Diabetes is a disease that is usually related to other diseases and unhealthy lifestyles such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and a diet rich in refined sugars. Other factors that promote diabetes are obesity, family history, age, and sex.
The disease of diabetes consists of the inability of our body to cope with glucose due to an insulin impairment. Insulin is a protein produced by the Pancreas. It occurs when insulin is not produced in the right amount.
We have two different types of diabetes.
- Type 1 diabetes. In this case, Pancreas does not produce insulin at all. Therefore, insulin treatment is required.
- Type 2 Diabetes. This type of diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce the right amount of insulin and sometimes does not require any insulin treatment but a healthy lifestyle and mainly a good diet that helps regulate the glucose level in the body.
Diabetes represents the leading cause of diseases such as heart attacks, kidney failure, stroke, blindness, and lower limb amputation. To the WHO (World Health Organisation), in 34 years, the number of people who have diabetes has increased by over 4.5 times. The best way to prevent diabetes is a healthy lifestyle based on good BMI, regular exercise, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and having a healthy diet.
Signs and symptoms of diabetes include
- Dry mouth and thirst
- Hunger
- Frequent urination
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue
How weight and energy affect diabetes
Maintaining a healthy weight is beneficial for everyone, especially those with diabetes. Being overweight requires more insulin and consequently will affect the glucose level in our bodies. Having a healthy weight brings benefits all over the body, will make us feel more relaxed, focus on our diet and daily intake, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and other issues.
The diet suggested for individuals who have diabetes is termed Low Glycemic Index or simply Low GI. This diet is essential as it helps too much insulin in our bodies. The concept of our diet is based on the concept of the Glycemic Index. That is the response from our bodies to certain foods in terms of sugar. Different foods have a different Glycemic indexes, and consequently, our bodies react in different ways. The Low Gi diet allows us to rank the food by the response to the sugar. People who have diabetes should have a diet rich in Low GI Foods. Experts interpret glycemic index in the following way.
- Low: 55 or fewer
- Medium: 56–69
- High: 70 or more
Excellent low GI foods can be found by following the link below
The GI Diet – List of low GI foods (the-gi-diet.org)
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Planning On Changing Your Lifestyle?
Trying to focus on the solution rather than the causes. That will lead you to a different level of thinking, reduce your stress, and make you feel better. Being constantly under stress increase the level of cortisol. Cortisol loves to help our body to store fat in our hips and our abdomen. Right now, we know how to identify our triggers and learn how to deal with them. After that, the biggest challenge has an action plan to prevent relapse. A good relapse prevention plan includes three main steps. Firstly, recognize your triggers, secondly, deal with them and finally use our self-efficacy to deal with them without back in the old habits.
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