Archive for the ‘Diabetes’ Category

 
Posted in Diabetes on November-13-2007

The most important thing in diabetes diet is to know how to control the carbohydrates. How much carbohydrate food you can consume is depend on your weight. The smart and probably wise way not putting too much strain on the pancreas to spit out insulin is to eat in moderation. Moderation means using the Visual Plate Technique. Visual Plate Technique is a way to calculate your intake, as well as how much carbs or carb foods you include with your meal.

For a type 2 Diabetes Diet the Visual Plate Technique means that you look at your plate with your foodstuff in it. The greater food such as rice, or grits or sweet food then the carbohydrate is too much for you. The Diabetes 2 Diet should contain a green leafy vegetable or salad, Protein foodstuff
(eggs, meat, fish, cheese) and a smaller portion of carbohydrate vegetables or rice or other things that has carbohydrate.

With Type 2 Diabetes Diet, protein foods do not raise your blood sugar, so you can add extra fish, eggs, meat, etc with your meals. As long as your cholesterol isn’t too high (eggs and meats) and you are not a Kidney patient, there should be no reason why you can’t eat extra protein foods. Protein foods in the diet for diabetes is that the protein contains its own natural fat which actually helps curb your appetite.

Whenever you eat a meal or snack, it should always include a small amount of protein that has its natural fat. The protein provides its own natural fat and tends to keep your blood sugar stable so it doesn’t spike and then drop immediately. That can happen if one has a piece of fruit and no protein with it. Also, eating just a piece of fruit can make you hungrier. That’s where the protein helps to curb the appetite. It is also better to eat the fruit than drink the juice, unless the blood sugar is low. And for the diabetic it is important to consult with the doctor before changing the present diet




 
Posted in Diabetes on October-5-2007

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder caused by a minor or total insulin deficiency. The factors of diabetes mellitus are not only from the genetic factors but also mostly from the environmental factors. In America, 1 of 20 people has diabetes.

Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that weakens the vascular system and causes many complications, such as loss of eye sight or kidney damage.

Diabetes is divided into two major groups. The first group, known as Primary Diabetes Mellitus, covers the most commonly known types of diabetes:

  • Type 1 – this is an insulin dependent type of diabetes
  • Type 2- this is a non-insulin dependent type of diabetes
  • Type 3- this is a malnutrition related type of diabetes, not commonly discussed
  • Gestational Diabetes- this a type of diabetes that develops in women during pregnancy

The second group of diabetes is known as Secondary Diabetes Mellitus. These types of diabetes are caused by outside factors other than genetics and environmental factors.

When things like acute or chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer destroys the pancreas- which is the insulin producing organ in the body- secondary diabetes will occur. Chronic liver disease like in Hemochromatosis, endocrine abnormalities like in Hyperthyroid and Cushing syndrome are very common. The use of medications to treat other conditions can all bring about a diagnosis of secondary diabetes.

The main irregularity with diabetes is the difficulty of having to control blood sugar. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and its function is to control your blood sugar in a narrow range. In type I diabetes we find that there is not enough insulin production. In type II diabetes, most of the time we find enough insulin but it is not available to control the sugar levels. Both the above situations lead to a rise in blood sugar and further on to diabetes.