Aug. 26--MILTON, W.Va. -- Nancy Fisher bustled around the tiny kitchen of Milton Woman's Club this week, taking the lid off a Crock-Pot and stirring the gravy-covered meatloaf balls inside.
Rita Searles periodically grabbed samplings of other dishes and took them to an adjacent meeting room, where dozens of people were waiting to see the next cooking demonstration.
Both women, as part of a statewide program operated through the WVU Extension Service, helped the crowd -- diabetics and their friends and family -- learn blood sugar-friendly recipes.
Most county extension services in the state host the "Dining with Diabetes" program, a four-week class, twice a year. The Putnam and Cabell Extension offices hosted the class jointly out of the Milton Woman's Club.
Mini meatloaves -- essentially meatloaf rolled into a ball, smothered in beef gravy and cooked in a Crock-Pot -- salad, green beans, and potatoes were on the menu Monday night.
After the cooking demonstration, a certified dietitian gave a presentation on how to properly manage a diabetic diet. Later, the class members tasted the food that was prepared during the demonstration.
"Those with and without diabetes think you have to eat special food, and you don't." She said. "You can eat anything basically anyone else eats. It's not the food that's the culprit, it's the amount you eat."
The Extension Service has been operating Dining With Diabetes since 1997. Though people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are welcome to attend the cooking sessions, organizers say the program is geared toward people with type 2.
Karen Newton, the program's manager, said people with type 2, or adult onset diabetes, make up 95 percent of total diabetes cases, and are usually older than 50 when diagnosed with the disease. Dining With Diabetes helps those people create and maintain new diets.
Newton said there is no "special" diabetic diet. Diabetics, just like anyone, can eat foods that are high in fat or sugar -- they just can't eat large quantities of it.
"Sometimes they want to eat the chocolate cake, and that's OK," she said.
Fisher's favorite recipe is a lemon cake made with angel food cake and filled in the center with yogurt.
"I think you could eat anything in moderation," she said.
At the first night of the four-week class, participants' Hemoglobin A1c count is tested. The test shows what a diabetic's blood sugar has been on average for past the several months.
At the end of the course, the A1c count is measured again, and the results are marked down for a study. The lower the A1c count, the better a diabetic was able to manage his or her blood sugar.
Monday's class was the last of the cycle. A follow-up will be held in November, and another class session will be held in the spring. Organizers say those interested in joining the class should call their county's extension service and join the waiting list.
During the cooking demonstrations, Carolyn Brucy, 65, jotted directions in her notes and periodically raised her hand to ask questions about studies she heard about or articles she read.
"I want to do so much," she said. "My A1c is way up and I want to buckle down."
Brucy said she has had type 2 diabetes for more than 10 years. She said that before Dining with Diabetes, she did not pay much attention to foods recommended to diabetics.
"Some of the stuff I would look at and go 'eww,'" she said.
Diabetes, if left unchecked, can cause blindness, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and can also lead to amputations. Brucy can still walk, but she's had some problems with her feet.
"My eyes and kidneys are OK," she said. "But my feet and ankles are gone."
Those interested in joining the waiting list for the program can call their county WVU Extension offices, including Putnam County at 304-586-0217, Kanawha County at 304-768-1202 and Cabell County at 304-743-7151.
Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Taylor@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.
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