31 Healthy Ways People With Diabetes Can Enjoy Carbs

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Whether you've just been diagnosed with diabetes or you've been managing it like a pro for years, chances are you always need new recipes to add to your repertoire. Or maybe you have a family member/friend/date who has diabetes, and want to cook dinner for them. Fear not. You don't have to cook special, "diabetic" meals. Or, despite popular myths, obsessively avoid carbs.
Many people think that if you have diabeetus (as Wilford Brimley would say) that means you can't eat carbohydrates. But, in fact, people with diabetes should get about 50% of their daily caloric intake from carbs — like anyone else looking to follow a healthy diet.
You just need to consider three things before chowing down: the type of carb, adding a protein, and portion sizes. These factors all impact blood sugar and can help keep sugars within normal range (aka glycemic control), which is the ultimate goal in diabetes management.
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Here's what's going on: When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into sugar (aka glucose) which is used for energy. Glucose is the ideal energy source for most bodily functions, including — most important — brain power. And insulin is a hormone that takes care of keeping your blood glucose in a safe range by transporting glucose from the blood into your body's cells.
When a person has diabetes, their insulin is either not working effectively, is being produced inefficiently, or in some cases not being produced at all (depending on the type of diabetes). As a result, they have elevated levels of glucose in the bl Continue reading

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Yes! A Low-Carb Lifestyle Can be Healthy for Type 2 Diabetes

Your body requires many things in order to be healthy: sleep, water, micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, as well as the macronutrients protein and fat. What it doesn’t NEED, from a scientific perspective, is carbohydrates.
While a plate of pasta may well be comfort food, it’s not a power food. Your body will turn that simple carbohydrate into glucose (a sugar), which will be burned by your brain, muscles and other organs for a quick burst of energy, leaving you hungry and tired soon thereafter. And if you have type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, or insulin resistance, your body struggles to process the carbohydrate, leaving you with a high blood sugar problem. If instead you eat a meal of grilled chicken and a salad full of healthy fats such as avocados, olives, nuts, cheese and ranch dressing, your body can fuel itself entirely on those nutrients without giving you a post-meal glucose spike.
That’s why a growing body of scientific evidence points to a low-carbohydrate approach as a way to live with diabetes and often even to reverse your need for insulin and medications. In a study conducted by Virta Health, 87% of patients with type 2 diabetes decreased their need for insulin after 10 weeks, and 56% lowered their A1c to non-diabetic levels. Wondering how that can be? Here’s the science behind a low-carb diet:
Three macronutrients—two are essential
Macronutrients are the nutrients that humans consume in the largest quantities. They are protein, fat, and carbohydrate. All three supply the body with energy (calories), and most of our food contains a mixture of Continue reading

Carbohydrate-Counting Chart for People with Diabetes

A Single-Serving Reference Guide
Carbohydrates are your body’s main energy source. During digestion, sugar (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates) break down into blood sugar (glucose). If you consume too much carbohydrate-rich food at one time, your blood sugar levels may rise too high, which can be problematic. Monitoring your carbohydrate intake is a key to blood sugar control, as outlined in a plan by your doctor or dietitian.
Carbohydrates are found in lots of different foods. But the healthiest carbohydrate choices include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, beans, and low-fat dairy products. The chart below shows a single serving of carbohydrate-containing foods, which equals 15 grams:
Grains
1 Serving = 15 g carbs
Bagel (white or whole wheat)
1/2 of a small
Bread (white or whole wheat)
1 slice (1 ounce)
Bun (white or whole wheat)
1/2 of a small
Crackers, round butter style
6
Dry cereal, unsweetened
3/4 cup
English muffin
1/2 of a small
Hot cereal (oatmeal, grits, etc.)
1/2 cup cooked
Macaroni, noodles, pasta or spaghetti
1/3 cup cooked
Pancakes and waffles
1 (4-inch diameter)
Pizza crust, thin
1/8 of a 12-inch pizza
Rice (white or brown)
1/3 cup cooked
Beans & Legumes
1 Serving = 15 g carbs
Baked beans
1/3 cup cooked
Beans (navy, black, pinto, red, etc.)
1/2 cup cooked
Lentils
1/2 cup cooked
Starchy Vegetables
1 Serving = 15 g carbs
Baked potato (regular or sweet)
1/2 medium (4 inches long)
Corn
1/2 cup cooked
French fries, regular cut
10-15 fries
Peas
1/2 cup cooked
Winter squash (acorn, butternut, etc.)
1 cup cooked
Vegetable soup
1 cu Continue reading

Can abnormal thyroid function affect the course of diabetes?

There are a lot of connections between thyroid and blood sugar control, such as metabolic rate and mitochondrial function.
There is also a strong indication – according to a study published earlier this month by The Endocrine Society – that the thyroid hormone T3 controls and regulates the release of insulin, suggesting that low thyroid function could raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, especially in people with prediabetes.
The study, involving nearly 8.500 people, has found that among participants presenting a mild elevation in blood glucose, those with hypothyroidism or even low-normal thyroid function had a 13 per cent higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes and that risk rose up to 40 per cent for people with prediabetes.
A 2003 study also found thyroid disorder to be more common in diabetic females than males.
In this new study, 1,100 participants ended up developing prediabetes while 798 developed type 2 diabetes over the course of an average follow-up lasting nearly eight years.
We have known for years that undiagnosed thyroid disease leads to type 2 diabetes. Yet so few physicians ever test patients with prediabetes or slightly high blood sugars for thyroid disease.
For the lead investigator of the study and MD of the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Layal Chaker, these findings indicate that screening people with prediabetes for low thyroid function should be systematic.
Most experts currently recommend thyroid screening only for people with type 1 diabetes, as they have a greatly increased risk of thyroid disease.
Yet balanced thyroid hormon Continue reading

Apple Cider Vinegar and Diabetes: A Cure or an Aid?

If you’ve been searching for various remedies to help manage blood glucose levels, you’ve probably come across the suggestion to add apple cider vinegar into your meal plan. But does this so-called natural remedy really work?
It turns out that using vinegar as a treatment for health aliments, such as infections and stomachaches, has been practiced for centuries in cultures throughout the world. But it was a Japanese study that suggested apple cider vinegar may promote weight loss that thrust it into the spotlight for people looking to slim down or better manage their diabetes.
Since then, other researchers have studied this vinegar’s impact on appetite and blood glucose management. “There is some emerging evidence that suggests apple cider vinegar may have certain potential benefits for people with diabetes,” says Susan Weiner, RDN, CDE, author of Diabetes 365: Tips for Living Well. But she adds, “all of the studies in this area are small and have varying results.”
Mona Morstein, ND, author of Master Your Diabetes: A Comprehensive Integrative Approach for Both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, also shared concern regarding the research so far. “Studies done with small groups is always something to be wary of when expanding findings to millions of others,” says Morstein, noting that, at the same time, the results in the studies conducted to date have all been positive.
Apple Cider Vinegar for Diabetes: What Studies Say
Controlling blood sugar is important for people with diabetes, and some research suggests apple cider vinegar may help do the job. According to a Continue reading