Grocery Lists For Type 2 Diabetes: What To Buy And What To Avoid
Diabetes is best managed by being mindful of carbohydrate intake, eating smaller meals regularly, and choosing nutrient dense, healthful options. Knowing what food to eat can make a huge difference to controlling, and, potentially, reversing type 2 diabetes. Making informed food choices can be helped by writing out a grocery list of foods that improve overall health, and benefit someone who has type 2 diabetes. Contents of this article: Lists of good foods A person who has type 2 diabetes can make it easier to avoid buying unhealthful foods by going to the grocery store armed with a list. Choosing healthful, satisfying foods that meet individual nutrition requirements can help people with type 2 diabetes manage their condition. By making smart food choices and buying the right foods, a person can ensure they have enough diabetic-friendly ingredients on hand to take them from breakfast through to the last meal, or snack, of the day. Vegetables Vegetables are the base of a healthy diet. Not only do they offer excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, but they are fibrous, too, and help the body feel full and satisfied. This in turn can deter overeating, which may cause blood sugar issues. Some vegetables to add to the shopping list include: salad greens broccoli cauliflower squash green beans asparagus Brussel sprouts red, green, orange, or yellow peppers Beans and legumes Beans are an excellent source of dietary fiber and protein. They can often be used in place of a portion of the protein that is needed in a diet. Here are some examples of what beans to pick up in either their canned or dried forms: black beans lentils white beans chickpeas kidney beans pinto beans Fruits Despite their high sugar content, fresh or frozen fruits pack a powerful nutritional punch with t Continue reading >>
Can Eating Too Much Sugar Cause Type 2 Diabetes?
Olivia Yang was stunned when she learned she had type 2 diabetes six years ago, when she was 19. Her doctor was shocked, too. In fact, her physician tested her twice to be sure there wasn’t some mistake. Yang was young, had a normal weight for her 5-foot-2-inch frame, and didn’t consider herself a particularly bad eater. She certainly didn’t seem like someone at risk. Now a new study may hint at why some patients end up with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes even when they don’t appear to have all of the typical risk factors such as age, obesity, and an unhealthy diet. Yang learned of her condition sophomore year of college. She’d gone for a physical — a requirement in order to begin working out with a fitness trainer — but her A1C blood test came back abnormally high, indicating diabetes. An A1C test tells a person’s average blood sugar level over the past few months. More specifically, an A1C test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin — a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen — is coated with sugar. It’s used to diagnose type 1 and type 2 diabetes and to keep tabs on how a person is managing their condition over time. Normal readings land below 5.7 percent. The range for someone with prediabetes falls between 5.7 and 6.4 percent and indicates a high risk of developing diabetes. Anything higher is considered diabetes. Unexpected diagnosis Yang, now 25 and an account executive at an advertising agency in Boston, told CBS News, “It was a shock for me. Type 2 runs in my family. But it happened when my parents were older so it was kind of a shock that I would get it at such a young age.” After the diagnosis, though, she realized she’d had symptoms for a while. “Looking back, I fell asleep a lot. I was tired a lot after I ate, a sym Continue reading >>
Junk Food Causes Similar High Blood Sugar Levels As Type 2 Diabetes
A junk food diet can cause as much damage to the kidney as diabetes, according to a study published in Experimental Physiology. Type 2 diabetes is often associated with obesity and the number of cases are rising worldwide at an alarming rate. In type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t react to it. This causes an accumulation of sugar (glucose) in the blood, which can have severe long-term consequences for organs, including the kidneys, where it can lead to diabetic kidney disease. Hence, finding a way to block glucose reabsorption in the kidneys could offer a potential treatment for lowering blood sugar levels. In their study, researchers used animal models of diabetes and models of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance to see how insulin resistance and too much sugar or fat affect glucose transporters in the kidney. The rats were fed junk food consisting of cheese, chocolate bars, biscuits and marshmallows for 8 weeks, or a rodent chow high in fat (containing 60%) for 5 weeks. The researchers then tested the effect of these diets on blood sugar levels and the different glucose transporters in the kidneys. The effect of the diets on these transporters was compared with the changes also seen in rat models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. They found that certain types of glucose transporters (GLUT and SGLT) as well as their regulatory proteins were present in a higher number in type 2 diabetic rats. But a high fat diet and junk food diet caused a similar increase in those receptors. Dr Havovi Chichger, Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science at the Anglia Ruskin University, UK and lead author of the study, explained, “The Western diet contains more and more processed junk food and fat, and there is a well-established link between excess Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes And Food Choices
