« Back to Press Releases & Article Home Diet and Diabetes Date : February 2, 2006 If there is anything that people dread, it is the diagnosis of diabetes and the reinforcement of a strict diet to keep the blood sugar levels under control. Today the word diet has taken on a new longer means total abstinence but a controlled, yet friendly procedure, which heals and strengthens as much as it caters palates.
For every diabetic, diet is of paramount importance. Neither insulin nor tablets mean that diet can be given up. Do not get scared of the word 'diet'. This does not mean starvation but healthy, balanced and varied nutrition which is necessary for you as a diabetic. It helps you maintain normal weight, appropriate for your height, age and sex; maintain blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible; and gives a feeling of well being and satisfaction. A diabetic nutrition plan would most likely permit you to eat almost any normal food of your choice, except those contain sugar, jaggery and honey. Our diet mainly consists of carbohydrates. Diabetics need not restrict the carbohydrate intake but may alter the type of carbohydrate in the diet. The carbohydrates in cereal and pulses contain complex carbohydrates, which are broken into simple sugars which are directly absorbed. Dietary fiber also prevents constipation and helps to keep the blood cholesterol levels lower. A diabetic should eat only familiar food rather than going for new or unknown foods. It is observed that different carbohydrates raise the blood sugar to a variable extent. It is therefore important to know, while recommending a diet for a diabetic, what is the extent of rise in blood sugar with different foods. Use of artificial sweeteners is acceptable in the diet can be substituted for sugar. A diabetic can have sweets made with artificial sweeteners in place of sugar. Sweeteners that contain aspartame are preferable to saccharin based sweeteners. In addition to eating the right food, physical exercise plays an important role in the treatment of diabetes. Physical exercise lowers the blood sugar level. Exercise tone up the body, improves the circulation, helps blood stamina and provides a sense of well-being. A diabetic should be educated on the nature of the disease he has and the possibility of development of acute and long term complication of the disease, if the blood sugar is not kept under control. In addition, the patient should be counseled about the importance of following the dietician's diet and also the importance of exercise and drugs. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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