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Natural Health and Wellness

diabetes

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The Optimal Prediabetes Diet

diet-diabetesDiabetes isn’t a disease that just turns on like a switch when you come down with it. Its onset is a gradual process that hovers near the point of diabetes before you actually get the disease. The process that happens right before you get diabetes is called prediabetes. It can last for years until the diagnosis of diabetes is finally made.

Doctors diagnose prediabetes when the fasting blood sugar is between 100 mg/dL and 125 mg/dL. It means you are likely developing insulin resistance; insulin is less able to allow glucose to enter the cells to be used as fuel. As your diet remains poor and your weight perhaps goes up, you are finally diagnosed as having diabetes or a fasting blood sugar of greater than 125 mg/dL and non-fasting blood sugars in the range of 160-200 mg/dL or more.

The time of pre-diabetes is perhaps the best time to make dietary changes to prevent diabetes from ever happening. This is the time to take a hard look at your diet and commit to lifetime changes.

Soda and Juice

One of the worst things for diabetes is drinking sugar-containing sodas. These types of sodas contain as much as ten teaspoons of table sugar per can of soda. While you might think that switching to fruit juice is a good alternative, the truth is that juice can be almost as bad as soda.

The problem with juice is that it contains all the sugar of the fruit it comes from and none of the fiber, which is contained in the pulp of the fruit that is removed in the juicing process. The juice alone dumps a large amount of sugar into the blood system over a very short period of time. If you like fruit, eat the whole fruit, complete with fiber that allows for a slower peak absorption of glucose after eating the food.

Fruits and Vegetables

Prediabetes is the best time to learn good ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables in your diet. Vegetables are technically better than fruit because they contain more complex carbohydrates than fruit. Complex carbohydrates are eventually broken down into simple carbohydrates but this burns fuel and allows for gradual absorption of glucose into the bloodstream.

Fruits provide the sweetness of much worse foods but many provide healthy antioxidants and vitamins as well. As mentioned, whole fruits are much better for you than fruit juice and the fiber is good for the bowels.

Starches

It’s okay to eat starchy foods like potatoes, pasta, corn and sweet potatoes as a prediabetic but don’t make these foods the staples of your diet.

Limit the amount of rich sauces and butter that you add to these starches as they can add to your weight and often contain a lot of salt, which isn’t good for high blood pressure.

Meats and Proteins

Twenty five percent of your calories should be come from meats and other proteins. Meats should be as lean as possible so as not to add so much fat to your diet. Trim all visible fat from meats you are cooking and pour off any grease after pan-frying meats. The best way to eat meat is grilled, baked, or broiled with something to catch greasy drippings.

Grease doesn’t really affect pre-diabetes but it can add to your weight and this plays a strong role in developing diabetes.

Don’t forget the benefit of plant based proteins like nuts, beans, and legumes.

Fish is probably the most high quality protein, it is loaded with nutrients, very low in fat and calories, and fatty fish gives you heart healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats.

Eat to lose weight

Unless you are of a normal weight, the pre-diabetic state is a good time to bring your weight down to a lower level, ideally into a body mass index of 25 or less.

You can calculate your body mass index or BMI by this calculation: Take your weight in pounds and divide it by your height in inches squared. Multiply the result by 703. Numbers over 30 indicate you are obese and you should then lose weight. Even a 5% to 7% reduction in bodyweight can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

For further reading grab a copy of our eBook Alternative and Natural Therapies to Manage Type 2 Diabetes and learn about the natural remedies to help diabetes.

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The Best Dessert Choices For Type 2 Diabetes

The Big Book of Diabetic DessertsDiabetes is a very serious medical condition, but it can be kept in check with the right medication and a healthy diet plan. Being diabetic means you should be very mindful when it comes to watching what you eat. You need to monitor your blood sugar levels, and keep to a strict diabetic-friendly diet that is filled with healthy carbohydrates, and is low in fat and calories if weight loss is required in order to stay as healthy as possible.

Although diabetics have to be very selective when it comes to their diet, it does not mean that dessert and sweets have to be given up completely as there are many healthy ones that are also diabetes-friendly.

There are many recipes online for healthy desserts and many recipe books as well.

There are also many sugar free options at the super market; some options are sugar free Fudgiscles, ice cream and popsicles. There are many other choices in sugar free goodies, though precautions should be taken. Check the label for fat content, since those with diabetes are a high risk for heart disease, fat intake is an important consideration, and especially trans fat, which can be included in boxed food.