You make food choices every day. Whole wheat or white bread? A side of french fries or fresh fruit? Eat now or later? Choices about what, when, and how much you eat affect your blood glucose. Understanding how food affects blood glucose is the first step in managing diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, following a diabetes meal plan can help you keep your blood glucose levels on track. Prevent problems Having type 2 diabetes means that your body doesn’t control blood glucose well. When blood glucose stays too high for too long, serious health problems can develop. By controlling your blood glucose through diet, exercise, and medicine, you can delay or prevent kidney, eye, and heart disease, and other complications of diabetes. Control carbohydrates Carbohydrates are foods that have the biggest effect on your blood glucose levels. After you eat carbohydrates, your blood glucose rises. Fruit, sweet foods and drinks, starchy foods (such as bread, potatoes and rice), and milk and milk products contain carbohydrates. Although carbohydrates are important for health, when you eat too many at once, your blood glucose can go too high, especially if you do not have or take adequate insulin for that food. Some carbohydrates—potatoes, sweets and white bread, for instance—may raise blood glucose more than others. Better choices are less processed foods with more fiber and nutrients, such as 100% whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice, and nonstarchy vegetables. Learn to use food labels that indicate added sugar and try to find healthier alternatives, particularly if you are overweight. Food and medicine Insulin helps glucose move from the blood into your muscle cells, where it can be used for energy. Some oral diabetes medicines help you make more insulin Continue reading >>
Causes Of Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes is a number of diseases that involve problems with the hormone insulin. While not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight, obesity and lack of physical activity are two of the most common causes of this form of diabetes. It is also responsible for about 90% to 95% of diabetes cases in the United States, according to the CDC. This article will give you a better understanding of the causes of type 2 diabetes, what happens in the body when type 2 diabetes occurs, and specific health problems that increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Each section links to more in-depth information on that topic. In a healthy person, the pancreas (an organ behind the stomach) releases insulin to help the body store and use the sugar from the food you eat. Diabetes happens when one or more of the following occurs: When the pancreas does not produce any insulin. When the pancreas produces very little insulin. When the body does not respond appropriately to insulin, a condition called "insulin resistance." Unlike people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes produce insulin; however, the insulin their pancreas secretes is either not enough or the body is unable to recognize the insulin and use it properly (insulin resistance). When there isn't enough insulin or the insulin is not used as it should be, glucose (sugar) can't get into the body's cells and builds up in the bloodstream instead. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it causes damage in multiple areas of the body. Also, since cells aren't getting the glucose they need, they can't function properly. To understand why insulin is important, it helps to know more about how the body uses food for energy. Your body is made up of millions of cells. To make energy, these cells need food in a Continue reading >>
Top 10 Worst Foods For Diabetes
Candy Not only do high-sugar foods like candy, cookies, syrup, and soda lack nutritional value, but these low-quality carbohydrates also cause a dramatic spike in blood sugar levels and can contribute to weight gain, both of which can worsen diabetes complications. Learn to satisfy your sweet tooth by snacking on high-quality carbohydrates such as fresh fruit. Apples, berries, pears, grapes, and oranges all have sweet, juicy flavors and are packed with fiber to help slow the absorption of glucose, making them a much better choice for blood sugar control. When snacking on fruit, pair it with a protein food, such as a string cheese, nonfat yogurt, or handful of nuts, to further reduce the impact on your blood sugar. (For more sweet ideas, see my list of 20 Low-Sugar Snack ideas). Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms, Signs, Diet, And Treatment
Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which cells cannot use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently for energy. This happens when the cells become insensitive to insulin and the blood sugar gradually gets too high. There are two types of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2. In type 2, the pancreas still makes insulin, but the cells cannot use it very efficiently. In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cannot make insulin due to auto-immune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells. Type 2 can be caused by: Lack of activity (sedentary behavior) Genetics Risk factors include: Being overweight Being sedentary including watching more than 2 hours of TV per day Drinking soda Consuming too much sugar and processed food The signs and symptoms of this type of this type of diabetes are sometimes subtle. The major symptom is often being overweight. Other symptoms and signs include: Urinating a lot Gaining or losing weight unintentionally Dark skin under armpits, chin, or groin Unusual odor to urine Blurry vision Often there are no specific symptoms of the condition and it goes undiagnosed until routine blood tests are ordered. A blood sugar level more than 125 when fasting or more than 200 randomly is a diagnosis for diabetes. Treatment is with diet and lifestyle changes that include eating less sugary foods, and foods that are high in simple carbohydrates (sugar, bread, and pasta.) Sometimes a person will need to take drugs, for example, metformin (Glucophage). People with both types of diabetes need monitor their blood sugar levels often to avoid high (hyperglycemia) and low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). Complications include heart and kidney disease, neuropathy, sexual and/or urinary problems, foot problems, and eye problems. This health condition can be prevented by following a Continue reading >>
7 Surprising Habits That Can Lead To Diabetes
You're cutting back on coffee iStock/Wavebreakmedia Your java habit might not be such a bad thing. Studies show that coffee consumption (both caffeinated and decaffeinated) can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. One study analysis by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that those who sipped six cups a day had a 33 percent lower risk of developing the disease compared to non-coffee drinkers. Certain components in coffee seem to reduce insulin resistance and may also boost glucose metabolism, the process of converting glucose to energy. Follow these healthy habits to prevent diabetes. You're a chronic night owl iStock/Marilyn Nieves If late night is your favorite time of day, you might be putting yourself at risk for diabetes. A recent Korean study found that people who stay up until the wee hours of the morning are more likely to develop diabetes than those who hit the sack earlier, even if they still get seven to eight hours of sleep, MensHealth.com reported. Night owls tend to be exposed to higher levels of artificial light from televisions and cell phones, a habit that is linked to lower insulin sensitivity and poorer blood sugar regulation, study author Nan Hee Kim, MD, said in a press release. Staying up late is also linked with poor sleep quality and sleep loss, which can disrupt your metabolism. Ignore these diabetes myths that could be sabotaging your health. Your diet is light on probiotics iStock/SilviaJansen "The risk of diabetes increases when you have more bad bugs [bacteria] than good bugs in your gut," says Betul Hatipoglu, MD, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic. Your stomach needs good bacteria, called probiotics, for proper digestion; low levels can lead to inflammation that may eventually lead to insulin resistance. Eat f Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes
Print Overview Type 2 diabetes, once known as adult-onset or noninsulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition that affects the way your body metabolizes sugar (glucose), your body's important source of fuel. With type 2 diabetes, your body either resists the effects of insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar into your cells — or doesn't produce enough insulin to maintain a normal glucose level. More common in adults, type 2 diabetes increasingly affects children as childhood obesity increases. There's no cure for type 2 diabetes, but you may be able to manage the condition by eating well, exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. If diet and exercise aren't enough to manage your blood sugar well, you also may need diabetes medications or insulin therapy. Symptoms Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly. In fact, you can have type 2 diabetes for years and not know it. Look for: Increased thirst and frequent urination. Excess sugar building up in your bloodstream causes fluid to be pulled from the tissues. This may leave you thirsty. As a result, you may drink — and urinate — more than usual. Increased hunger. Without enough insulin to move sugar into your cells, your muscles and organs become depleted of energy. This triggers intense hunger. Weight loss. Despite eating more than usual to relieve hunger, you may lose weight. Without the ability to metabolize glucose, the body uses alternative fuels stored in muscle and fat. Calories are lost as excess glucose is released in the urine. Fatigue. If your cells are deprived of sugar, you may become tired and irritable. Blurred vision. If your blood sugar is too high, fluid may be pulled from the lenses of your eyes. This may affect your ability to focus. Slow-healing sores o Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Diet Plan: List Of Foods To Eat And Avoid
