Preventing Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a serious medical condition that puts you at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Pre-diabetes is also very treatable, and if you have it, there is a good chance you can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes by making changes in your diet and increasing your level of physical activity. Type 2 Diabetes Type 2 diabetes occurs when your body does not produce or use enough insulin to be able to turn glucose into energy. Glucose is the sugar and starch that comes from the food you eat, which fuels your body. Insulin is a hormone that carries glucose from your blood into your cells. Without enough insulin, sugar builds up in your blood and can cause serious health problems. Pre-Diabetes Pre-diabetes is when your fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) level is above normal. To test for pre-diabetes, your doctor will take a sample of your blood after you have fasted overnight: Normal fasting glucose: 60 to 99 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) Pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose): 100 to 125 mg/dl Diabetes: 126 mg/dl or higher on 2 occasions Healthy Tips for Preventing Type 2 Diabetes If you have pre-diabetes, you should talk to your doctor about developing a lifestyle plan to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends increased physical activity and, if you are overweight, losing 5-10 percent of your body weight. Your doctor may also want you to take medication if you have a family history of diabetes, you are obese, or have other cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or a history of heart disease). Below are tips to help you keep pre-diabetes from progressing to Type 2 diabetes: Exercise Every Day Since muscles use glucose for energy, activities like walking, bicycling, and gardening Continue reading >>
Five Common Grain Myths
There’s a good chance that, at one point or another, you’ve wondered about eating certain foods. If you have diabetes, foods that contain carbohydrate (also known as carb) come to mind. And one type of carb food that never fails to spark debate is grains. There’s the camp that disparages most grains, in general, proclaiming that they’re bad for diabetes because they’ll send your blood sugars sky-high. On the more moderate side of things, the argument is that refined grains are to be avoided, but whole grains are OK (in limited amounts). And then there’s the rest of the folks who feel thoroughly confused. Is it OK to eat pasta? What the heck is farro, anyway? Read on to learn more. Whole grains defined According to the Oldways Whole Grains Council, a whole grain has “all three parts of the original grain — the starchy endosperm, the fiber-rich bran, and the germ.” The bran is the outer layer of the grain; the germ is the “embryo,” which contains B vitamins, vitamin E, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fat, and the endosperm is the germ’s food source that contains carbohydrate, protein, and some vitamins and minerals. Once a food manufacturer starts stripping away any part of a whole grain, it’s no longer, well, whole. Now it’s refined. And that’s when the grain starts to lose many of its healthy attributes. Whole-grain myths People who have diabetes should avoid all grains and grain foods. This particular fallacy stems from the fact that grains contain carbohydrate. Carbohydrate (in many people’s minds) is bad. They raise your blood sugar, right? So, stay away from them. But, it’s not that simple, at least when it comes to grains. As we just learned, whole grains are packed with nutrition — carb, yes, but also some protein, fat, vitami Continue reading >>
Diabetes Power Foods: Whole Grains And Fiber
Imagine this food: It's low in calories. It makes you feel full. And you can eat as much of it as you want. Too good to be true? It's fiber and it is real. You can find it in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. Most everyone should eat more fiber -- especially if you have diabetes. Even though fiber is a carbohydrate, your body can’t break it down. This means you don’t digest fiber, and it doesn't raise your blood sugar. And as fiber moves through your body, it helps with digestion, makes you feel full, and may help control your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. How Much Fiber? Think you eat enough fiber? Chances are you could stand to eat more. Men over age 50 should get at least 30 grams of fiber each day and women over 50 at least 21 grams daily. Most of us get less than recommended. There are lots of delicious ways to add fiber to your diet, but the key is to do it slowly. This will help prevent gas and bloating. Drinking more water can help, too. Eat Your Whole Grains Whole grains are loaded with fiber. Look for breads, cereals, tortillas, and crackers that have whole wheat flour, whole-grain cornmeal, whole oats, whole rye, or buckwheat flour on the ingredients list. Here are some tasty ways to add more whole grains to your diet: Start the day with a half-cup of high-fiber bran cereal topped with banana slices or berries (12 grams of fiber) or a whole wheat English muffin (4.4 grams). Choose whole wheat pasta (3 grams) over white. Serve it with your favorite vegetables for even more fiber. Make a sandwich on whole-grain bread. (Chose bread with 2 or 3 grams of fiber a slice.) Try recipes that use other types of whole grains, such as barley or bulgur (3 to 4 grams). Have brown rice or wild rice (3.5 grams) instead of white. Sprinkle with fres Continue reading >>
What Are The Best Breads For People With Diabetes?
