Diet And Diabetes: Recipes For Success

Diet and Diabetes: Recipes for Success

Diabetes Basics
In the past few years, much of what we thought we knew about diabetes has been turned on its head. New understanding of the nutritional causes of diabetes gives us the power to keep it from occurring or to turn it around.
Here is what is supposed to happen: Our bodies turn starchy and sweet foods into glucose for our muscle cells to use for fuel. Insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas, ushers glucose into the cells. People with type 2 diabetes, the most common type, generally have enough insulin. However, their cells become resistant to it, leaving too much glucose in the bloodstream, where it can cause problems.
Over the short run, people with uncontrolled diabetes may feel tired, thirsty, urinate frequently, and notice blurred vision. In the long run, they are at risk for heart disease, kidney problems, vision loss, nerve damage, and other difficulties.
Dietary Approaches to Diabetes
Diabetes diets typically call for portion control, carbohydrate limits, and, for those who are overweight, calorie restrictions. Fortunately, there is another way. Low-fat, plant-based diets are ideal for diabetes and the conditions associated with it, such as heart disease, weight gain, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. And they offer the advantage of not requiring any weighing or measuring of portions. Going hungry is not necessary!
The old approach recommended cutting down on carbohydrates. It’s true that overly processed carbohydrates—those made with sugar or white flour, for example—are poor choices. However, delicious unprocessed or minimally processed fo Continue reading

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Intermittent fasting could help tackle diabetes – here’s the science

INDYPULSE
Intermittent fasting could help tackle diabetes – here’s the science
Intermittent fasting is currently all the rage. But don’t be fooled: it’s much more than just the latest fad. Recent studies of this kind of fasting – with restricted eating part of the time, but not all of the time – have produced a number of successes, but the latest involving diabetes might be the most impressive yet.
The idea of intermittent fasting arose after scientists were impressed by the effects of constant calorie restriction. A number of studies in many different animals have shown that restricted eating throughout adulthood leads to dramatic improvements in lifespan and general health.
The reasons for these improvements aren’t yet clear. Part of it seems to be that going without food gives cells in the body a much needed break to perform maintenance and repair. But the lack of food also forces cells to resort to alternative sources of energy. Some of these, such as ketones – molecules created in the liver from recycled fat – appear to be beneficial.
The problem is that constant calorie restriction isn’t practical: it’s easy for scientists to impose upon lab animals, but hard for humans to impose upon themselves in the real world. Fortunately, we’ve learnt that constant calorie restriction isn’t really necessary. Intermittent fasting seems to have many of the same benefits.
There are two main types of intermittent fasting. One type, known as “time restricted feeding”, requires eating only during a few hours of the day – say between 10am and 6pm. This ap Continue reading

Recommendations for Management of Diabetes During Ramadan

Since our last publication about diabetes and fasting during Ramadan (1), we have received many inquires and comments concerning important issues that were not discussed in the previous document, including the voluntary 1- to 2-day fasts per week that many Muslims practice throughout the year, as well as the effect of prolonged fasting (more than 18 h a day) in regions far from the equator during Ramadan when it occurs in summer—a phenomenon expected to affect millions worldwide for the next 10–15 years. Since 2005, there have been substantial additions to the literature, including two studies examining the effect of structured education and support for safe fasting, both of which had promising results (2,3). In addition, new medications, such as the incretin-based therapies, have been introduced with less risk for hypoglycemia.
According to a 2009 demographic study, Islam has 1.57 billion adherents, making up 23% of the world population of 6.8 billion, and is growing by ∼3% per year (4). Fasting during Ramadan, a holy month of Islam, is a duty for all healthy adult Muslims. The high global prevalence of type 2 diabetes—6.6% among adults age 20–79 years (5)—coupled with the results of the population-based Epidemiology of Diabetes and Ramadan 1422/2001 (EPIDIAR) study, which demonstrated among 12,243 people with diabetes from 13 Islamic countries that ∼43% of patients with type 1 diabetes and ∼79% of patients with type 2 diabetes fast during Ramadan (6), lead to the estimate that worldwide more than 50 million people with diabetes fast during Ramadan.
Ramadan Continue reading

Type 1 Diabetes and UTIs

WRITTEN BY: Georgina Cunningham
It’s my second trip to the hospital in a month. I’ve already missed five days of work. I’ve been poked and prodded, I have no good veins left. I’m already covered in bruises from last time and I just don’t want to be here again. I’m putting on a brave face, but everything inside me is telling me to scream at the top of my lungs. I’m doubled over with back pain, a migraine, a horrible fever, tachycardia, and to top it off I have constant low blood sugar.
“You again,” says the emergency department doctor. We both know the drill — fluids, intravenous antibiotics and a nice four-night stay in the Acute Ward.
I would consider myself a healthy person. I eat a balanced diet, I walk everywhere and my blood sugar levels are even “better than a person not living with Type 1 diabetes” (according to my endocrinologist). I’m hygienic and I had never had a UTI up until this moment. So, to be honest, I couldn’t tell you how I got here.
While a UTI might typically be something that is easily treated, it can become dangerous for someone with Type 1 diabetes. It can spread easily through your blood and your kidneys can become damaged. Our bodies can’t fight infections as well as they should, so it’s important to know the signs and make sure you advocate for your own body.
Everyone’s bodies are different, even amongst the Type 1 community. When I had the initial infection my sugars were generally stable, so long as I ate. But as soon as the infection spread and I incorporated antibiotics, a small appetite and my normal insulin Continue reading

Frequently Asked Questions about Diabetes

1. Why do you recommend a vegan diet for diabetes?
Vegan diets, which contain no animal products (meat, dairy, eggs, or other animal products), are healthier than other diets, because they contain no cholesterol and less fat, saturated fat, and calories than meat-based diets or ovo-lacto vegetarian diets. Scientific research shows that health benefits increase as the amount of food from animal sources in the diet decreases, making vegan diets the most healthful overall.
2. I want to try a vegan diet. How should I start?
If a plant-based diet is new to you, you’ll be pleased to discover a wonderful additional benefit to vegan eating: It’s a fun way to explore delicious new foods. Start by checking out our Vegan Diet: How-to Guide for Diabetes and our Vegetarian Starter Kit, both of which explain the New Four Food Groups and offer useful tips, the “whys” and “hows” of a healthier diet, and easy-to-make recipes.
To order a Vegetarian Starter Kit, please visit PCRM's literature store.
3. Are carbohydrates bad for you?
Some people imagine that pasta, bread, potatoes, and rice are fattening, but the opposite is actually true. Carbohydrate-rich foods are helpful for permanent weight control because they contain less than half the calories of fat, which means that replacing fatty foods with complex carbohydrates automatically cuts calories.
It’s important to remember to eat healthful carbohydrates, such as whole grains, pasta, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. Processed carbohydrates, such as white bread and white rice, are not as healthful a choice because they have lo Continue reading