Tuesday, December 4, 2012

what is the importance of regulating sugar in a diabetics diet?

Q. i dont rlly know how i would explain why regulating sugar in someones diet is important so..how could i explain it?

A. There are two types of diabetes. The first is type I diabetes that occurs when a human is unable to produce insulin. Insulin is always required and it helps to avoid refined carbs, sugars, and oils.

The second is type II diabetes that occurs when cells become resistant to the uptake in sugars. More insulin is often prescribed to help, but this does not help the root cause which is directly related to diet. The Standard American Diet (SAD) contributes to the increasing rates of this disease. Americans eat way too much refined carbohydrates, sugars, oils, and other processed ingredients. Dairy (cheese, milk, ice cream, butter) have a high glycemic index and is also damaging.

A change in lifestyle with more exercise and less refined carbohydrates (processed sugars) is typically very helpful. With type II diabetes, a whole plant based diet and moderate exercise can often reverse and sometimes cure the disease. A physician's supervision is critical.


Is there a diet where an insulin dependent diabetic can lose weight? Say 25lbs or so?
Q. I have had trouble losing any weight no matter the diet or exercises. My Dr just says that insulin makes it hard to lose significant weight.

A. Low GI diets work well for diabetics. I'm assuming you're a guy from your avatar, so you would aim for about 1800 calories/day or a little more if you're very active. Eat smaller amounts 5-6 times a day. Meals should be 2-3 protein servings with 1-2 carb servings; snacks 1 carb + 1 protein. Limit fat to a few servings a day and make sure they are GOOD fats such as olive oil, avocado, or nuts. Eat lots and lots of non-starchy veggies. Only have fruit when you're counting it as a carb.

For your carb servings, use low-glycemic ones where possible - whole wheat bread, brown rice, ww tortillas, ww or high protein pasta, etc. No "white" carbs such as white bread, white rice, sugar.

I lost weight while on insulin - it can be done, but those last 20-25 pounds are very challenging. Try to change up your routine. Try adding more protein to your diet, or exercising a little more. Try a day where you eat more calories followed by a day where you eat fewer. Drink LOTS of water, minimum 64 oz. because water will help metabolize the fat.

Find a good website for support like sparkpeople.com. A good support system is crucial for weight loss because if you're only sticking to it 50% of the time you just won't get results. It takes a lot of micromanaging what you're eating because even being off by a snack or two could be what is keeping those pounds on. It helps to track all your daily meals on a site such as thedailyplate.com or fitday.com.


What are some diet plans for a diabetic with high cholesterol?
Q. I am an uninsured diabetic who just found out that I have high cholesterol as well. Because I have no insurance I see a sliding scale doctor. They pretty much diagnose me, prescribe medication and offer me little to no advice as to what to eat. Can someone offer me some advice on a diet that may work to lower my cholesterol as well as keep my sugar where it needs to be?

A. High LDL, low HDL, and high triglycerides are common in Type 2 diabetics, especially severely insulin resistant Type 2s. I have known individuals diagnosed with Type 2 whose triglycerides were off the charts (1000+).

The best way to lower triglyceride levels is to lower carbohydrates. I dropped mine from 115 to 70 by just cutting out starches and sugars. Most doctors will tell you to limit fat to drop LDL, but my diet is very high in fat (at least 60% of my diet on most days), including saturated fat (yes, butter - lots of butter), and my LDL fell to 81 from the high 120s and my HDL increased 13 points. A traditional diet to improve cholesterol is full of carbohydrates, like oats and low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese, and milk, but all those foods will raise your blood sugar and that will work against your cholesterol-lowering goals. Dietary fat is really not the enemy and I think a lot of confusion stems from the fact that lipids are known as 'blood fat.' There's this idea comes from equivocating different types of fat, assuming that dietary fat causes blood fat and body fat. I lost about 75 pounds eating more fat, my cholesterol improved by all measures, and my A1c dropped from over 11% to the low 5% range.

So, I would encourage you to cut back on your carbohydrates, especially grains, corn, oats, potatoes, rice, and sugar, even fruit, and to up your protein, healthy fats, including saturated, and non-starchy vegetables.