Is bread an option for people with diabetes? Food may be one of life’s simple pleasures, but for people with diabetes, deciding what to eat can get complicated. Foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates can spike blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are found in many different kinds of food, including desserts, grains, and bread. Giving up carbs completely isn’t realistic, healthy, or even necessary. What matters is that you’re aware of your carb intake and make nutritious food choices. Breads can often be high in carbs. Some are overly processed, high in sugar, and filled with empty calories. Healthier options can be part of a satisfying meal plan for people with diabetes. If you’re trying to figure out which breads work best for diabetes management, this information may help. When a person has diabetes, their body doesn’t make or use enough insulin to process food efficiently. Without enough insulin, blood sugar levels can spike. People with diabetes may also have high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. This means that it’s important to keep an eye on fat and sugar intake. People with type 1 diabetes require insulin injections daily and follow a specific type of eating plan. This eating plan is geared towards keeping blood sugar levels low. People with type 2 diabetes often follow an eating and exercise regimen geared towards reducing blood sugar. If diet and exercise aren’t enough to control blood sugar, insulin injections or oral medication may be a part of a daily regimen. Creating a food plan, making smart nutritional choices, and watching carbohydrate intake is recommended for people with both types of diabetes. Creating a meal plan can help people with diabetes control blood sugar and provide satisfying nutrition. There isn’t a one-size-fits-a Continue reading >>
What Kinds Of Bread Can A Diabetic Eat?
Diabetics should avoid white bread and anything else made with white flour because it can raise their blood sugar levels quickly. White flour and glucose, or pure sugar, are used to rank foods according to how fast they raise blood glucose. When a diabetic eats white bread, it is just like eating sugar. Whole Grains Are Best Finding the glycemic index of foods containing carbohydrates is a good way to control your diet and blood sugar level. Bread that is 100 percent stone-ground whole-wheat or pumpernickel is best because of its low glycemic level. Diabetics should be very careful to choose only bread that is 100 percent whole-wheat. If the label says, "Wheat Bread," the bread could contain a high content of white flour. It is best to avoid oat bread and other breads as well because they often contain white flour, which should always be treated like pure sugar when you have diabetes. Although some other breads and foods that are a lot like bread may look darker, this does not mean that they are whole-wheat products. Some bagels look like they are stone-ground whole-wheat, but they could actually be made with mostly white flour. Crackers may also look like they have wheat in them, and they might be partially made from whole wheat. This does not make them safe for diabetics to eat, however, because they will likely cause a spike in their glucose levels. Whole-wheat bread, rye, and pita breads that are not made from 100 percent stone-ground whole-wheat or pumpernickel are considered by the American Diabetes Association to be medium GI foods. Other Foods to Avoid There are many other bread products full of carbohydrates that cause spikes in blood sugar. They have a high glycemic index and include mashed potatoes, corn flakes, instant oatmeal, puffed rice, bran flakes, and Continue reading >>
To Eat Or Not To Eat: Whole Grains
Not all health foods are necessary for good health, especially if they raise blood sugar. These days, even in mainstream markets, you can find spelt, millet, barley, and the like. And the marketing messages leaping off of every loaf of bread and cereal box shout, whole grains! Additionally, every healthy-eating article has authors singing the praises of whole grains, citing all kinds of studies showing that eating these wonder foods will reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, and more. However, the research supporting the benefits of these popular foods isnt as strong as you might think. And theres another side to whole grains thats important to keep in mind if you have diabetes: They can significantly raise blood sugar. A 2013 study of people with type 2 diabetes found that most whole-grain breads raised blood sugar and insulin levels just as much as bread made from refined white flour. The exception was pumpernickel, which increased blood sugar less than other types, but caused it to remain above the healthy 140 mg/dL range. Many observational studies have shown a decreased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other serious health conditions in people who eat whole grains regularly. However, this only demonstrates a link between whole grain consumption and disease risk reduction . People who eat a lot of whole grains tend to have healthier eating and lifestyle habits overall. They typically consume very little junk food, and engage in regular exercise more often than those who never eat whole grains. Though its true that whole grains can be a good source of fiber, there are many other fiber-rich foods that have less of an impact on blood sugar. In fact, whole grains arent even that high in fiber when compared with other, lower-carb foods . For instance, a cup of Continue reading >>
Can Diabetics Eat Whole Wheat Bread? August 23, 2011 Return To Blog