Currently, there are nine drug classes of oral diabetes medications approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Sulfonylureas, for example, glimepiride (Amaryl) and glipizide (Glucotrol, Glucotrol XL) Meglitinides, for example, nateglinide (Starlix) and repaglinide (Prandin) Thiazolidinediones, for example, pioglitazone (Actos) DPP-4 inhibitors, for example, sitagliptin (Januvia) and linagliptin (Tradjenta) What types of foods are recommended for a type 2 diabetes meal plan? A diabetes meal plan can follow a number of different patterns and have a variable ratio of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates consumed should be low glycemic load and come primarily from vegetables. The fat and proteins consumed should primarily come from plant sources. What type of carbohydrates are recommended for a type 2 diabetic diet plan? Carbohydrates (carbs) are the primary food that raises blood sugar. Glycemic index and glycemic load are scientific terms used to measure the impact of a carbohydrate on blood sugar. Foods with low glycemic load (index) raise blood sugar modestly and thus are better choices for people with diabetes. The main factors that determine a food's (or meal's) glycemic load are the amount of fiber, fat, and protein it contains. The difference between glycemic index and glycemic load is that glycemic index is a standardized measurement and glycemic load accounts for a real-life portion size. For example, the glycemic index of a bowl of peas is 68 (per 100 grams) but its glycemic load is just 16 (lower the better). If you just referred to the glycemic index, you'd think peas were a bad choice, but in reality, you wouldn't eat 100 grams of peas. With a normal portion size, peas have a healthy glycemic load as well as being an excellent source of pro Continue reading >>
Four Foods That Increase Your Risk Of Type-2 Diabetes
The foods you put on your plate have a direct knock-on effect on your health and some grub can greatly increase your risk of certain conditions. In fact a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that a diet heavy in junk food and greasy snacks boosted your likelihood of getting type-2 diabetes by a whopping 70%. Diabetes is a lifelong condition that causes a person's blood sugar level to become too high. While most people with type-1 diabetes are born with it, type-2 can come on at any time. With type-2 diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin or the body’s cells don't react to insulin. The hormone insulin – produced by the pancreas – is responsible for controlling the amount of glucose in the blood. If diabetes is left untreated the glucose starts to build up in the blood instead of heading straight for the cells. If the blood sugar gets too high or too low, health complications arise. Here are four foods that increase your risk of type-2 diabetes: 1. Highly processed carbohydrates Heavily processed carbs lack important bran, fibre, vitamins and minerals and are easy to digest, leading to spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels. Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that a diet high in heavily processed carbs boosted type-2 diabetes risk by 21% compared to those who ate a diet containing whole foods. To slash your risk, curb or eliminate your intake of foods made from white flour, white sugar and white rice. These include breads, pasta, cakes, muffins and crackers. 2. Sugar-sweetened drinks While it’s a myth that eating sugar causes diabetes, previous research has shown that guzzling sweet drinks is linked to type-2 diabetes. According to a study published in Diabetes Care, drinking between one and two Continue reading >>
Foods That Cause Diabetes | Prevention
Its great that you fit vegetables into your dietthey provide a healthy blend of nutrients, and a new study found that antioxidants found in produce could help reduce type 2 diabetes risk. However, its best not to pair starchy vegetables with other carbohydrate-rich foods. (Think: rice with sweet potatoes). While too much starch doesnt directly raise your risk of diabetes, it can contribute to weight gain and blood sugar spikes, both of which could up your risk. As with any food, moderation is key. MORE: 7 Sneaky Signs You May Develop DiabetesAnd How To Stay Healthy Many people dont consider vegetables like sweet potatoes, corn, and peas to be sources of starch, says Jenifer Bowman, RD, a dietitian at UCHealth in Fort Collins, Colorado. But if youre trying to regulate your blood sugar, you need to be aware of overall carbohydrate content. To make sure every meal is a balanced one, fill half your plate with non-starchy produce like leafy greens, then fill the rest with equal parts protein and grains or starchy vegetables. (So, quinoaorcornnot both.) It may seem like a healthy snack, but dried fruits can cause blood sugar spikes, and dont ward off hunger like their fresh counterparts. If you eat a whole apricot, youll probably feel somewhat full from just one fruit, says Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital Weight Center. However, if youre eating dried apricot, you probably have to eat quite a few of them for the same effect. This means youre consuming a ton more sugarwithout the fiber that will blunt its effects on your blood sugar. When we dry food, we take away a lot of the fibrous content that promotes satiety and helps to regulate blood sugar, Stanford explains. The occasional dried fruit snack wont hurt you, but S Continue reading >>
