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Over the last 20 years, diabetes has literally become the number one killer in the United States, with some of the top “causes of death” being complications of the disease. Out of the hundreds of thousands of people in the country suffering from the disease, nine out of ten are dealing with Type 2 Diabetes. This usually involves onset as an adult and often triggered by obesity.
It also means that taking insulin is insufficient in control of the disease. Doing so requires following a diet that can both reduce the diabetes symptoms and complications, as well as the causes of the ailment. |
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Getting Diabetes Under Control.
The first step to treating the disorder is learning to recognize diabetes symptoms. Feelings of lethargy, especially after eating a meal heavy with carbohydrates, is one of the early signs. With Type 2 Diabetes, patients often begin to experience low blood sugar levels early in the morning before breakfast, making them feel light headed, shaky, and even disoriented. After a meal, sleepiness can be overwhelming, and often stomach discomfort can occur. Dry mouth and continuous thirst despite drinking lots of fluids is also a clear diabetes symptom.
Once recognized, it’s time to go on the diabetes diet. Now, there is one diet plan that has prevailed through the years for the treatment of diabetes; however, this diet looks more to preventing complications caused by the disease than to curing the ailment itself. In recent years, some doctors have returned to a method of dieting that was used prior to the invention of bottled insulin and pills to bring blood sugar down. Both diets have their plusses, so both will be discussed.
For nearly a century, the basic food pyramid has been used as the diabetes diet model, with a slight modification. For patients with diabetes, the base of carbohydrates is adjusted to exclude any fast burning carbs, otherwise known as items with a high glycemic index, meaning it will make sugar and insulin levels spike in response to digestion. At the top of the pyramid where the “fatty” products reside, saturated and trans fats were removed entirely and other fats minimized to avoid any cardiovascular complications that are common with diabetes. While this has been effective in reducing symptoms and affecting necessary weight loss when combined with the proper medication, it nonetheless does not remedy the situation.
A return to older methods has actually managed to cure overweight patients of their symptoms. Before the use of medication, doctors removed all but a few carbohydrates from their patients’ diets, knowing that these would all trigger insulin spikes. Instead, they based the entire diet on fats. While this can lead to controversy due to the properties of saturated fats being dangerous to health, recent information shows that “good” fats, like omega-3 oils, are healthy and necessary.
Also, they body can burn fat for energy just as it can carbs, and because it takes longer to do so, there is no insulin or sugar spike. Many people with Type 2 Diabetes have been able to stop taking any medication on this diet. The two diabetes diet options are clear; therefore, it is a matter of sheer determination to start to change your lifestyle and get well.
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