Diabetes is a metabolic disease, meaning there is a glitch in the way the body converts food energy into usable energy. A healthy reaction to eating carbohydrate is a rise in blood sugar (glucose) followed by insulin being released as a response. The insulin acts as a key to open up cells within the brain and organs to let glucose in to be used as an immediate source of energy. Any unused energy is then stored in the liver, muscle, and fat tissues. Someone with diabetes has a rise in blood glucose but insulin is either not released or cells are resistant to the insulin. This is why diabetics have difficulty returning their high blood sugar levels back down to normal and thus need to control how much carbohydrate (glucose source) they put into their body throughout the day. Control carbohydrates. With a little effort and control diabetes can easily be managed. Diabetics should not condemn, but rather control carbohydrates. They should focus on allowing their body only the amount of carbohydrates it can handle at one time (this can be determined by a doctor or registered dietitian). Despite being diabetic, the body still needs and uses carbohydrates as its preferred source of energy. In fact, it is the only source of fuel for the brain! So it should never be eliminated, just merely controlled so your body can handle the glucose load. Stick to an eating plan. There is no single ideal eating plan for those with diabetes; the recommended plan is specific to a person’s weight, medication, blood sugars, cholesterol, and other medical conditions or concerns. Despite the varying eating plans, all diabetics should be consistent with their eating habits. Also, they need to eat about every 4-5 hours to prevent blood sugars from getting too low. Additionally, breakfast is an impor Continue reading >>
The Whole Grain And Nothing But The Whole Grain (part 1)
Every day you make choices about what to eat. If you have diabetes, you’re likely thinking about how many carbs you can or should eat, and how you’ll spend those carb choices. Many of you are making a conscious effort to eat more fiber, too. And maybe some of you are even trying to fit more whole grains (whatever that means) into your eating plan. Nutrition and meal planning can be baffling enough without trying to have to decipher just what the term “whole grain” means. And it may not be quite what you think. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans urge us to “consume 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole-grain products per day.” Unfortunately, most of us are lucky if we eat a single ounce-equivalent, or serving, of a whole-grain food per day. So, what are whole grains, anyway? Whole grains contain three layers: bran (outer layer), endosperm (middle layer), and germ (grain core). Each layer provides us with specific nutrients and health benefits. The bran provides fiber, phytonutrients, B vitamins, and minerals. The endosperm contributes carbohydrate, protein, and B vitamins. And the germ supplies vitamin E, B vitamins, unsaturated fat, phytonutrients, and antioxidants. Refined grains (think white flour and white rice) have the bran and germ layers removed, which means that many of the nutrition and health benefits have been removed, as well. Compare these examples of whole-grain and refined-grain foods: Whole Grains Amaranth Barley Brown rice Buckwheat Bulgur Oatmeal and whole oats Popcorn Quinoa 100% whole wheat bread Wild rice Refined Grains Cornflakes Couscous Grits Pasta, enriched Pretzels White bread White rice White flour Wheat flour Multigrain bread Are most of your “grain” choices from the top column or the bottom column? And are you surprised that Continue reading >>
What's The Best Bread For People With Diabetes?
By Brandon May Bread is perhaps one of the most widely used types of food on the planet. It can also be a food that poses a health risk for people with diabetes. Despite the risk, bread can be one of the hardest foods to give up. Fortunately, there are breads on the market that don't raise blood sugar to extreme levels. Whole-grain breads with high-fiber ingredients, like oats and bran, may be the best option for people with diabetes. Making bread at home with specific, diabetes-friendly ingredients may also help reduce the impact bread has on blood sugar levels. The role of nutrition in controlling diabetes Diabetes has two main types: type 1 and type 2. People with type 1 diabetes have difficulty producing insulin, which is a hormone that "captures" blood sugar (or glucose) and transfers it into cells. Glucose is the preferred energy source for cells. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. This type of diabetes is also the easier form to prevent and manage with lifestyle changes and medication. According to the World Health Organization, over 422 million people have type 2 diabetes worldwide. In the earlier phase of type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can produce insulin, but cells have become insensitive to its effects. This is sometimes due to poor diet, genetics, and lifestyle habits. Because of this, cells can't access blood sugar following a meal. Nutrition plays a crucial role in diabetes control. It's only through putting proper dietary planning into practice that good blood sugar management can be accomplished. A good diet must also be combined with lifestyle changes and medication. A carbohydrate is one of the three major nutrients essential to human health. However, carbohydrates also raise blood sugar and can reduce effective diabetes control. This Continue reading >>
What Kind Of Bread Is Best For Diabetics?
