Natural Food Items to Help Control Diabetes
Sep 21st, 2011 by GuestPoster
Editor’s Comment: This article has been kindly supplied by a guest writer and visitor to this website.
Contributions to this website are welcomed. The opinions expressed in such contributions, usually referred to as Guest Postings, are those of their authors and may sometimes differ somewhat from my own views. However, the gathering of viewpoints from a wide range of sources helps achieve the objectives of this website — which is to raise awareness of the many aspects relating to Diabetes.
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Diabetes
Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the production and function of insulin becomes impaired. Insulin is needed to help the body’s cells absorb the sugar that circulates in the bloodstream, sugar that has been derived from food consumed. When not absorbed by the cells, levels of sugar in the blood stream increase to above normal levels. Excess sugar in the blood can cause, over time, damage to the body’s organs. In people with diabetes, a diet that increases sugar levels is obviously unwanted. One has to change such a diet and add exercise to maintain a closer to normal blood sugar level. A well-known dietary approach that can improve the blood sugar levels of the diabetic patient is the mediterranean diet which uses natural foods and is one of the best diets for all people to achieve good health.
Some natural food items and preparations that help control diabetes and prevent complications are as follows:
Fruits and veggies
Fruits are healthy alternatives to sweets and other simple sugar sources. They contain dense nutrients and minerals that help maintain normal blood sugar in the body. Such fruits include apples, pears, oranges, and grapes.
Vegetables, on the other hand, are great sources of vitamin B, which provides a natural energy boost. Vegetables also have abundant soluble fiber that helps in digestion as well as removal of unwanted fat and excessive fluids in the body.
Whole grain products
Whole grain products are the healthy alternatives to white flour breads or pastries. The complex carbohydrates in whole grains make them a better choice than many other carbohydrate foods. While whole grain products may cost more than ordinary breads, their benefits make them worthwhile.
Meat products, organ meat and poultry
Lamb, beef, pork, and other meat products — but not red meat in particular, are great sources of protein. Many minerals and vitamins are found in organ meats such as liver, kidney, and heart.
Fish and seafood
Almost any food that comes from the sea is healthy and beneficial. Fish and other seafood, algae and seaweed, are rich in healthful nutrients and, importantly, they are very low in sugars.
Herbs and condiments
Among those, cinnamon is though to help prevent the onset of diabetes and to add in one’s meals there are also fenugreek seeds, indian blackberry seeds, basel, wildjeerakam and many other herbs.
In conclusion
Those are some of the natural food items to consider for diabetes, but there are also foods that are less favorable to be wary of, food items and food additives that contain a lot of sugar and salt. Be aware of what information is shown on nutrition facts labels. Some believe that even the everyday common beverages such as coffee and tea should not be taken in excess, perhaps a limit of only one to two cups of coffee or tea a day.
Since obesity and diabetes are relevant to each other, the adoption of a diet that includes healthy natural food items serves a dual purpose since it can also help decrease overall body fat content. For a many tasty recipes, try the Mediterranean diet for weight loss a great source of natural foods.
Diabetes, while not curable is controllable — and to do so can start with a natural diet. To improve a lifestyle, slowly add more natural food items to the daily diet and perhaps add a fitness exercise or two into the mix, exercise aids in weight control.
