High-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diet for Diabetics

Diabetes is a disease that is caused by a combination of genetics and poor lifestyle, in which the organism does not produce adequate amount of insulin necessary for its absorption of glucose, which then accumulates in your bloodstream until it reaches a dangerously high level. Basically, diabetes is a disorder of metabolism – the way your organism makes use of digested food for growth and energy. Digestive juices break down most of the food you eat into a simple sugar known as glucose, which passes into your bloodstream to be available to body cells to use for growth and energy. However, in order for glucose to get into your body cells, insulin must be present. Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas, a large gland behind your stomach.

Statistically, diabetes is presently the 3rd main cause of death in the U.S.A.

Whenever you eat, your pancreas automatically produces the right amount of insulin to move the glucose from your blood into your cells. Unfortunately, if you are diabetic, either your pancreas produces little or no insulin, or your body cells simply do not respond to the insulin produced. As a result, glucose builds up in your blood, overflows into your urine, and passes out of your body. So, your organism loses its primary source of fuel even though your blood may contain large amounts of sugar, which then becomes harmful to your body. Because your pancreas is the next "connection" in your digestive system, whatever you eat goes directly to this body organ. Instead of digesting food and producing insulin, it now becomes your pain and torture that only grows wors with age.

Diabetes strikes various people in differently. It depends on their degree of diabetic complication, and their age. It is associated with long-term complications, which affect almost every major part of the body. As a matter of fact, diabetes may lead to blindness, problematic heart condition, strokes, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can even leave significant complications in case of pregnancy. As you age, the long-term effects of diabetes on your overall well-being are more exhausting and desolating.

Unfortunately, there is only control, but no medical treatment. Thus, only a healthy diet appears to be the best therapy to control insulin in diabetes. It is recommended to stick to high-carbohydrate and low-fat diet. Carbohydrates are present in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy foods, and starchy foods such as breads and pastas. Buy whole-grain breads and cereals with no trans-fat.

Avoid fried and high-fat starches, such as regular tortilla chips and potato chips, French fries, pastries, or biscuits – they are near junk foods! Use mustard instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich.

Avoid foods which contain significant proportions of ingredients ending in "-ol" or "-ose" - which are only confusing names for sugars!

Avoid all sugar and artificial sweeteners, including honey. Avoid sweets and chocolates, including all sugar-free types. If you must indulge yourself with some chocolates, go for the dark ones (not because they are recommendable but because they may contain more cocoa and less sugar). Read the labels, and make sure the first-named ingredient is cocoa and not sugar. Remember, chocolate manufacturers want you to believe that chocolates are "healthful" for you, and more importantly, they fund most of the research studies for the obvious reason.

Eat fresh or dried fruit, but never canned fruit – which is loaded with syrup. Buy smaller pieces of fruit. Eat fruit rather than extracting its juice. If you must drink fruit juice, dilute it with water, and drink in small amount so as not to "suddenly shock" your pancreas. Eat high-sugar and high-fat fruit desserts such as apple or cherry pie (not the ones sold at the supermarket) on very special occasions, and only in moderation, if you must.

Eat both raw and cooked vegetables with little or no fat, sauces, or dressings. Use a little vinegar or some lemon or lime juice, sprinkled with herbs and spices for seasoning. These flavorings add almost no fat or few calories. Steam vegetables using a small amount of water or low-fat broth. Mix in some chopped onion, ginger and garlic.

Cook meat in low fat, such as steaming, stir-frying, broiling, and grilling. Avoid deep-frying totally.

Buy cuts of organic beef, pork, and lamb with only a little fat on them. Trim off extra fat. Organic pork is hard to come by – it is best to avoid pork totally. Eat organic chicken or turkey without the skin.

It only may seem to be hard to stick to all these numerous tips, but if you wish to live a long and painless life, give your body what it really needs and don't stuff it with what it can't take.