How To Count Carbs For Diabetes Management

How to Count Carbs for Diabetes Management

Most of my clients with diabetes count carbs to help manage their blood sugar levels. It’s one of many tools to help them with meal planning.
What is carb counting?
With carb counting, you estimate the amount of carbohydrate in your food with the goal of staying within a predetermined range or allowance for each meal and snack.
Carb counting does NOT mean avoiding carbohydrates. It does NOT mean that carbs are bad. Carbohydrates are a nutrient. They are not a type of food. And many, many health-boosting, disease-fighting foods are rich in carbohydrates. Think fruit, quinoa, yogurt, milk, vegetables, black beans, chickpeas, limas, brown rice and a million more!
The beauty of carb counting is that it gives you tons of flexibility. You can choose your carbohydrates from any type of food. This is also the downfall of carb counting. I sure don’t want you to focus on carb counts without paying attention to nutrition. This is just like limiting calories to lose weight, but favoring veggie chips and diet pudding over the foods your body really needs like fruit, nuts and salmon.
Why is it a good idea to count carbs?
Don’t avoid carbs. Count them!
Eating a lot of carbohydrate at one time raises blood sugar a lot, and eating just a little carbohydrate, raises blood sugar less. Many people with diabetes aim for about 45 – 60 grams of carbohydrate per meal and 15 grams or so per snack, but the amount that’s right for you may be more or less. And that depends on your medications, activity level, blood sugar goals and other things. I like to look at my patients’ food records a Continue reading

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First patient in diabetes trial no longer needs insulin therapy

MIAMI, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- The first patient to receive therapeutic delivery of islet cells in a new diabetes study no longer needs insulin therapy to control type 1 diabetes, according to doctors at the University of Miami's Diabetes Research Institute.
The patient, Wendy Peacock, 43, has been giving herself insulin injections to control diabetes since she was diagnosed with the condition at age 17. Since she had the minimally-invasive procedure on August 18, Peacock has been off insulin, because her body is producing it naturally, and she no longer has the dietary restrictions that accompany type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by inadvertent destruction of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas by the immune system. While previous experimental treatments that involved the replacement of these cells has allowed patients to live without the need for insulin-replacement therapy for up to a decade, the goal is for better delivery of the cells to make the surgical treatment permanent -- effectively curing the condition.
"The technique has been designed to minimize the inflammatory reaction that is normally observed when islets are implanted in the liver or in other sites with immediate contact to the blood," said Dr. Camillo Ricordi, director of the DRI and a professor of biomedical engineering, microbiology, and immunology at the University of Miami, in a press release. "If these results can be confirmed, this can be the beginning of a new era in islet transplantation. Our ultimate goal is to include additional technologies to prevent the need for life-long anti-r Continue reading

Common jab could hold key to finding cure for Type 1 diabetes

Scientists are convinced the debilitating effects of Type 1 diabetes can be reversed with a cheap jab used to combat tuberculosis.
Unlike lifestyle-driven Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity, Type 1 is an auto immune disease that, until now, was thought to be incurable.
But a major breakthrough could see the chronic condition - known as early onset diabetes - wiped out within years.
Researchers think the generic Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) jab, administered to tens of millions of children each year, can help regenerate insulin-making cells, effectively reversing the condition.
The BCG vaccine is up to 80 per cent effective in preventing TB for 15 years.
Results of initial tests in those who had diabetes for an average of 15 years suggest insulin production can be restored, albeit briefly, by a simple booster injection.
This is a cheap and generic drug that could be very effective and we’ve been saying that message over and over ahead since the start
The astonishing outcome is considered so significant £12million is being ploughed into a second five-year trial.
Experts in Britain described the quantum leap as “very exciting”.
Dr Denise Faustman, who is leading the research, said: “We decided to use a safe 100-year-old vaccine to make this happen and we’ve found that it works.
“We saw early signs that even at low doses of this vaccine the bad white blood cells that were killing the pancreas were killed and the good white blood cells that quiet down Type 1 diabetes were up-regulated.
“This is a cheap and generic drug that could be very effecti Continue reading

Holy Basil for the Treatment of Diabetes

Ocimum sanctum, commonly referred to as holy basil, is an herb that is native to India; Ayurvedic medicine regards it as one of the most important plants. It is now widely grown throughout the world and can be eaten as a food or taken as a supplement. The leaves, stems, seeds and oils are all used medicinally.Many people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes use it to help lower high blood glucose levels.
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May Increase Insulin
Diabetes is a disorder characterized by chronic high blood glucose levels. There are two categories of diabetes. Type 1 individuals are unable to produce the hormone insulin and are therefore dependant on insulin injections. Type 2 diabetics make insulin but they either do not make enough, or they are insensitive to it. Some researchers theorize that holy basil can help to increase insulin secretion in type 2 diabetics, says Laura Shane-Mcwhorter in the book “The American Diabetes Association: Guide to Herbs and Nutritional Supplements.” Unfortunately there have not been enough rigorous studies to either confirm or disprove this theory.
Reducing Glucose Levels
Holy basil may also help to lower fasting and post-meal blood glucose levels. There was a study done on 40 type 2 diabetics, who were asked to stop all of their diabetes medications. Half of the patients were given 2.5 g of holy basil leaf powder daily, and the other half were given a placebo for four weeks. The groups were closely monitored and at the end of the study, holy basil was found to reduce fasting blood glucose levels by approximately 17.6 percent, and post-meal blood gl Continue reading

BGR 34 for Diabetes

CSIR-NBRI (NATIONAL BOTANICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, LUCKNOW) and CSIR-CIMAP (CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF MEDICINAL & AROMATIC PLANTS, LUCKNOW), two laboratories of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have jointly developed Antidiabetic ayurvedic medicines BGR 34. BGR 34 is now available in tablet form manufacturing license given to Aimil Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. Indian Government has recently approved BGR 34 medicine for diabetes. BGR 34 tablet contains aqueous extracts and powders of ayurvedic medicinal plants, already used for diabetes in ayurveda. Now, these extracts are combined and clinically approved efficacy in diabetes and blood sugar control.
Naming of BGR 34
BGR stands for:
B – Blood
G – Glucose
R – Regulator
34 indicate presence of 34 active constituents in BGR.
INGREDIENTS & COMPOSITION
The main ingredient of BGR-34 is Daruhaldi (Berberis Aristata), which acts as blood glucose regulator and stimulating insulin secretion.
EACH TABLET OF BGR 34 CONTAINS:
Dried Aqueous Extract Derived From:
Daruhaldi – Berberis Aristata
1150 mg
Vijaysar – Pterocarpus Marsupium
400 mg
Gudmar – Gymnema Sylvestre
400 mg
Manjistha – Rubia Cordifolia
375 mg
Methi (fenugreek) – Trigonella Foenum-Graecum
350 mg
Giloy – Tinospora Cordifolia
350 mg
Powders of:
Daruhaldi – Berberis Aristata
75 mg
Vijaysar – Pterocarpus Marsupium
25 mg
Gudmar – Gymnema Sylvestre
25 mg
Manjistha – Rubia Cordifolia
25 mg
Methi (fenugreek) – Trigonella Foenum-Graecum
25 mg
Giloy – Tinospora Cordifolia
25 mg
Solution Prepared From:
Shuddha Shilajit (Purified Black Bitumen)
1 Continue reading