Fresh fruit makes a great dessert and when topped with a fat free frozen dessert topping or nonfat plain yogurt makes for a nice healthy sundae.

Atkins Nutritionals offers a large line of low carb nutrition bars, and they taste wonderful. Most have less than 3 grams net carbs per bar since the Atkins diet is a low carb diet. They have bars that mimic popular candy bars, like Snickers, Mounds, peanut butter cups and even plain and peanut M and M’s. They make great on the go snacks and the larger bars are great meal substitutes that are completely diabetes friendly.

Black Forest Trifle Recipe

This tasty dessert recipe is a healthy alternative to traditional chocolate cake and trifle. This diabetes-friendly dessert is low in fat and has no sugar. As a diabetic, you can sink your teeth into some of these decadent and delicious dessert treats without putting your health in jeopardy.

Even though you need to carefully monitor your sugar intake as a diabetic, you may be happy to know that you can still enjoy a chocolate dessert occasionally. This diabetic-friendly dessert option is made with sugar-free instant pudding and sugar-free, low-fat chocolate-cake mix.

A moist trifle will soothe the sweet tooth of any chocoholic. Add a bit of Cool Whip in order to shave off a lot of the fat that is found in less-healthy recipes. In addition, the cherries included in this recipe will boost both the vitamin C levels and add antioxidant properties to this tasty treat, something many diabetics can use.

Calories per serving: 102
Carbohydrates per serving: 22

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. package no-sugar-added low-fat chocolate cake mix
• 1 large sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2 cups fat-free milk
• 1-pound fresh cherries (pitted), or frozen cherries, thaw and drain before preparing recipe.
• 2 cups thawed fat free dessert topping (cool Whip)
• Optional topping: unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions on the package using the 8-inch square or round cake pan method.

2. Cool prepared cake for 10 minutes

3. Remove cake from pan and cut into ten 1-inch pieces.

4. Prepare the pudding while the cake bakes according to package directions but use 2 cups fat-free milk; Cover prepared pudding and chill for 30 minutes.

5. A trifle is a layer, so you will need to layer the cake, cherries, and frozen topping into a 3-quart trifle bowl. You can make less thick layers, or more thin layers, thin typically works best. Continue to layer until you run out of cake and the final layer should be the frozen topping.

6. Sprinkle cocoa powder on top if desired.

Yield: 16, 2/3 cup servings

Nutritional Information Per Serving

• 102 calories
• 1 gram total fat
• 1 mg cholesterol
• 110 mg sodium
• 22 grams carbohydrates
• 1 gram fiber
• 3 grams protein

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The Role Of Stress In Diabetes And Natural Remedies

meterStress happens to everyone. We all experience it. At one time or another, physical or mental circumstances which we perceive as a threat affect us. This triggers our fight or flight response, and a cascade of physical responses follow. Muscles tighten and engage to prepare for action. Hormones are released, among them adrenaline to lend us speed and strength, and cortisol which boosts blood pressure and blood sugar, for increased circulation and energy. Cortisol is what poses a serious thread for people with diabetes.

Stress and Blood Sugar

Ideally, diabetics keep their blood sugar levels fairly balanced. For a diabetic living in a state of chronic stress, this becomes improbable if not impossible. The stress response releases hormones which cue the body to release increased levels of glucose; the physical signals caused by the stress response indicate a need for quick energy–more sugar in the blood stream.

The stress response also has a behavioral effect on diabetes. People living with diabetes and chronic stress often experience greater difficulty making appropriate lifestyle choices. They may indulge in “comfort” foods (fat and sugar heavy foods), which further increases sugar in the blood stream. They will likely also take less time for physical activity or forget to monitor their blood sugar levels.

These factors make it especially important for diabetics to manage and mitigate their stress levels. A variety of natural therapies to assist with stress management and relief are available.

Many of them are low cost or no cost. The most significant investment required to benefit from them is time. The time is well worth the return on investment, good health and improved mental well-being.

Ways to Reduce Stress

A person may choose several approaches to stress management. They may choose to focus on mental exercises to calm and focus the mind. Others select physical activity as their preferred relaxation method. Many people choose to use a combination of mental and physical relaxation techniques to reduce their stress levels.

Assess Your Stress

A good way to begin the process is to evaluate your daily activities and discern where and when you experience stress.

When a fairly decent list is ready, check for the items over which you can exert some control. If you are constantly running late, setting your clock ahead by 15 or 20 minutes might allow you to stay on track and arrive on time or early.

