In this previous post I discussed fermented foods. The process of fermenting is a positive thing for everyone… ESPECIALLY for diabetics.
Fermenting is a process by which beneficial bacteria ‘eats’ carbohydrates, thereby reducing the blood sugar affect… meanwhile increasing the nutrients of the food or drink. … it’s a Win / Win!!
This makes ‘fermenting’ a very diabetic friendly process… however I’m not saying all fermented foods are diabetes friendly. As always, when adding any new food to your ‘menu’ … always eat a little at first and test.
At the end of this post there are links on “How To” ferment … at home! :)
Product Review
Disclaimer: I was not paid nor compensated in any way for this product review. The product was provided to me at no charge. I am on a quest to find ‘healthy’, truly diabetes friendly foods for you. The more foods we can find that are diabetic friendly increases variety and that’s a good thing. :) It increases the odds that someone will stick to a ‘low carb paleo’ meal plan.
Scott Grzybek is the founder of Zukay Live Foods, I reached out to Scott and inquired if I could do a “product review’ of some of his products. He agreed and sent me salad dressings and drinks.
Taste: Let’s deal with this up front, these products are healthy, wholesome and have a VERY low glycemic impact. These products have a unique taste … that I really liked. However, the taste is ‘different’ and may take some adjustment for some.
Honestly, I loved them all and would gladly eat and drink them again…. and I plan to do so.
Salad Dressings
I tested these two products. Tomato Pepper Basil and the Sweet Onion Basil … I loved the flavors, each had a spicy bite that I loved. I strongly recommend these if you are looking for something a little different for salad dressings.
Carb Total per Serving (2 tbs) = 2 grams
Blood Sugar Affect? None to Minimal I had the recommended amount added to a cup of mixed salad greens. All readings were from –0- to less than 5 mg/dl, given the variances of the meters, that’s essentially zero increase, especially when considering the salad may have had a slight affect on my blood sugar.
Note: I really do love these unique and healthy dressings. I am sipping on the Sweet Onion Basil as I type up this post. :))
Next up… I tested the drink.
Beet Ginger Kvass
Just look at the ingredients… AWESOME!
Carb Totals = 4 grams per serving
There are two servings per bottle. I drank an entire bottle for each test.
Blood Sugar Affect / Test 1
Here’s my pre-test Blood Sugar.
Next, I drank a bottle, 8 grams of carbs total (two servings) and tested an hour later. Here’s the results of my blood sugar test….. No CHANGE… very interesting. 8 grams of carbs… and -0- affect? (technically it decline 1 … but that is insignificant)
Blood Sugar Affect / Test 2
One hour after originally drinking the Beet Juice Kvass (8 grams of carbs) I registered -0- Blood Sugar affect.
This was intriguing to me… so I decided to drink another bottle and test after waiting another hour.
Recap: The blood sugar reading below is after drinking a total of 16 grams of carbohydrates! I drank 8 grams 2 hours prior and another 8 grams 1 hour prior. :)
In two hours I had 16 grams of carbs ….. or two bottles which is 4 servings of Zukay Live Foods Beet Juice Kvass.
I was stunned! … pleasantly so. :)
Notes:
1. I have actually completed all the steps above … twice. Each time I received a net negative affect after two hours. AMAZING! In both cases the Beet Kvass brought me down to normal ranges.
2. Obviously I recommend the products from Zukay Live Foods that I reviewed. :) Whole foods, healthy and DIABETES FRIENDLY! :)
3. As always, your mileage may vary so try a little…and test!
4. I called Scott (the founder) and talked to him about this seemingly amazing test. He explained to me that the carbohydrate totals on the bottles was the contents “Pre-fermenting’.
Due to cost, he does not test the contents post fermenting. As I mentioned earlier, the fermenting process ‘eats carbohydrates’ so the true ‘carb totals’ are much lower.
5. THIS DOES NOT mean this is the case for all FERMENTED FOODS … so PLEASE do not assume the true total is lower. Try a little…and test. :)
Thanks to Scott Grzybek and Zukay Live Foods for providing the products!
Fermenting Links to Investigate
Many thanks to Betsy Bailey who gave me these links.
“Click HERE to Circle Her” on Google Plus. To see the Fermenting Discussion on Google Plus, Click Here.
Some resources for you:
http://thenourishingcook.com/2010/09/how-to-make-pickles-without-vinegar/
http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/02/a-kimchi-recipe/
Here’s a kvass recipe :-D
http://www.pickl-it.com/blog/569/pickl-it-beet-juice-kvass/