The number of individuals acquiring diabetes, particular Type 2 diabetes or
adult onset diabetes is increasing. This fact is very alarming. What is worse
is that diabetes is not only hitting adults. There are even some reports
suggesting that even young people and children are acquiring diabetes. The
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that around
sixteen million individuals in the country are suffering from diabetes.
A diet high in carbohydrates has always been linked to an increased risk of
diabetes. This is because people who have diabetes or who are at risk of
getting the disease do not have the ability to process carbohydrates
particularly sugars properly. Individuals suffering from diabetes and those
who believe they are at a moderate or high risk of getting the disease must
carefully follow a diet plan tat is low in carbohydrates. The level of
carbohydrates can definitely have a large impact in ones blood sugar levels.
One way to reduce the amount of carbohydrates intake is to have
carbohydrate servings second during mealtime. The first servings of food
during mealtime should be composed of food low in carbohydrates or high
in fiber or protein.
All carbohydrates break down into simple sugars. This is one fact that
people should keep in mind. It doesn’t matter if you are eating complex
carbohydrates like brown rice or whole wheat bread or simple sugars like
candies and white sugar, they would all end up the same inside your body.
So the important thing is to take note of your total carbohydrates intake.
Counting carbohydrate and reduce its intake is therefore a must to prevent
diabetes. And one effective way of doing this is to eat carb serving second
during mealtime.
What is different between complex and simple carbohydrates is the rate at
which they are converted into basic sugars. Carbohydrates are converted to
simple sugars from five minutes to 3 hours after consumption. Complex
carbohydrate breaks down slower than simple sugars. Therefore, the effect
of complex carbohydrates and simple sugars in the blood sugar level of
individuals varies quite differently.
It is also important to note that high fiber foods are usually low in sugars.
This is why high intake of fiber can also greatly reduce the risk of diabetes.
People who are at risk of getting diabetes are advised to increase their fiber
intake by taking fiber supplements such as psyllium , guar gum, oat bran
or glucomannan. They should also consume more vegetables, fruits, whole
wheat products and whole grain products.
So what is the basis of a low carb diet? A low carb diet is based on the fact
that fatty acids in the blood are stored in the body as fat in the fat cells
because of the secretion of insulin. For those who still do not know, insulin
is a hormone produce by the body and is secreted by the pancreas.
The difference between a healthy individual and someone suffering from
diabetes is that the body of the former has the ability to properly take note
of the amount of sugar circulated within it. Insulin is immediately secreted
by the body of a normal healthy person when blood sugar suddenly
increases. The role of insulin is to send a message to the fat cells in the
body to absorb the triglycerides and glucose in the blood. When glucose
and triglycerides is absorbed by the fat cells, the blood sugar level returns
to safe and normal levels. Diabetics have a problem with producing
sufficient amounts of insulin. Some diabetics cannot produce any insulin at
all.
You must also be familiar with the concept of glycemic Index. The ability of
different foods to raise blood sugar varies and is measured through the
glycemic index. Starchy, high carbohydrates foods raise the blood sugar
and have a high glycemic index. The idea behind low carb diets is to keep
blood sugar low so your body won’t secrete significant quantities of insulin
which in turn wouldn’t put blood sugars and triglycerides into your fat cells.
And one of the ways to achieve this is to eat carb serving second during
mealtime. This will ensure that by the time that the serving of
carbohydrates come you will already be half full. Therefore you wouldn’t
eat as much as you would have if the carbohydrate serving was served
first.
Carbohydrates & Diabetes 
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