Diabetes
The
Diet You Must Deal With
When
carbohydrates are digested they are broken down into simple sugars and
contained in the body as glucose, the sugar in the blood which supplies
the cells with energy, and glycogen, the storage form of energy.
In order to store blood sugar for energy, insulin, the hormone produced
by the pancreas, must be present.
In
Diabetes, where there is a lack of sufficient usable insulin, carbohydrates
cannot be utilized in a normal fashion. As a result, sugar accumulates
in the blood and urine rather than being converted into fuel for the body's
use.
There are
two types of Diabetes:
*Type
1-one that occurs in early childhood
*
Type 2-one that generally occurs around middle-age
Childhood
Diabetes is usually treated with insulin therapy, but both forms respond
favorably
to, and must be accompanied by
dietary
control.
In
order to control this illness, the diabetic must be aware of the nutritional
make-up of foods. Since the difficulty arises from a decreased tolerance
for carbohydrates, some
restrictions
must be placed on this food component in the diet.
Protein
metabolism provides an easily tolerated, slowly released source of glucose
for the body, so while carbohydrates are kept to a minimum, protein is
elevated to maintain
even
levels of blood sugar and prevent Insulin shock. (and low blood
sugar)
These
high levels of protein may also retard the development of future
degenerative
diseases associated with diabetes.
It
may well be that the diabetic also has an impaired ability to utilize fats,
for
it now appears that atherosclerosis, or thickening of the arteries, occurs
early and progresses faster in diabetics.
Therefore
the diabetic must watch consumption of fats, as well as carbohydrates,
and
replace a large percentage of the saturated fats on the menu with unsaturated
ones.
In
all forms of diabetes, carbohydrates should be evenly distributed throughout
the day. Carbohydrate tolerance is usually least in the morning; in order
to increase
the
span, breakfast can contain smaller amounts of carbohydrates,
supplemented
by another small meal at bedtime.
High
concentrations of sugar in the blood promote growth of bacteria.
to
increase resistance to infection, the diabetic should include foods rich
in
Vitamin
A and Vitamin C in the daily diet.
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