Diabetics Can Still Enjoy Their Food.
There was a time when diabetics were forbidden any consumption of sugar. Even today, some health experts continue to harp on the harm table sugar can do to diabetics. However, many understand that it is practically impossible not to take sugar although it is recommended that very small quantities only should be used in drinks and food where necessary. Actually, although table sugar is a simple carbohydrate just like flour and other refined, processed foods, it is not any better or worse than any other simple carbohydrates in the increase in blood sugar. Of course, carbohydrates from vegetables are complex carbohydrates and take a longer time to change to glucose. So, table sugar, compared with starches with the same amount of calories, sends in a similar amount of glucose into the bloodstream. As is well known, sugar is just a carbohydrate.
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When eating sugar, keep these tips in mind:
- Always pay attention to information in food labels. Get to know the amount of carbohydrates or sugar in the food you buy and consume.
- Never eat more than the amount of carbohydrates allowed in your meal plan. If you consume sweet or starchy food, perhaps candies or cakes, not in your planned meal, remove some carbohydrate food with almost equivalent calories from your planned meal. However, if the sweet and starchy food is added to the meal plan, then your insulin dose must be adjusted to cater for the additional carbohydrates in order to be able to still have blood glucose levels under control. So, there may be a need to increase the dosage of your medication whenever sugar intake is more than planned.
- Since sweet food is high in calories, it may be fattening. Containing lots of sugar and fat, it can lead to weight gain which is not favorable to the health of diabetics. So, it is advisable to reduce the amount of sweet foods consumed.
- Make sure your blood glucose level is monitored after consuming sweet foods. Consult your doctor on the necessity and the amount of insulin increased whenever additional sugary foods are consumed.
- In the diet management of a diabetic (see Diabetes Management), it is the amount of carbohydrates consumed and not from where the sugar comes from that is important.
- It is a fallacy that diabetics must totally avoid consumption of carbohydrates and sugar, eat lots of protein and take only specially prepared diabetic meals totally different from what is eaten by the other members of your family. Diabetics can still enjoy the food they like at any time. All they need to remember is control the amount of carbs, calories and other types of food and monitor their blood glucose levels regularly.
With the facts given above, you know you can still enjoy your food, even if you are a diabetic!