A Few Tips on Diabetes and diabetes diet

For quite sometime, diabetes has been-and continues to be-the bane of a good percentage of the population of most countries. It affects about 20 million Americans alone, with another 40 million having prediabetes, an early affliction of Type 2 diabetes. Once food is digested, its nutrients come into the bloodstream as glucose or blood sugar, and is moved by the insulin from the pancreas to the muscles, fat and liver for use as energy. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make enough insulin, the liver, muscles and fat do not use insulin the normal way, or a combination of both.

There are two general classifications of diabetes, with another specifically afflicting women. Type 1 affects the individual from childhood, though most are diagnosed only when they are aged about 20 years old. For this type there is less or no insulin produced by the pancreas so that insulin injections are required everyday. No cause has been pinpointed, but genetics is thought to play a major role.

Type 2 or adult-onset diabetes is by far the most common and is starting to affect younger people. In this type the pancreas produces little insulin to control glucose normally or the organs fail to utilize insulin sufficiently. A lot of diabetics do not even realize they have the disease. The third is gestational diabetes that affects only pregnant women. Usually transitory, it opens the individual to higher risks of contracting Type 2 diabetes.

Symptoms

Individuals affected with Type 1 diabetes commonly show the symptoms over a short period, mostly only in an emergency, when the symptoms are mistaken for something else. They include fatigue, inordinate thirst and urination, vomiting and nausea and decrease in weight despite good eating. Type 2 diabetics may additionally suffer from blurry vision and numbness in the extremities like toes. But Type 2 diabetes infects people very slowly, so the diabetics rarely detect it until indicative conditions show, since diabetes harm the body’s autoimmunity, the blood vessels and its nerves.

Diet for diabetics

Diabetics should consult their doctors and dietitians for the appropriate kinds and amounts of food ---protein, fats and carbohydrates--- for eating to control glucose in the blood.Essentially, however, food intake should contain only little fats and carbohydrates, as they sugar on digestion. The Diabetes Food Pyramid lists food groups based on their carbohydrates and protein content, and diabetics should ingest more of the groups in the bottom part.

Foods high in fiber are particularly advised for diabetics, such as grains, fruits, and vegetables. Juices or yogurt that contain sugar or syrup should be avoided, and whole fruits, nonfat or low-fat milk be eaten instead. Eschew fatty foods like bacon, cheese, hamburgfers or butter. Establish what amounts of alcohol you can take and limit it to that, taking it with food.

Fish and poultry are recommended, though the skin of chicken and turkeys should be removed first. They contain much cholesterol. Trim off all fats from beef, wild game, pork or veal to get the lean meats. No frying as much as possible; broiling, baking, grilling or roasting instead.

Diabetes is controllable. What is necessary is merely control over one’s cravings for food and eating the correct diet.