The Effects Of A Low Carb Diet For People with Type 2 Diabetes
It is important for people with type 2 diabetes to understand what a low carb (carbohydrate) diet is so they can effectively control their diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is a disease that can be controlled with diet because its main effect is to limit the ability of the body to deal with excess sugar in the person’s diet. By filling your meals up with no carb foods you can limit levels of blood sugar which allows our bodies to stay on an even keel. But, if you eat a lot of foods with high carb contents then you flood sugar levels will swing wildly which is the main health effect of this disease.
Carbs are of two basic kinds: refined and unrefined. Refined carbs like white flour, pastas and white breads are those that quickly convert into glucose (blood sugar) in our digestive system. Unrefined carbs like those from fruits, whole grains and vegetables are great sources of fiber which slows down carb absorption in the body as well as the process by which carbs are converted into glucose. People who eat too many carbs, especially the refined type, have high levels of glucose in their bodies. The glucose is unwanted as it turns into fat.
It is worse for a diabetic. Because of the unusual amount of refined carbs, the blood sugar level increases which results in the body to have more glucose than what is really needed. This causes the pancreas to secrete insulin, but in a diabetic the pancreas does not produce enough insulin and so the blood sugar levels continue to rise. This can cause tissue damage in the extremities of the body.
But, eating a diabetic low carb diet has healthy benefits for type 2 diabetics. Since ther amount of sugar in the blood is kept lower, the effects of the reduced insulin production are decreased. Also eating low carb can cause a significant reduction of triglycerides and other fatty acids along with weight loss. In fact, by following a low carb diet, three out of four goals of diabetic diet are achieved and these are
- Normal or almost normal blood glucose, blood pressure and blood lipids levels
- Avoiding complications that are related to diabetes
- Increased energy that leads to more physical exercise
All around, it is hard to beat a low carb diet for diabetics.