Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: Are dry roasted peanuts actually fried?

A: Dry roasted peanuts are just that. They are roasted in ovens without any added fat or oil.

Q: Does cooking affect lactose? For example, will baked goods made with milk be OK for someone with lactose intolerance?

A: Lactose is a sugar that is made up of two different sugar molecules. The disaccharide (di for two and saccharide for sugar) is made up of the two sugar molecules galactose and glucose. The bond that holds these two sugars together is broken by an enzyme called lactase. The reason that many folks are lactose intolerant is because their bodies don’t make the enzyme lactase. Lactose and Cooking

Q: Are there any particular diet plans or guidelines in your diets that would acommodate a medicine-controlled Type 2 female diabetic

A: Diet is one of the cornerstones of treating diabetes. For diabetics that don’t make any insulin (juvenile or Type I diabetics) eating similar meals at similar times of day is important because they are working to time insulin release to their eating habits.

For Type II diabetics diet is key because very often it is being overweight that causes the diabetes so timing of meals is not as crucial (it is still important). It is the number of calories and working on slow steady weight loss that is of tremendous benefit. Many times getting back to a normal weight will control the diabetes without needing medicine. Guidelines for a Diabetic Diet

Update:

Here’s a timely suggestion from one of our readers. Thanks to the Weber family for this great idea:

“I just finished one of your articles concerning the use of flax seeds. The concern of digestion of the seed was asked. To make it simple we use a coffee grinder daily to grind the seeds. This is then added to a juice and taken daily. A great natural.”

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.