Diabetes and bread… So many questions come up about good ‘ol bread. And not surprisingly because it's a staple food that we've all grown up on. Toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, a side of bread for dinner, it's a pretty common practice right? But if you're diabetic, should bread get the cut? Is it okay to eat? Are there certain types of breads that are better than others? These are all great questions so let's dig in and go over this together now. If you have any questions, just leave them at the bottom of the post and we'll chat about it. JUMP TO MENU: What Kind of Bread Is Best? | Wheat & Rye Breads | Sourdough Bread | Does Cutting Bread Help? | Making Low Carb Breads At Home | Is Bread Better Than Cereal? | Low Carb Bread Options You Can Buy | Free Bread Baking Class What Kind Of Bread Is Best For A Diabetic? We've recently covered the types of flours that are best for diabetes, so before we dig in and talk about breads, let's briefly look at the flour cheat sheet. See how everything above coconut flour goes up from 30 g net carbs and above, which is really getting up there. In reality, the best breads for you to eat are ones made from flaxseed, almond, chickpea or coconut flour, which are a bit more difficult to come by. Of course, the simplest way to overcome this is to make your own. But, I understand that not everyone wants to make their own, and thankfully, there are quite a number of companies that supply great low carb bread options you can buy. Whole Wheat & Rye Bread and Diabetes It's often recommended that you eat whole grains instead of the white stuff and it's true, whole grains are a better choice because they are complex carbs, rather than simple carbs. But, when you take the whole grain and grind it into a flour, it changes the way your bo Continue reading >>
Whole Grain Bread Vs. Whole Wheat Bread For Diabetes
Just walk down the bread aisle of your local supermarket and you will be bombarded with health claims -- some of which are true and some are misleading. It can be difficult to muddle through all of the jargon on food labels, especially if you are a diabetic. One of the most confusing topics may be the difference between whole grain and whole wheat, especially when it comes to bread. But, with a little knowledge, you can identify the best bread choices for you. Video of the Day The Food and Drug Administration describes a whole grain food as one that contains grain that is whole, ground or flaked, but still contains the main anatomy of the endosperm, germ and bran. By this definition, whole wheat bread can also be considered a whole grain food. However, for it to qualify, whole wheat bread must be made with a whole wheat flour that is made from whole grains. A Carbohydrate is a Carbohydrate? To understand how carbohydrates affect your body, look at how your body digests them. Any carbohydrate you eat is broken down into its smallest possible molecules by your body. Most of this is glucose, which is why carbohydrates directly affect your blood glucose. However, the makeup of a carbohydrate, including how it is processed and what it is eaten with, can also affect your blood glucose. While both whole wheat and whole grain breads are less processed than their white bread counterparts, a whole grain bread may be the best for you. This is where the glycemic index comes into play. The Glycemic Index and Diabetes The glycemic index rates the effect a food -- more specifically, a carbohydrate within a food -- has on your blood glucose. This system takes into consideration the processing of the food as well as the other nutrients that accompany it. For example, a less-processed gr Continue reading >>
Wholegrains And Diabetes
Save for later When it comes to your diet, you probably already know you need to eat less saturated fat, salt and sugar and at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. But did you know that wholegrains should also feature? As a nation, we are not eating enough of them. What are wholegrains? Wholegrains are the seeds of cereal plants such as wheat, maize, corn, rye, barley, oats, rice and quinoa. In their natural unprocessed state, grains consist of three parts: the endosperm the bran the germ The endosperm is the central part of the grain and is a concentrated source of starch. The outer most layer, the bran, is a rich source of insoluble dietary fibre, B vitamins and phytochemicals. The germ is a concentrated source of protein, ‘healthy’ fats, B vitamins and vitamin E. When wholegrains are refined, for instance to make white flour, most of the bran and germ are removed and with it most of the nutrients, dietary fibre and other protective components, which are concentrated in the bran and germ layers. Wholegrain foods, retain all three parts of the grain. They may be eaten whole (eg brown rice and oats), cracked (eg bulgur wheat), or milled into flour and made into foods like bread and pasta. To qualify as a wholegrain, a food must contain 51 per cent or more wholegrain ingredients by weight per serving. Why are wholegrains a healthy choice? Wholegrains are a smart choice, not just for people with diabetes, but for the whole family. If you do have diabetes, wholegrain foods are usually better for managing blood glucose levels because they tend to have a lower glycaemic index (GI). This means they do not affect blood glucose levels as quickly as refined carbohydrate foods. However, since wholegrains are also carbohydrate foods, and all carbohydrates affect Continue reading >>
