Diet for Diabetes - A Shot in the perspective - I

Shot in the perspective or mind is a very appropriate phrase I could use in the title whenever "Diet for Diabetes" is asked. I am equally fed up of so many farce diets by not qualified people are sprawling over the net since time it all started. For a percent of diabetic patients you will always have 99 % advisers around them to speak on what diet will 'cure' them or rid their diabetes off, or even is 'good for diabetes'. As a health professional who has done more work on multi factorial disorders and diseases one such being diabetes I can safely speak on behalf of all registered dietitians that there is a lot people need to understand with regards to food and lifestyle habits whilst controlling the blood glucose levels and insulin levels. Today I teach you what exactly are the key pointers you need to understand, accept and adapt towards diabetes mellitus.
1. Sugarbabes - Well you can forget about it totally!!! C'mon you didn't have to land on this blog to know that for a fact. Trusting by now you know your blood stream is filled with excess sugar your body doesn't know how to dispose off, sugar is the last thing you need to think of. But what you could do is replace it with sucralose derivatives as a sugar free option. Make sure its not aspartame or saccharin. Your body does not need sugar right now it needs instant energiser try giving it the energy it needs by supplementing with complex whole carbohydrates instead of simple sugars. That brings us to our next point.

2. Carbwire - There is a lot spoken, written and heard about carbs and their role in diabetes but really do people still get it ? First of all leave the calculations of the diet to a dietitian and no other professional. Secondly your senses should ward you off from anything white in colour (My reasoning doesn't aim at the colour white but what it indicates 'refine') because that only translates the carbohydrate source is refined. We are looking for whole carb source like unpolished, unprocessed, and not cut into minuscule pieces by means of well refinement again. We are talking about brown rice (looks red striped), whole wheat flour, whole wheat porridge, whole wheat breads and pasta. Why whole ? What whole foods add on is fibre (soluble or insoluble) and fibre absorbs excess fat, slows the food glucose to enter the blood stream through the intestinal wall slowing and steadily. It doesn't let a gush of glucose into the blood to have a galvanic release of insulin leaving your body unbalanced and no less of tortured within trying to adjust to the shock effect. You also want to replace all simple sugars with whole fruits, again for fibre but more so for the antioxidant infusion in the system. We have previously gone through the effects of oxidative stress in diabetes and we sure want to counter that as much as possible.

3. Flushing oxidative stress - More than anything after you have dealt with the sugar free diet you need to flood your blood stream and other tissues with antioxidants. Your numero uno enemy isn't diabetes but the oxidative stress that accelerates with it drawing you closer to complications. Oxidative stress although present in non diabetes condition as well can be combat with atleast 4 fruits a day and that does not equal to preserved fruits or juices, squashes, syrups. Real fresh fruits whole from the orchard. We are also keen on consuming through the day at least 3 nuts (almond, walnut and apricot) and for those who are by now gasping "nuts are high on fat", well good news 3 nuts a day won't burden the fat metabolism infact it might help it contrarily. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are responsible for lowering your oxidative stress affecting the lipid in the blood stream therefore nuts are a must. Then we bring ourselves to the veggies, 3 grand helpings (bowls) of either raw or cooked veg, could be salad, main course, sandwich, but of course wholesome and not heavily bruised in soups and juices. The purpose of not consuming juices and soups is not to stuff your stomach but to fill it with real bio-enzymes from produce and that can happen when you eat them whole or raw (as possible).

4. Grease Machine - What happens when we come to creme de la creme topic of all diets. Fat. Our focus is not only to curb out excess from the body or from deposition into the body through slow metabolism but also to form a protective medium for nutrients to be transported. I use it in my everyday lifestyle diabetes or not this is a thumb rule for anybody, stick to vegetable source only, blend oils with 20% - 30% Rice Bran Oil with 80 - 70% Pufa or Mufa rich oil like groundnut, sunflower, soyabean, safflower. If you are to use olive oil then I would recommend that you do cook some food in the blend oil since olive oil is MUFA ladden and way to long term consumption of MUFA isn't good news for HDL levels on long term. Lets keep that in mind and constantly use blends as well with olive oil. If you have to under unforeseen contingencies have to eat fat other than what I just recommended, please ask for non trans fatty acids like hydrogenated vegetable fat. Those are a strict NO- NO. Another golden rule keep it under 3 tsp a day and you are good for life. Yes its more than possible to cook regular meals in 3 tsp per person per day, so stop excusing yourself from it.

Keep these basic four pointers in mind and chant them like a mantra if you have to until you get the hang of the same. There are more intricate details of a diet therapy in diabetes which I will discuss in my next post. Till then,

Wish you wellness.

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Neurological complication in diabetes mellitus

There is very little one can do once the nervous system is affected in diabetes mellitus. The nerves once degenerated cannot regenerate nor can new nerves be generated. Therefore diabetic neuropathy is considered a highly difficult complication to deal with. Firstly you need to understand that the complication develops over a period of 10 -15 years so it is already tough to follow through its development stages. But of course one needs to know what can get you there and what needs to be taken care of.

Lets enlist what can go wrong from lowest risk to highest. Well, its a diabetic complication so there won't be less risky either way you look.
1. Tingly Wingly - Not a very good thing if you feel tingly on your arm and shoulders or even your feet. The first sign that you need a neuro consult ASAP. Tingling of the body parts indicate that the nerve endings are degenerating or damaged or lack oxygen and are incapable of completing the neuro transmission to the next nerve ending.

2. Loss of sensation - Take your foot and take pricky but blunt object and try to poke the sole of the foot. When you feel the prick thats normal where you don't it indicates there could nerve damage. Again we now know how diabetes damages organs like in the previous posts. The same is applicable to the nerve ending.

3. Gangrene like degeneration - This may even be gangrene but it is not due to the bacteria clostridium perfringes, although it is due to the anaerobic cell metabolism that leads to muscle loss and nerve damage in the localized area of the extremeties. This is serious to an extent where the body part or limb needs to be amputated. This may spread further and worst is being painless you don't realize it unless its late. It is also complicated as diabetic foot but thats due to harbouring of the bacteria in the lower extremity due to unhygeinic conditions and excess blood sugar acting as good nutrient for the micro organism.

4. Stroke - Neurological damage can range anywhere any how and it need not be only in a localized form. Stroke being the deadliest as its permanent major damage to the body and very few cases recover from it. Stroke is one of the top 5 causes of death worldwide and diabetes is one of the top most reasons for its cause of course heart disease included. Stroke is a result of the oxidative nature of the free radicals in the blood and heart disease clogging the blood supply to arteries in the brain area.Stroke can do damage to vital organs like heart, lungs, kidneys and liver not to mention the brain and spinal cord which in turn cause death.

Although it seems pretty dry as a topic to read about the parameters of stroke or neural damage are huge and need to be explained seperately later. Till then take care.

Wish you wellness.

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