Physical approaches to stress management include more than traditional exercise (calisthenics, weight training, running, etc.):

• Hobbies
• Crafts
• Singing Lessons
• Volunteering in a variety of settings

The key is to select and activity which allows you to be relaxed and moving at the same time.

Mental approaches to calming the mind and body include more than meditation:

Breathwork

As the fight or flight response confirms, the physical and mental state of a person more often than not aligns with their breathing patterns.

  • In the fight or flight response, breathing becomes accelerated to increase the volume of oxygen available to fight or flee.
  • Sleeppresents a different breathing pattern, a typically deep and slow one
  • A calm person presents yet another breath pattern, steady and even.

A variety of exercises are available to practice breath awareness and breath control. These exercises allow a person to shift the direction of their breath to align with their desired mental state. For the purposes of our discussion, this means shifting anxiety or negative emotion to a sense of calm and well-being.

  • The exercises practiced may be simple cyclical breaths of even inhales and exhales.
  • A person may choose to count breaths up to a certain number.
  •  Another option is to set a timer and do nothing but breathe for 5, 10 or 20 minute increments.

Progressive Relaxation Therapy

During progressive relaxation therapy, a person alternates engaging the muscles of a specific body part and relaxing them. They do this for each part of the body in increments as large or small as they like.

They could begin with wiggling and relaxing the toes or flexing and relaxing the whole foot and so on until every part of the body is addressed, including the face. Audio recordings are available to guide you through this process.

Change the Scenario: Mindset

Another way to say this would be change your mindset. Whenever a negative thought or fear comes to mind, reimagine it as a positive.

Visualization

If you are feeling anxious, visualize yourself in a place or setting you find calming and soothing. You may also paint a picture of a happy memory and spend time recalling it to re-experience the sense of happiness or well being it engenders.

Other forms of visualization are more abstract, such as imagining a warm soothing light enveloping the body and soothing away aches and pains while breathing deeply.

Optimize Wellbeing

Other activities focus primarily on using the mind to body connection to optimize your physical and mental well-being:

Activities which encourage a calm mind and sound body include Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates. These activities directly tie the movement of the body to the breath creating a sense of calm, easing anxiety and building physical fitness.

Summary

Implementing stress management activities in their daily lives is essential to the well being of diabetics. The importance of these types of lifestyle choices are magnified for them, because stress increases two of their greatest health challenges, blood pressure and glucose levels in the blood stream.

The range of stress management solutions available makes this a very approachable and necessary lifestyle choice to apply.

You can simply try each of these therapies with the guidance of your doctor or a wellness specialist to find the right tools for you.

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How A Nutritionist Can Be The Greatest Asset For Type 2 Diabetics

diabetic-plateWith the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, come many questions.

What can I eat as a diabetic?

Do I have to lose weight?

Are there things I have to avoid now that I’m diabetic?

The answers to all these questions can easily be obtained from a nutritionist, perhaps even more so than you can get them from your primary doctor. This is why doctors routinely advise new diabetic patients to see a nutritionist to gain valuable information about how they can help themselves and their condition through nutrition.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease that is best controlled with diet and exercise. Making healthy changes to lifestyle choices helps to manage the disease and prevent many of the complications associated with it, including, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetic neuropathy, and premature death that can result from out of control blood sugars and complications.

What can you learn from a nutritionist?

A nutritionist can meet with you for only one visit or for several—whatever it takes to get you on a path to better health. He or she will probably weigh and measure you to see what your body mass index is.

Your body mass index or BMI is the best way to compare your weight to the weight scientists have found to be ideal for good health. It is a calculation based on your height and weight with the optimal number being 18-25.

Any number over 25 means you’re overweight and any number over 30 means you’re obese. Your nutritionist, once knowing your BMI can tell you if you need to lose weight and how much you should lose.

Your nutritionist will probably tell you that what you are eating reflects the amount of glucose, a simple sugar, is found in your blood. They will tell you that, while there is no hard and fast “diabetic diet,” there are some guidelines to follow when planning your meals and snacks.

Furthermore, you and your nutritionist can design a meal plan that works for you and that is based on foods you enjoy. You don’t have to suffer through unpalatable foods just because you have diabetes.

A good nutritionist will be supportive of cultural and lifestyle considerations when planning a menu, and be respectful of what you the patient needs.

What is a healthy food plan to follow?

