rarely have to pay shipping after paying the initial Prime fee.  You can get next day delivery on many items for an additional fee of $3.99.

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Madman replied on Tue, Nov 17 2009 4:00 PM

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so...anyone know if there's a GI difference between dried pasta from the store versus home made? I've been thinking about buying a pasta machine for use at home.

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Ron AKA replied on Tue, Nov 17 2009 11:46 PM

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Madman:

so...anyone know if there's a GI difference between dried pasta from the store versus home made? I've been thinking about buying a pasta machine for use at home.

Madman, I had my go at making pasta. It was a few years back but I recall trying oat flour, and also chana flour to try and get the GI of pasta down. It works. Also as I think Tor mentioned fettuccine noodles are lower GI. I believe that is because they use eggs which have no carbs.

BUT, making noodles is very time consuming. It also blew the gear in our KitchenAid mixer. I'll be honest and admit while we have the gadgets to make noodles, we don't do it anymore.

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mrfino replied on Wed, Nov 18 2009 8:49 AM

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One of the "tricks" I like to play on myself is to line the pasta bowl with a layer of steamed or sauteed vegetables, eg broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers and onions, and "finish" filling the bowl with pasta. Less pasta fits in the bowl when the noncarb stuff goes in first.

And don't forget the carbs in the canned/jarred sauce! Instead of sauce I sometimes like a bit of olive oil with fresh or dried herbs (oregano, basil), sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic.

For many people pasta spikes their BG too much so they've given up on it. The key is to find out what works for you.

Some comments on previous posts: (1) Store-bought dried pasta may be nutritionally better than home made in at least one respect: store bought is often fortified.  (2) Rinsing pasta seems like a sin to me, maybe because of my Italian heritage. Any other Italians agree? Disagree? I'm not saying it's a bad idea to reduce carbs, just contrary to tradition as passed down to me.

John

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jen1229 replied on Wed, Nov 18 2009 4:48 PM

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When i make past I measure it dry. I weigh out 2 oz (1 serving) and I cook it in the microwave in a plastic pasta cooker.  When it cooks it makes a cup of pasta. I don't often have it with tomato sauce but for those who like it that way, Hnts makes a light canned tomato sauce that is quite good and, I believe, low carb, which is why I bought it in the first place.  I usually buy Barilla Whole Wheat Pasta, I like penne and I have also purchased some whole wheat no yolks noodles.  I don't like pasta that much but sometimes it makes a nice change.

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tylersydney replied on Fri, Nov 20 2009 12:11 AM

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Have you tried  TOFU SHIRATAKI  Soy noodles..?

one packeage holds two servings...

20 cals and 3G Carb..

Comes in noodle and fettucinni styles..

comes in little plastic bags..

Stirfry veggies...then some meat or seafood...

add sauce like Hoisin...

Drain noodles and rinse  and let drain.....then add noodles..sir,heat a eat.

VERY LOW carb and very good......

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Tor replied on Fri, Nov 20 2009 11:40 AM

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John,

The more cooked the pasta is, the more starch will have ended up on the outside of the pasta and the more reason there is to rinse it after cooking. My understanding is that more often than not Italians will cook their pasta al dente, hence it would be less meaningful to rinse the pasta.

Tor

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jen1229 replied on Fri, Nov 20 2009 2:09 PM

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I was once told that the starch is included in the nutrition information.  Hence, rinsing it might change the carb information slightly, but not rinsing wouldn't change it.  I never rinse my pasta and have no problems as long as I stick to one serving.

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mrfino replied on Fri, Nov 20 2009 3:00 PM

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Tor: Good point. Al dente "to the tooth" is our friend (relatively speaking)

John

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Tor replied on Fri, Nov 20 2009 8:19 PM

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The indisputably best and most delectable pasta meal I ever had was a vegetarian one at a tiny restaurant by the Trastavere place close to the Vatican in Rome. If I remember correctly, it was fettucini spun around the edge of a large bowl leaving a cavity in the middle. The cavity was filled with a mixture of pesto made from basil and raw egg (not an option here in North America but standard fare in Europe, where food inspections guarantee the eggs would not be contaminated with salmonella). It was topped off with grated cheese, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts - just one of those meals that you really never want to end.

Tor

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tylersydney replied on Sat, Nov 21 2009 8:48 AM

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YUM!!!!