diabetic menu + the malunggay brew

Was looking for info on diabetic diets and found digestible literature (haha!) on healthy food choices in Reader's Digest.com:

Why Blood Sugar Matters makes a case for why we all should know what GI and GL mean (glycemic index and glycemic load), and how they measure in our lives...

25 Foods for Better Blood Sugar lists (and explains concisely) what we should be putting in our mouths, which include avocado, carrots, coffee (surprise!), peanut butter (an even greater surprise!), and yummm sourdough bread. :)

On another note, my doctor tita casually told me one lazy afternoon, that three of the world's newest food gems are easily accessible in the Philippines: malunggay, okra, and guyabano.

photo taken from palagpatfiles.wordpress.com

My parents and I have been brewing malunggay tea by the caserola everyday, consuming 4 large cups each minimum, toasting silly to our health... Many friends and family have turned converts as well--the tea is nice and green, good detox, even psychologically.. Good news is it's not all in the mind...! Malunggay, which grows almost effortlessly even in urban backyards, is the new miracle plant, with malunggay soaps and capsules already lining shops and market stands across the country..

Malunggay quickfacts from allbestofthephilippines:

• Due to its high calcium content (four times the calcium in milk), lactating mothers in the Philippines are often advised to consume malunggay leaves to produce more milk for their babies.
  
• Gram for gram, malunggay leaves also contain two times the protein in milk. Likewise, it contains three times the potassium in bananas and four times the vitamin A in carrots.
• An ounce of malunggay has the same Vitamin C content as seven oranges.
  
• The fresh root of the young tree can be used to treat a fever. Asthmatics are advised to drink the infusion from the roots of the plant.
• Tender malunggay leaves also reduce phlegm and are administered internally for scurvy and catarrhal conditions, while the flowers are used to heal inflammation of the tendons and abscesses. Unripe pods of malunggay can prevent intestinal worms, while the fruit also prevents eye disorders.
• eating malunggay fruits can lead to higher semen count.
• malunggay strengthens the immune system, restores skin condition, controls blood pressure, relieves headaches and migraines, manages the sugar level thereby preventing diabetes, reduces inflammations and arthritis pains, restricts the growth of tumors, and heals ulcers.
  

How to make malunggay tea at home (from gmanewstv):

Piliin lamang ang mga murang dahon at patuyuin ito ng hanggang apat na araw. Mahigpit na bilin na hindi dapat maarawan ang mga dahon para hindi mawala ang taglay nitong mga bitamina.

Paglipas ng apat na araw, ilagay sa isang net ang mga dahon at dahan-dahang pagpaginupang maalis ang mga dumi tulad ng tangkay. Kasunod nito ay painitan sa kawali ang dahon ng ilang minuto hanggang sa lumutong ito.

Kapag napainitan na ang mga dahon, pwede na itong ihalo sa mainit o malamig na tubig para maging healthy tea.