Carbohydrates — Part Of A Healthful Diabetes Diet

Carbohydrates — Part of a Healthful Diabetes Diet

A common nutrition myth is that individuals with diabetes need to avoid carbohydrates. While individuals with diabetes must be mindful of how much carbohydrates they eat, they don't need to avoid it altogether. Carbohydrates are the body's main source of fuel and are necessary to maintain proper cellular function. The type of carbohydrates and portion size are what matter most.
There are three types of carbohydrates: starches, sugars and fiber. Starches are found naturally in foods such as bread, cereal, rice, crackers, pasta, potatoes, peas, corn and beans. Sugars are found naturally in foods including fruits and milk and are also concentrated in processed foods such as candy, cake and soda. Fiber is the roughage in plant foods and helps keep the digestive tract healthy. Soluble fiber, found in foods including oatmeal and fruit, can help maintain a healthy cholesterol level.
Individuals with diabetes should choose most of their carbohydrates from nutrient-rich whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, beans, whole grains and dairy products. Sweets and sugary beverages should be saved for special occasions. And, spreading carbohydrates evenly throughout the day helps prevents spikes and dips in blood sugar. A registered dietitian nutritionist can create a specific meal plan that harmonizes individual preferences with the special needs of someone with diabetes.
To get a general idea of how much carbohydrates to eat, consider someone on a 2,000-calorie meal plan. For 2,000 calories, an RDN may recommend that one meal contain about 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates. Carbohydrat Continue reading

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New Links Between Late Night Eating and Disease

The late night snack has become a Western tradition. Many people reach for a bite to eat before heading to bed at night—often something sweet. In addition, modern life often requires that workers eat dinner late at night after a long day at jobs, school and on the freeways. The result is that eating late at night is extremely common, practiced perhaps by a majority of people. However, a new study suggests that late night eating can have serious health consequences, contributing to diabetes, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
Why do people crave food, especially unhealthy food, late at night? Experts suggest that people are primed to eat these foods late at night as this practice allowed ancient humans to store calories more efficiently. However, most modern people do not need to store more calories as fat. Our circadian rhythms are not primed to digest and use nutrients late at night as they are during the day. Researchers looked at the eating habits of people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease as well as those without these health issues. People who have these diseases are far more likely to be late night snackers. In fact, eating at night appears to be a potential risk factor for these diseases.
The exact reasons for this connection are not known. However, there are a few hints. Late night snackers have been shown to gain weight more easily. This is a phenomenon that is seen even in lab animals. In addition, people who eat later at night have significantly higher triglycerides, which have been linked to both Type 2 diabetes and heart disea Continue reading

24,000 diabetes deaths a year 'could be avoided'

Up to 24,000 diabetes-related deaths could be avoided in England each year, if patients and doctors better managed the condition, a report concludes.
The first-ever audit of patient deaths from the condition said basic health checks, a good diet and regular medication could prevent most of them.
Diabetes UK said it was vital the 2.3 million sufferers had top quality care.
The Department of Health in England said shocking variations in care and an unacceptable death toll were evident.
About a third of people in the UK affected do not realise they have the condition.
It means their bodies cannot use glucose properly. If they do not manage it, they can develop potentially fatal complications like heart or kidney failure.
The report, by the NHS Information Centre, compared information about people with diabetes in England with data from death records.
Around 70-75,000 diabetic patients die every year.
The study estimated that a third of them were dying from causes that could be avoided if their condition were better managed.
That includes basic health checks from doctors, and patients taking medication and keeping to a healthy diet.
For patients with Type 1, the risk of dying was 2.6 times higher than it was for the general population.
With Type 2, the risk was 1.6 times higher.
But in younger age groups, the risk was far greater. Women between the ages of 15 and 34 with Type 1 diabetes were nine times more likely to die than other women of the same age.
Men in the same age group were four times more likely to die if they had the condition.
It is the first time there has been s Continue reading

7 Most Common Symptoms Of Diabetes

If there’s one thing you need Tom Hanks to tell you, except how to survive the worst plane crash ever, let it be how ignoring your diabetes symptoms is total idiocy. The Oscar winner admits he got diabetes because he was a “total idiot” about his diet. We hope you aren’t ignoring these vital symptoms of diabetes like:
Frequent urination, especially at night, a condition known as nocturia
Genital itchiness or thrush, a yeast infection
Thirst
Fatigue and lethargy
Weight loss
Slow wound healing
Blurred vision, eventually leading to vision loss
Read on to know more about diabetes, its types, and its symptoms.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the blood glucose levels remain high because the cells cannot absorb glucose either because of zero or insufficient production of insulin or because of the inability of the insulin to aid glucose absorption. Depending on which of these factors is leading to the raised blood glucose levels, diabetes can be categorized into type 1 and type 2.
But first, a brief step-by-step refresher on how glucose is metabolized in the body and how that is disrupted when you have diabetes.
What Happens When You Don’t Have Diabetes?
The carbohydrates, sugars, and some milk and dairy products you eat break down into glucose in the stomach. Glucose is then released into your bloodstream. The amount of glucose present in your blood at any given point of time is what doctors refer to as your blood glucose level.
Some of the glucose is immediately absorbed by your liver cells to be converted into glycogen, which acts as a reser Continue reading

Do You Consider Diabetes To Be A Disability?

We asked the Diabetes Community “Do you consider diabetes to be a disability”. Here’s what they had to say.
Danielle Watson: Bowers No, I do not. In 34 years, the only times diabetes has kept me from doing things I want to do in life have been the times I did not take care of it.
JeVonda Flint: No, not at all. Definitely not overall. People may have complications from Type 1 that cause them to be disabled, but I don’t consider myself disabled just because I have it. I teach full time and work a part time job too and never miss work for diabetes
Jessica Marie Mittasch: Yes and no. Yes, because it does inhibit some of your daily life. Even a job asks if you have any disabilities and have listed diabetes as one. If people around us don’t give us leniency to take care of ourselves, we get sick or hospitalized etc.
I recommend reading the following:
Lauren DuBois: Even well-controlled diabetics can be faced with complications. There is a lot of shame and stigma in the diabetes community regarding this, and I can’t help myself from commenting! After 15 years, up to 80% of T1 diabetics will show some signs of diabetic retinopathy (the leading cause for blindness among working-age adults), and it’s not always split by those that did and didn’t care for themselves! Thanks for reading.
Jessica Marie Mittasch: I agree. I have retinopathy and I was well controlled for a while before it happened. I probably should have worded my comment better.
Amy Headrick: I think it depends on the person. I didn’t for the longest, but as I get older I see how it’s become one. I’ Continue reading