As a Beachbody Coach I get people all the time that have Diabetes and are looking for ways to improve their health. I thought I would dig deeper into it and see what I can find out. Especially for something as important as the diet.
The low sugar diet is usually prescribed to diabetic clients. Normally, our beta cells which are one of the types of cells in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas secrete insulin. Every time you eat the food especially those rich in carbohydrates, it is converted to glucose and stays in our blood. So now there is an increase of blood glucose in our body, and this phenomenon will stimulate the beta cells to increase the production of insulin. The role of insulin is to remove the glucose from the blood and distribute it to our cells and muscles for energy. Some will be placed to the liver and fats for storage for future use. So therefore, the main function of insulin is to lower the blood glucose level.
For diabetic clients, the problem here is that there is something wrong with the beta cells that it cannot secrete enough insulin to do the function normally. If the amount of insulin produce is not adequate enough to move the glucose from the blood stream, then the condition is called hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia is one of the common symptoms of diabetes mellitus and this has to be corrected immediately to prevent complications.
Actually there are 2 types of diabetes mellitus, the insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM). No matter what type of diabetes mellitus you have, there are three important managements which are important to control this metabolic disorder. Usually and almost all individuals who have diabetes mellitus will be diabetic forever, so to control the blood glucose is the main objective. The three main ways to help control the increased blood sugar are medications, exercises, and diet. Low sugar diet is included in the plan diet for the clients because sugar (sucrose) intake produces more glucose in the blood. In this condition, the food that will be converted into glucose must be limited or reduced only and not completely eliminated because our body needs glucose especially for energy. The continuous low of blood sugar can also have a bad effect as well. Low carbohydrates diet such as low sugar diet must be strictly observed. Self-discipline is needed in the treatment of diabetes mellitus because a client with diabetes mellitus is always taught to be independent in controlling their blood sugar level.
The low sugar diet does not necessarily mean intake of the sugar per se, and you have to have a talk with a dietitian about this since there are foods that are rich in sugar and when which can increase blood glucose level when consumed. Proteins and fats may contain some form of sugar, so it is necessary to plan your diabetic diet with the experts like the dietitians. Although some nurses are trained to help the diabetic patients, still dietitians are the appropriate people to approach about the diet plan.
If you have any questions about this please contact me (I am a Beachbody Coach), I will do my best to see what I can do to help you.
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