I’m a type I diabetic who eats an excess of nuts, 4 – 5 servings per day, (typical 2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup). I’m of normal weight (5 feet 10 inches, 165 pounds) and my latest cholesterol was 129 (eat very little animal fat). I enjoy nuts as a between meal snack when I don’t want to raise my blood glucose. Is this consumption OK? Know of any other lab tests that would be of value here?
Regarding the use of NutraSweet, I consume 5 to 6, 12-ounce sodas per day. Should I be concerned?
Does your nut snack habit boost the fat content of your eating plan above the recommended 30%? You can find out by analyzing the food you eat using nutrition analysis software. At least, peanuts and tree nuts contain good monounsaturated fats other than macadamia nuts which contain saturated fat.
You are at your healthy body weight of 129 to 173 pounds for your height. Your cholesterol is on the low end of normal.
Lab tests that would be helpful in addition to blood cholesterol are HDL, LDL and VLDL levels of cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is the good fat and LDL and VLDL are the bad fats found in blood. Ask your doctor about this.
NutraSweet has been found safe for use in foods and less than two 12 ounce cans a day are recommended for any type soda with sugar or artificially sweetened. In regards to your diet soda consumption, do you drink caffeine-containing diet soda or non-caffeine? Usually, 12 ounces of a cola type soda contains half the caffeine of eight ounces of coffee so two cans would be equal to one cup of coffee. If you are drinking six cans per day, then you are drinking the equivalent of three cups of coffee, which is above the maximum 200 milligrams recommended per day. Why don’t you try water? It’s great!
