After several scary medical emergencies back in 2018 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I was not at risk, nor had I any idea I was sick. In fact I had just lost a lot of weight while exercising daily and closely watching my diet. I had probably developed it after my last pregnancy, and my condition went undiagnosed because I had no real symptoms. I would just get shaky or dizzy on rare occasions, but I put that down to my perpetual dieting. Because I was careful with my diet anyway that probably managed it for about five years, until it finally flared out of control as I got older.
I was horrified to discover I'd become a diabetic, as I know how debilitating and harmful the disease can be from seeing patients suffering from it during my medical career. The nurse at my doctor's office said "Some people just get a crap roll of the genetic dice." I know she meant that to make me feel better, but since I don't know who my birth parents were that hurt all the more. Still, I knew there were plenty of things I could do to control the progression of the disease via changes in my diet, boosting my exercise and taking medication.
For the last eight years I have managed my diabetes successfully, so much so that I have not had to go on insulin. This is not easy, nor for the undisciplined. I do not eat any sugar if I can help it -- I have to read the nutrional information labels on all foods because the manufacturers add sugar to everything -- and I severely restrict my carbs. I keep my meal portions quite small, and I can't eat most of what's on a menu at every restaurant. I allow myself a cheat day now and then with carbs but that's all. Basically I watch every single thing I eat, and before I put it in my mouth I first make sure it won't affect my blood sugar.
I might be a little hungry all the time, but the diabetes is under control and my food choices are second nature now. The psychological part of it is still a bit tough. My regime required me to give up a lot of things I loved: baked goods like breads, cake, muffins and such. I really miss croissants. I also sacrificed treats such as chocolate, chips, pretzels, desserts and, of course, Oreo cookies.
You might laugh, but I have loved Oreos since I was a little girl. My mother would not buy them, of course, because money was always tight. I got my first taste of them at a friend's house, and they wowed me so much that her mother always served some to me whenever I visited -- and I loved that, too. Eating an Oreo always made me happy, even into adulthood. Because the cookies are packed with sugar, however, they were also one of the first things I gave up to manage my diabetes. While I've had a few sugarfree sandwich cookies since 2018, nothing matched Oreos in taste or delight. I missed them terribly, too.
Until this week.
When I discovered Zero Sugar Oreos I turned back into an eight-year-old again. We live in a rural area so it took a while for them to reach us. My guy actually spotted them at a market we were visiting and bought me a bag. The minute we got home I opened a pack and oh, my, goodness. They were so good. They were Oreos without the sugar!
Now, a lot of people have slammed this product online because yes, it has calories and yes, it has carbs. There are even some sugar alcohols in it, and over-consumption can land you in the bathroom. But that's true of almost any sugarfree dessert product. The key is moderation. You cannot eat an entire bag of these without immediate consequences, which any diabetic reading this post will tell you is just the reality.
There aren't many things that make me purely happy, and if I can have an Oreo now and then without sending my blood glucose into the stratosphere, that's bliss. Thank you, Nabisco!
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