Exercise can improve HDL and omega-3 fish oil is great for lowering triglycerides, so these are some supplementary moves you can make along with dietary changes to improve cholesterol and trigs.

I'm sorry your doctor sent you home without more info. I, too, was seeing a sliding scale doctor after I was diagnosed and he gave me very few tips. I began panicking, searching the internet for help, and I talked to some great people who told me what to try. I haven't looked back. Low-carb diets are the way to go if you are a Type 2.


Is a no carb diet really healthy for diabetics?
Q. My mom suspects that I have diabetes so what does she do? Cut's every single carb from my diet instead of taking me in to a doctor. I haven't had a carb in days and I feel really sick. I don't understand how eggs and butter are more healthy than wheat toast with some jam. I've been taught that no/low carb diets are bad for you if your an active person, and rather you should watch calories. But aparently I am wrong... help please?

A. Dr.Richard Bernstein (the diabetes specialist & a type 1 diabetic) from his book, "Diabetes Solutions" pertinent chapters available to read online -

What if I, a physician, told you, a diabetic, to eat a diet that consisted of 60 percent sugar, 20 percent protein, and 20 percent fat? More than likely, you�d think I was insane. I�d think I was insane, and I would never make this suggestion to a diabetic (nor would I even make it to a nondiabetic). But this is just the diet the ADA recommended to diabetics for decades.

Whether you eat a piece of the nuttiest whole-grain bread, drink a Coke, or have mashed potatoes, the effect on blood glucose levels is essentially the same� blood sugar rises, fast. ... our saliva can break starches into the shorter chains on contact and then convert those into pure glucose.

With a number of important exceptions, carbohydrates, or foods derived primarily from plant sources that are starches, grains, and fruits, have the same ultimate effect on blood glucose levels that table sugar does.

http://www.diabetes-book.com/book/chapter9_3.shtml


There is no better way to bring the body to the state of optimal health than with a low carb way of eating. Low carb doesn't cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar or high cholesterol, it cures it. It is actually dangerous to take meds that lower these levels and do low carb at the same time because the levels will become dangerously low. Carbohydrates trigger insulin. High insulin levels unbalance other hormones. Anything less that 9 grams of carbs per hour controls insulin and is considered low carb (up to 144 grams per day).

U.S. government guidelines were changed 35 years ago to suggest we lower our fat intake & increase our carb intake. American society followed these recommendations & lowered their fat intake by 11% & increased their carb consumption. In this same time frame obesity, diabetes, heart disease are all at epidemic levels.

Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel (if you want to get technical, it actually burns alcohol most efficiently, but that doesn't make it any healthier for the body than carbs), the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose. The body can also be fueled by fat (dietary fat & fat cells) but only in the absence of carbs. The brain actually prefers* to be fueled by ketones (part of the fat burning process), it does require glucose also, but glucose can be easily converted from excess protein if needed or dietary fat. Fatty acids are the preferred substrate for the heart muscle.

Plaque build up in the arteries is more attributable to carb consumption than dietary fats, which seems to be the conclusion of the following study. Carb consumption raises triglycerides & VLDL (bad cholesterol). Fats raise the HDL (good cholesterol). High triglyceride levels & low HDL levels are an indicator of plaque & glycation - the precursors to a heart attack & heart disease.

Gary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories, Bad Calories" spent 7 years going through all the studies over the last century & dividing up the real science from the faulty science & concluded that low carb was the best way to control insulin levels which balances out other hormones & allows the body to function properly.

His main points are:

1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease.

2. The problem is refined carbs in diet, their effect on insulin secretion & the hormonal regulation of homeostasis.

3. Sugars - sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup specifically - are particularly harmful, the combination of fructose & glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels & overload liver with carbs.

4. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbs, starches, sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes. They are likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's & other diseases.

5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating.

6. Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter.

7. Fattening & obesity are caused by an imbalance in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue & fat metabolism.

8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from fat tissue.

9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbs make us fat.

10. By driving fat accumulation, carbs also increase hunger & decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism & physical activity.





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