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The Whole Meal Bread Myth
Diabetes Forum The Global Diabetes Community Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Join the community Wholemeal bread is often cited as better for diabetics than white bread. BUT is it? GI tables tell you how fast the glucose produced from a food hits your blood. The GI number for white bread is 70. Wholemeal is 69.( glucose is 100) As to total carbs White bread is 49% available carb and wholemeal is 42% What that means is that the difference between the two is marginal. Granary bread is probably not much better. Only breads which are reduced carb or specifically made from a low carb recipe, are truly "safe". that includes the "diet" breads, like Nimble and weight watchers and Fergus's recipe. German black rye bread is lower in carbs, but not low. The differences betweeen white and brown rice are of a similar order. among the grains, only Quinoa is a bit lower, not particularly low (56%) Of course portion size is important here. A tinyportion of even a high carb food is still low carb consumption Agreed. For me wheat in any form is exceptionally spike-inducing, even wheat bran. I can do some wholemeal bread in the evening with the meal as long as there aren't many other carbs in it. Some people may be able to get away with lower GI forms of starch, I can do oatcakes even at breakfast and ryebread during the day, in sufficiently small quantities, and despite the GI tables quinoa hardly affects my BG whereas brown white and basmati rice all come in about the same. To some extent that's down to your particular pancreatic output, mine doesn't produce Phase 1 insulin but my Phase 2 is still pretty good so as long as I don't overdo the quantities I can get away with even pizza - the fat slows down the glycemic response. About the only genuine benefits of ea Continue reading >>
Best Bread For People With Diabetes
The smell of a freshly baked bread, or the sight of bread, is enough to send your senses reeling. Though people with diabetes should eat bread in moderation, sometimes it can be easy to get carried away. After all, bread is one of the most popular foods all over the globe. Just because you have diabetes, it doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on all the great bread that life has to offer. In order to be able to eat bread if you have diabetes, there are a few things that you will need to know. Sonya’s Story Sonya sat across from me. She looked defeated. She hung her head low. “I don’t know how I’ll ever give up bread,” she said. “It’s my favorite food. Now that I have Type 2 Diabetes, I know I can’t eat bread, rice, or pasta.” “You can have bread, rice, and pasta in small amounts. I can teach you which kind of breads are best for you, so that you can get some of your favorite food,” I said. “That would be great,” said Sonya. “Wow, I feel a lot better! When can I come to class and learn about this?” “You can come tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll find you some bread recipes that you can make at home with diabetes-friendly ingredients, so that the bread you do eat is healthier. It will also be lower in carbohydrates than some other breads, and the carbohydrates will be good carbohydrates.” Sonya came to class where she learnt valuable information about making diabetes-friendly breads. Now she makes them for herself, and a few other friends with diabetes that she happened to have met in her diabetes classes. Breads with high fibers Breads that are whole grain, and high in fiber, such as oats or bran, are the best type of bread for people with diabetes to eat. While you can have a serving or two of bread, you still need to stay within the Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Whole Grains
Whole grains are found in wheat, oats, barley, maize and brown rice People with diabetes are often advised to eat a good selection of whole grain food. However, people are often confused as to what counts as whole grain. Much of the produce which many of us have grown up with consists of refined wheat products lacking very much of the nutrition within better whole grain equivalents. If you have wheat or grain based foods, try to find whole grain varieties. They will be better for your sugar levels as well as your health in general. Whole grain foods are found in cereals such as wheat, oats, barley, maize, rye and brown rice, amongst others. The grain is made up of three constituent parts: Germ: the germ is the reproductive part of the grain and is packed with nutrients Endosperm: accounts for about 80% of the grain, this is the starchy part Bran: the fibre rich outside (shell) of the grain Much food sold these days is made from highly refined flour and wheat products. The more refined the food is, the less nutrition it carries. White bread for example is made from highly refined flour which has very little nutritional value as the refining process strips out much of the vitamins. Furthermore, products that are highly refined, such as white bread, are very quickly turned into glucose by the body and therefore they are best avoided by those with diabetes . For food to count as whole grain, it should include each of the three parts (germ, endosperm and bran). However, shop produce can make it very difficult to tell what is actually whole grain. Be wary of terms like wholemeal, granary and multigrain as these offer no guarantee that the bread is made from whole grains. Look instead for use of the term whole grain or wholegrain. As a general guide, look for items such as th Continue reading >>