10 Bad Habits That Raise Your Diabetes Risk
1 / 11 Bad Habits That Raise Your Diabetes Risk As you pick up your morning coffee en route to work, you contemplate a glossy iced donut in the display case. You know it’s not good for you, but you deserve a treat, right? But before you make a grab for those tempting baked goods, consider this: These seemingly harmless everyday diet decisions aren’t linked just to the obesity epidemic in the United States, but also to the worldwide rise in type 2 diabetes. It’s time to ditch some bad everyday habits — before a diabetes diagnosis forces you to. This isn’t just idle advice, either. A British study of nearly 4,000 people found that such lifestyle fixes were key to stabilizing blood sugar and reversing metabolic syndrome, a condition that leads to diabetes. So what are you waiting for? Here are some important changes you can make to trim your waistline and cut your diabetes risk. Continue reading >>
Foods And Drinks That Can Cause Blood Sugar Swings
Just when you think you're making all the right food choices, your blood sugar takes a leap or dive. Foods and drinks can have an impact you might not expect, and these surprise blood-sugar changes can be harmful (potentially causing low or high levels). Here are some things you should consider: Don't let bagels betray you. Counting carbs is a way of life when you have diabetes. Bread can really rack up those carbs, but not all bread is created equal. Think there's no difference between a bagel and an English muffin? One plain English muffin has 140 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates. A bagel that's 4½ inches in diameter serves up 294 calories and 58 grams of carbs. That's about as many calories and even more carbs than a glazed donut. "It's about portion size. Some bagels are the size of a plate," says Pamela Allweiss, MD, MPH. She's a medical officer in the division of diabetes translation at the CDC. A fruit in any other form may be twice as sweet. All fruits have sugar, but did you know that different forms of the same fruit have vastly different amounts? Dried fruit packs a sugary punch compared with its fresh counterpart. Ten grapes, which weigh about 1.75 ounces, have 34 calories and 8 grams of sugar. They're also full of water, which helps fill you up. A 1.5-ounce, single-serving box of raisins packs 129 calories and 15 grams of sugar, but none of the water. "Without the water, the sugar is more concentrated in dried fruit. And with the smaller size, you're likely to eat many more of them," Allweiss says. Fruit juices are similarly deceptive. A 5-ounce Florida orange has 65 calories, 13 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of fiber. An 8-ounce glass of juice, though, has 112 calories, 24 grams of sugar, and no fiber. Sports drinks may not be so sporty. They may have Continue reading >>
What Really Causes Type 2 Diabetes
Learn Which Risk Factors Are Preventable Contrary to popular belief, type 2 diabetes (a chronic disease) isn’t caused by eating lots of sweets. Actually, the cause is still unknown, but there are certain factors that are known to increase a person’s risk of developing this metabolic disorder. There are two main categories of risks that are associated with the development of type 2 diabetes—those that you can't change (uncontrollable), and those that you can (controllable). The more risk factors you have, the higher your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Uncontrollable Risk Factors Although these factors are out of your control, it is important to know whether you fall into any of these higher-risk categories. Your age. Your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases as you get older. Diabetes most often affects people over age 40, and people over 65 are at even higher risk. It is recommended that people aged 45 and older be tested for diabetes every three years. Your family history. There is some evidence that diabetes runs in families. If your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes, for example, your risk of developing diabetes increases. Your race. Certain ethnicities—African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islander Americans—are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Your health history. Women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy are 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. Giving birth to a baby over nine pounds also increases a woman's risk. Other illnesses and conditions that are risk factors for type 2 diabetes include pre-diabetes and any condition that affects the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin, such as pancreatitis, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome Continue reading >>
