We always get a lot of response at Blue Heron whenever an article or research study comment is posted, and several recently had me wondering if newly diagnosed diabetics or those suffering metabolic syndrome are fully aware of what is good to eat, what should be avoided, and what can be eaten in moderation.

A reader wrote in recently asking this very thing because her husband’s physical turned up some disquieting results. His triglyceride levels are beginning to creep toward the high side and he is now in a borderline area, as his result was about 190 mg/dL.

The doctor told them he was likely pre-diabetic and more testing should be done and close monitoring of his diet would be necessary.

The reason she wrote in is because even though he thinks he is eating very healthily, his triglyceride number continues to climb.

She reports his typical daily diet is mostly vegetables, since he doesn’t like fruit, and he eats only whole grains so he gets all his fiber. He’s not much on processed foods, and only indulges maybe once every couple months in a sugary treat like ice cream.

So I also wondered what could account for the change in numbers, and asked her to use the IBS diary to track his diet for a few days.

The results were a little eye-opening, for all of us. He did have a tremendously healthy diet overall, but was eating at least 10 to 15 whole carrots a day…either juiced or raw, in salads and alone as a snack.

Carrots are great for you. They are packed with beta carotene, as well as the fat-soluble vitamins A, E and K.

They are an excellent source of fiber, potassium, manganese, and B vitamins.

However…

I asked her if his hands were orange or if his skin was yellow at all, which she reports actually as positive. He thinks it is a healthy “glow” and comments he doesn’t need to tan. This condition is actually called carotoderma, which is the excess carotene collecting in the skin.

The long-term effects of this have not been extensively studied, but who really wants to be orange?

The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K tend to collect in the liver and will cause problems if over-consumed. While it is rare to overload on them from food sources, it is quite common to see this happen if an overload from food sources is combined with overdoing it in the supplement aisle.

As a healthy eater, he always made sure to take his vitamins, which ended up having over-lapping ingredients with each other. He was taking 10 to 12 capsules a day of one item or another, and there was a tremendous duplication of supplementation going on.

With the amount of carrots he was already eating, there was really no need to add in extra A, E or K at all.

The other thing 15 carrots a day was getting him was a lot of calories, since they are also fairly sugary. Native Americans called them “honey from the earth” because of their sweet character, and anyone who has eaten them cooked knows this to be true.

He was eating over a thousand calories a day just in carrots. He always ran 3 to 4 apples through the juicer as well to sweeten the bitter juice and that was adding a few hundred as well.

He wouldn’t have noticed too much of the added calorie burden since he is reportedly an exercise fan, and runs 3 to 4 times a week, but the pancreas and liver definitely notice the extra work needed to process this root eaten in over-abundance.

The place we ended up was to try and modify his diet to head off any problems he might be traveling toward with his one-sided vegetable love.

While carrots are a wonderful super-food, they are definitely one of those foods that should be eaten in moderation, especially for diabetics, since overdoing it can cause some problems. They are reversible problems for the most part, but still…why go there if you don’t have to?

My parting advice for them was this: picky eaters like to settle on one thing and eat a whole lot of it, and their spouses, parents, friends or what have you are generally left shaking their heads wishing their loved one would open up a little and try new things.

For a while, you can be picky. Eventually, though, you are going to have to start coming up with a broader palette of acceptable food…with all the colors represented and not just one.

The best way to do that is to find recipes and other sources for ideas of complimentary foods to add to the one you like.

For example, our carrot-loving friend may want to reduce his serving at dinner time to 2 carrots mixed with fresh spinach greens and chopped broccoli. Running the whole thing through a food processor for a couple seconds with a little salt and balsamic vinegar makes a colorful and extremely heart-healthy side dish.

For more ideas on how to get control of your diet if type II diabetes is a concern, see the Blue Heron Guide to Beat Diabetes. You can also check out Julissa Clay’s guide to naturally treating Irritable Bowel Syndome here.

To Your Health,

Jodi Knapp

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