Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes is the inability of the body to process or metabolize foods efficiently. In Type 1 diabetes the pancreas makes no insulin. …
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is the inability of the body to process or metabolize foods
efficiently This is due to either a lack, or inefficient use, of insulin
Insulin is a hormone responsible for aiding in metabolism Insulin carries
the sugar out of the bloodstream and into the bodys cells such as the
brain, tissues, and muscles You have millions of cells that have to be
fed with sugar glucose or you cant survive This works in a way similar
to how a cars gas tank works A car must be fed with fuel to function -
and so must you
In Type 1 diabetes the pancreas makes no insulin In order for the person
to survive, he or she must take insulin injections Without insulin he/she
can starve to death Starvation in the midst of plenty, quoted by
William Castle, refers to a person with Type 1 diabetes who produces no
insulin to feed the bodys cells with sugar fuel Although they are
eating plenty of food sugar or fuel, the lack of insulin would result
in starvation In Type 2 diabetes, also known as insulin resistance, the
insulin resists working, the persons insulin is lazy and doesnt work
hard enough to move the sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells
Therefore, the blood
sugar goes higher than normal This excessive blood
sugar can lead to many diseases of the vessels: retinopathy or damage to
the eye vessels, nephropathy or damage to the kidneys vessels, neuropathy
or damage to the nerve vessels, heart disease or damage to the vessels
leading to and from the heart, and circulation problems leading to
amputation Both exercise and weight loss if necessary can decrease
insulin resistance Blood sugar will improve with a weight loss of ten
pounds
The good news is that diabetes is a very controllable disease; it is a
disease that can be self-managed This means that each person with diabetes
has the choice of controlling his or her own disease Most of this control
is done through meal planning Sometimes people with Type 2 diabetes also
need pills and/or insulin to control their diabetes However, food choices
must be considered, no matter what the medication regimen or type of
diabetes
Carbohydrates are foods that have the greatest impact on blood sugar This
is because they turn 100 into sugar within one to two hours after eating
them
Carbohydrates include foods such as starches, vegetables, legumes, fruits,
milks and sweets Protein meat, fish, poultry,
eggs and cheese turns 50
into sugar, but it takes hours to do so These foods do not have a major
impact on your blood sugar If you overeat them, however, you may put extra
stress on the heart and the kidneys Fat oils, sauces, and butters turn
only 10 into sugar These foods do not increase your blood sugar level
Main guidelines to follow:
For Type 1 diabetes, meal planning and insulin are used together for tight
control of blood sugar For Type 2 diabetes, you have to make insulins job
easier
1 Limit carbohydrates at each meal or snack
2 Evenly distribute carbohydrates throughout the day
3 Consume slow-digesting foods or food combinations in order for your
lazy insulin to have an easier job These foods include:
a High-fiber carbohydrates 35-50 grams a day of fiber
b Combining lean protein and carbohydrates
c Combining unsaturated fat and carbohydrates
4 Consume approximately 30-45 grams of total carbohydrate per meal
depending on your calories for the day and how your glucose is
running
5 Consume approximately 15-30 grams of total carbohydrate per snack
6 Test your blood sugar before meals and after meals to determine
if
your body can handle the amount of carbohydrates youve eaten If not,
decrease the amount of carbohydrates or you may need a medication
adjustment
7 Look for the following results when testing blood sugar:
o Before meals blood sugar should be 80-120 mg/dL
o 1- hours after finishing a meal blood sugar should be under 140 mg/dL
at most, 160
o Blood sugar can expect to rise about 50 points from a meal
o If your blood sugar reading is 150 mg/dL before your meal and 200 mg/dL
1- hours after eating, that means your body was able to process the
sugar from that meal very well Your blood sugar simply started higher
than it should have
8 Eat every 4-5 hours so your blood sugar doesnt drop or fluctuate too
much This may determine whether a snack is necessary or not
9 Wait 2 hours between meals and snacks so the blood sugar has a chance
to come down before you send it up with the next food consumption
10 Have your doctor do a blood test to determine your 3-month blood
sugar average HbA1c also known as glycohemoglobin or hemoglobin A1c
shows the progress you are making every few months with controlling
your
diabetes Look for a number of 6 for good control This means
you are running 120 mg/dL on average over 3 months Fructosamine is a
similar test that averages two weeks worth of blood sugar results
11 By delaying digestion, you will slow down the release of sugar into
the bloodstream, thereby making insulins job of getting the sugar out
of the bloodstream and into the cells a lot easier The way to slow
down the release of sugar into the bloodstream is to slow down its
digestion
12 When looking at food labels, be sure to look at total carbohydrate,
NOT SUGAR, when trying to determine how high in sugar a food is The
sugar listed is included in the total carbohydrate It refers to
refined sugar, like fruit sugar, milk sugar or table sugar The total
carbohydrate encompasses everything in that food that will eventually
become sugar Dietary fiber may, however, be subtracted from the total
carbohydrate, since fiber is a non-digestible part of the
carbohydrate
Did you know? Cinnamon may improve blood sugar levels by consuming
teaspoon per day
