Diabetes carbohydrates
In this article we will dwell on lifestyle and its relation to diabetes.
Diabetes is a dark shadow that follows bad life style. Switching over to a healthy life may not get rid of the shadow but it will turn it into a less intense, pale reflection of its former self. Healthy lifestyle includes eating regular diabetic diet meals at the right times especially if we have to balance the effects of any tablets or insulin pumps for diabetics that might have to be taken. What are in our food – carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and fiber - enables us to make choices that help control blood glucose levels.
Principles of healthy diabetes meal planning
The principles of healthy eating for a diabetic are no different from that applicable for normal healthy humans. No foods are banned – but some should be eaten less often. Sometimes you might not have a choice about what food is available but generally you can adapt diabetes diet recipes and meals so that you can enjoy food while eating healthily.
The principles of healthy eating are:
• Eat regular small diabetic meals ensuring you include a portion of carbohydrates (I recommend a portion control plates as it makes this process easier) • Eat more high fiber type 2 diabetes diet (including adequate quantities of fruits and vegetables). • Switch to wholegrain – it is tastier and healthier. • Cut down (don't eliminate) fat. • Dramatically reduce protein from animal sources. • Dramatically reduce (don't eliminate) sweets and sugar free candies. • Dramatically reduce (don't eliminate) salt consumption. • Dramatically reduce (eliminate if possible) alcohol consumption.
Diabetes and carbohydrates
When you have diabetes, your body is unable to use foods that contain carbohydrates in the normal way. All foods containing carbohydrates are normally broken down into glucose. Glucose is converted into energy through action of insulin. Underproduction of insulin or insulin intolerance means your blood glucose levels will rise each time you eat carbohydrates. But you still need to eat diabetes carbohydrates otherwise there will be no energy. The trick then is to eating carbohydrates in amounts that will balance out the blood glucose tablets or insulin.
Type 1 diabetics taking short action insulin should eat food about at the same time they take insulin. Type 1 diabetics taking long action insulin should eat five small evenly paced meals.
Type 2 diabetics on the other hand, due to their impaired insulin production or action, should eat foods that take longer to be broken down into glucose. Therefore fruits and diabetic dessert should be consumed after meals. (So that it is queued in the digestive tract). Eat carbohydrates in moderation. If you are taking tablets for your diabetes you will need to take them in relation to your meals. Some tablets work by helping your digestive system break down the meals more slowly while other tablets work by stimulating the Pancreas into producing more insulin. Matching meals times to your medication is therefore important.
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Diabetes and African Americans
There are certain factors that are believed to cause Type II diabetes, which accounts for nearly 95 percent of all cases of the disease. The causes are generally someone with a close relative with the disease, being an African American or being overweight. Other factors include having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and having gestational diabetes while pregnant. It is estimated that about 3.2 million African Americans have Type II diabetes and about one third of them are undiagnosed.
According to the National Diabetes Education Program, there is a current epidemic of diabetes among African Americans. African Americans are one of the largest groups in the population in the United States that are contracting Type II diabetes. In addition, diabetes is also one of the leading causes of death and disability among African Americans in the United States.
No one is quite sure why African Americans are more likely to get Type II diabetes than any other ethnic group. One thing is certain, however. Poor African Americans are more likely to die from complications of the disease than those in other ethnic groups. This is most likely due to poor health care in certain communities, limited access to drugs that can potentially save their lives and less education. Affluent African Americans have the same chance as other ethnic groups of dying from complications of the disease.
African Americans can prevent acquiring Type II diabetes in many different ways. One way is to take a look at the Glycemic Index and realize which foods are harmful to them and which to avoid. Another way is to start an exercise regime and, if they are overweight, lose some of those excess pounds. If they are without health care, they should contact their local municipality about screening tests for diabetes. Many clinics and health care facilities offer screening tests for diabetes for those with low income for free. This small step may end up saving the life of someone who is on the verge of getting this potentially life threatening illness.
African Americans can also start saying no to fast foods that, in addition to being precursors for diabetes, are also linked to heart disease, high cholesterol and even cancer. Many fast food restaurants prey on people in low income areas without regard for the health of those individuals. African Americans need to realize that they are experiencing an epidemic of Type II diabetes in their community and do all that they can to stamp it out.
Many people who live in poor communities, in addition to receiving substandard medical care, little education about disease and limited access to lifesaving drugs, also are inundated with fast food restaurants that seem to target certain ethnic groups. Fast foods are usually very high in carbohydrates, fats and offer very little in the way of nutrition. They are inexpensive, however, and many people with little money find this to be the only way they can feed their family on a limited budget. Unfortunately, most of the foods found in fast food restaurants, particularly French fries, are at the top of the Glycemic Index when it comes to foods that should not be consumed by diabetics. French fries are pretty much the staple of any fast food restaurant. They are high in carbohydrates, high in fat and low in protein. But they are filling.
According to the National Diabetes Education Program, there is a current epidemic of diabetes among African Americans. African Americans are one of the largest groups in the population in the United States that are contracting Type II diabetes. In addition, diabetes is also one of the leading causes of death and disability among African Americans in the United States.
No one is quite sure why African Americans are more likely to get Type II diabetes than any other ethnic group. One thing is certain, however. Poor African Americans are more likely to die from complications of the disease than those in other ethnic groups. This is most likely due to poor health care in certain communities, limited access to drugs that can potentially save their lives and less education. Affluent African Americans have the same chance as other ethnic groups of dying from complications of the disease.
African Americans can prevent acquiring Type II diabetes in many different ways. One way is to take a look at the Glycemic Index and realize which foods are harmful to them and which to avoid. Another way is to start an exercise regime and, if they are overweight, lose some of those excess pounds. If they are without health care, they should contact their local municipality about screening tests for diabetes. Many clinics and health care facilities offer screening tests for diabetes for those with low income for free. This small step may end up saving the life of someone who is on the verge of getting this potentially life threatening illness.
African Americans can also start saying no to fast foods that, in addition to being precursors for diabetes, are also linked to heart disease, high cholesterol and even cancer. Many fast food restaurants prey on people in low income areas without regard for the health of those individuals. African Americans need to realize that they are experiencing an epidemic of Type II diabetes in their community and do all that they can to stamp it out.
Many people who live in poor communities, in addition to receiving substandard medical care, little education about disease and limited access to lifesaving drugs, also are inundated with fast food restaurants that seem to target certain ethnic groups. Fast foods are usually very high in carbohydrates, fats and offer very little in the way of nutrition. They are inexpensive, however, and many people with little money find this to be the only way they can feed their family on a limited budget. Unfortunately, most of the foods found in fast food restaurants, particularly French fries, are at the top of the Glycemic Index when it comes to foods that should not be consumed by diabetics. French fries are pretty much the staple of any fast food restaurant. They are high in carbohydrates, high in fat and low in protein. But they are filling.
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