Diet for Diabetics

DIET FOR DIABETICS

 There is not a known remedy that will cure diabetes without a reformation along the lines that caused it. 

Proper care of diabetes is essential to prevent or at least reduce incidence of complications. It is vital that the patient learn all about the disorder and its management, for health care in diabetes is basically self-care.

A proper nutrition plan is the foundation of successful diabetes management. Control of diabetes rests on three factors: diet, exercise and insulin.

The number one dietary consideration for diabetes must be a strict vegetarian, low calorie, alkaline diet of high quality natural foods. Plenty of whole grains, bran and oatmeal are very beneficial in diabetes, as well as raw vegetables of all kinds - red cabbage, cauliflower, watercress, brussel sprouts, okra, cucumbers, onions,etc. A big emphasis needs to be placed on raw foods as they stimulate the pancreas and increase insulin production. Green beans and cucumber juice contain a hormone needed by the cells of the pancreas in order to produce insulin. No table sugar should be used.

When sugar is eaten and absorbed into the blood stream, it requires insulin and a trace element called chromium to move the sugar from the blood stream into the cells where it can be burned for energy. In the diabetic the insulin is missing. Therefore sugar piles up in the blood stream and cannot move into the cell. When insulin is given, the sugar is able to move into the cell and the sugar level will drop in the blood stream. If chromium is missing,the blood sugar will rise again, for the sugar is still not able to enter the cell. Chromium is available in many natural foods (especially whole grains), but most of it is removed when foods are refined. At birth we have a good supply of chromium, but as we get older we gradually lose it if we do not eat properly. Many older individuals are deficient in chromium. When refined sugar is eaten, it requires chromium to be utilized. If none is taken in with food,chromium from the body stores, if available, has to be used. Thus chromium is gradually depleted and sickness occurs.

 Fresh fruits of all kinds are excellent for the diabetic. The sugar in fresh fruit is fructose sugar and is very different from the refined table sugar (which is sucrose sugar). When we eat sugar or starch our body breaks it down into simple sugar and the blood then carries it to the cells of the body. For this simple sugar to enter the cells it needs insulin and chromium, but if you have eaten only fructose sugar (the good kind that is found only in fresh fruits), no insulin is needed for the sugar to enter the cells. This is why a diabetic can eat all the fresh fruit desired, but no canned or frozen fruit juices (even if they are supposedly all natural). All of these are refined; they have been heated (even the frozen ones) and are hard for a diabetic to assimilate.

Use no free fats - only natural fats as found in avocados, nuts, etc. Recent studies show excess fat intake can decrease the number of receptors and/or deactivate them.

This results in the gradual build up of sugar in the bloodstream.

Diabetics should discontinue the use of baking powder or soda, as these decrease the activity of the pancreatic juices, which are used in the body to digest protein, fats and carbohydrates. The pancreas is one of the most important organs of digestion.

Fasting is usually not advisable for diabetics. Avoid all mental nervous stresses and strains. 

Avoid constipation; the bowels must be kept loose with at least three good eliminations every day. This is imperative to improved health.

Herbal Tea - Tea, made from any one of the following herbs is beneficial: raspberry leaves, red root or dandelion root. Mix one tsp. of herb per 8 oz. of distilled water. Let steep for 20 minutes or longer. Drink three cups daily.

Exercise - Exercise will lower the blood sugar and enable the diabetic to require less insulin. Deep breathing and lots of exercise of hard physical labor will help keep the fire of the metabolic processes burning fast, and this will diminish the need for insulin.

Sunlight -The effect of direct sunlight on the body's sugar metabolism parallels that of insulin. Sunlight facilitates the absorption of glucose into the cells of the body and stimulates the body to convert its blood sugar (glucose) into stored sugar (glycogen).This is minimal in a normal individual but dramatic in diabetics. A diabetic must gradually expose his body to the sunlight. Diabetics who choose to sunbathe should always keep in touch with their physician as their insulin dosage will have to be decreased.

 Nutritional Myths about Diabetes

Myth: There are too many rules with a diabetes diet.You do need to plan your meals and make healthy choices. You will probably need to make changes. But these changes are the same as following a healthy diet for other reasons- a diet that everyone should be eating!

Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes

The exact causes of diabetes are not known. Simply eating too much sugar is unlikely to cause it. Diabetes happens when something disrupts your body's ability to use insulin.

Myth: Carbohydrates are bad for diabetes

Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood sugar levels, so you will need to monitor how man you eat. But your body needs carbohydrates to get many essential nutrients.

Myth: You have to give up desserts and sugar if you have diabetes.

You can still have deserts, but you will need to cut down amounts. You can use artificial sweeteners, or make more nutritious desserts that include fresh fruits.

Myth: You need to eat special diabetic meals

There is no such thing as a 'diabetic diet'. The choices that are healthy for someone with diabetes are the same for everyone.

All  I want to encourage everyone to eat in moderation, only those things that are wholesome and natural keeps you safe from dieses.