Your nutritionist will tell you the difference between foods that contain mostly carbohydrates, those that contain protein and those that contain fat. Carbohydrates come primarily from foods of the earth—fruits, vegetables and grains.

Your nutritionist will tell you that a healthy diet consists of 40-60 percent carbohydrates and will help you choose carbohydrates that appeal to you and that provide you with the calories, vitamins and minerals to keep your body running properly.

Protein comes from beans, nuts, and meat primarily. If you are a vegetarian, you can get your protein from bean and nut sources rather than from meats. These kinds of foods, important for cell structure and our organs, should make up 20 percent of the food we take in every day.

Fats should make up less than 30 percent of your diet. You can find healthy fats in oils, such as vegetable oil, corn oil, and safflower oil. Healthy fats are also found in avocadoes, walnuts, dairy and fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel. Ideally, diabetics should follow this recommendation carefully because fat is calorie-dense food and you don’t have to eat very much to ingest a lot of calories.

Fat intake is also an important consideration because those with diabetes are at a high risk for heart disease and eating heart healthy fats, and limiting unhealthy fats helps to lower that risk.

Do you have to stay away from sugar on a diabetic diet?

While it was once thought that the diabetic should consume very little sugar, it is now known that a mild amount of sugar is completely acceptable. You can work with your nutritionist to find ways to eat sugar in moderation in order to make eating fun and food palatable. In the end, it is all about balance and eating foods to keep your body healthy, perhaps for the first time in your life.

Your nutritionist can track your weight as you begin to control your diabetes through the use of diet and perhaps medications. The more weight you lose, the less you need to rely on medications to control your diabetes. In this way, your dietician can work in conjunction with your doctor to make sure your diet and medication regimen is optimal.

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The Most Important Lifestyle Choices For Diabetics

ExerciseThe diagnosis of diabetes can be a hard one and something you may not have expected. You know there will have to be changes in your lifestyle if you are to remain healthy. Here are some things you should know about the lifestyle choices that are critical to manage type 2 diabetes:

• Take a hard look at your weight. Not everyone with diabetes is overweight but many of them are, especially those with type 2 diabetes. This means seeing a nutritionist or a doctor and determining the appropriate weight for you and setting that as your goal. Look into any number of the many locally- or nationally-based weight loss programs. You can work with your doctor to come up with a weight loss program you can stick with.

• See a nutritionist. This can become something you do regularly or just in the beginning of your diagnosis. You can get some great written materials and can take notes on how you will begin your eating life as a diabetic.

• Begin to eat foods with a low glycemic index. The glycemic index is a measure of how fast a type of food raises blood sugar. Some foods have a lot of sucrose or plain sugar in them and raise the blood sugar very fast. This causes a great spike in the blood sugar and is not healthy for diabetics especially. Low glycemic index foods gradually let your body adjust to the slowly rising blood sugar. You can get a list of the glycemic index of foods from the nutritionist or at a bookstore.

• Keep track of what you eat. This helps you know if your efforts at the end of the day have been successful. Look at the number of calories you took in and pay attention to the number of fat grams you eat as well as the fiber in the food you are consuming. Fiber is good for a diabetic diet because it diminishes the rush of glucose into your bloodstream when you eat your meals. Fiber is also essential for heart health, and since 50% of diabetics die from heart disease or stroke, fiber can help prevent such complications. Fiber is also good for digestive health. The best sources of fiber are vegetables, berries, and whole grains.

• Be prepared to inspect your feet every night before you go to bed. Diabetics, like anyone, can be cut on something, step on a sharp object or have a part of their foot rub abnormally on a part of the shoe. In diabetics, these things don’t heal fast enough and infections can easily happen. Keep your feet clean and dry and make sure any open areas are checked every night to make sure they are healing properly.

A Word about Exercise

As a diabetic, you should consider exercise to be a big part of your life. Exercise not only keeps your weight down, it burns sugars and keeps your heart healthy. Diabetics are at a greater risk of developing heart disease and exercise can ameliorate some of this risk.

There are two types of exercise: anaerobic and aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise is strength training such as that with free weights or with the use of weight lifting machines. You can lose a moderate amount of weight and can gain muscle mass, which replaces the fat in your diet. Aerobic exercise means exercise that causes you to breathe hard and causes your heart rate to increase.

Aerobic exercise is the exercise you should focus on most because it positively affects your blood cholesterol, lowers blood sugar, and keeps your heart healthy. It includes things like riding a bicycle, walking, running, swimming, and dozens of other exercises that can you can do alone, with a partner or with your entire family.