I am an adult-onset, Type 1 Diabetic using diet and healthy lifestyle habits to manage my blood sugar levels (no insulin!). My diet consists of the Autoimmune Protocol plus a few spices/oils, green beans, and wine in small quantities. The reintroduction phase is slow, very very slow, because I make sure I have stable blood sugars, my normal, before I attempt a new food. The food up for challenge today is a stage 2 reintroduction of raw almonds.
For reference, below are the four stages of reintroduction. While it is not necessary to follow the stages precisely, they are ordered from foods most likely for the body to handle (stage 1) to least likely to handle (stage 4).
As a Type 1 Diabetic, my benchmark for success or failure is based on my blood sugar levels after I eat the new food, particularly my fasting blood sugar the following morning. If my gut is irritated by food, my morning blood sugar will be higher than 150 which is my primary indicator that something is going wrong. My blood glucose goals for reintroductions are as follows:
Starting/Fasting Blood Glucose Before Eating: <130
Two-Three Hour Post Eating Blood Glucose: <150
Fasting Blood Glucose the next morning: <150
Raw, Whole Almonds
Homemade trail mix is a go-to snack in our house. I keep all the components in separate containers, and I mix up a bowl of it for my kids every day, sometimes more than once a day! The usual selections are almonds, cashews, pecans, raisins, and chocolate chips. Other possibilities are banana chips, dates, and dried apricots but we don’t always have these on hand.
Since this is a daily snack for us, I was so disappointed to give up nuts to start the Autoimmune Protocol (that and homemade larabars!), and I was SO excited to give raw almonds a try again!
Meal: Snack before dinner
Lunch Blood Glucose: 127
Two-Three Hour Post Blood Glucose: 102
Fasting Blood Glucose the Next Morning: 143
Excellent results! My normal fasting blood sugar is in the 140’s so as long as my fasting number remains below 150, I consider the reintroduction a success. I have actually tried raw, whole almonds on three occasions, and my blood sugar responds superbly. Score!
Raw nuts are packed full of good fiber, protein, and fat without a lot of carbohydrates. They are a great snack choice for anyone on the AIP diet, diabetic, or none of the above! Being able to eat almonds again opens my diet up even more which makes me ecstatic! Stage 2 reintroduction of raw almonds is a success!
What are your go-to healthy snacks? I had to learn to like nuts as I grew up in a non-nut eating family. Nuts are my favorite now!
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