Managing diabetes: Fat, protein, and fiber affect blood sugar levels


Carbohydrates most alter blood sugar levels, but fat, protein, and fiber also play a role. Fat and protein have relatively virtually no effect on raising blood sugar levels; however, they are able to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates. This is exactly why many people find that when they eat pizza, for example, their rise in blood sugar levels is delayed, and their highest blood sugar may occur 4 hours after their meal, not two.

Using a "complex meal," one that combines fat, protein, carbohydrate, and fiber, helps stabilize blood sugar by slowing the release of glucose into the bloodstream and promotes a sense of fullness. It's pretty simple to create complex meals. A breakfast of Cheerios, milk, a peach, and sunflower seeds is a complex meal; it contains carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber.

Fiber likewise helps stabilize blood sugar levels. By slowing down the continuing development of food in the digestive system, it blunts the discharge of glucose to the bloodstream. Foods that have five or more grams of fiber per serving, for example beans, high-fiber cereal, lentils, pilaf, or bean spreads like hummus, help prevent rapid rises and radical drops in blood sugar.

Winning strategies to help you follow your meal plan Although old restrictive diabetic diet has today morphed into a healthful eating plan, you might still need help sometimes sticking to your meal plan. Dietitian Fletcher recommends a diet strategy called "mindful eating." It helps break emotional eating habits. "Most people overeat to fulfill emotional hunger," says Fletcher.

In addition, says Sasha Loring, a psychotherapist at Duke University Health System, "Most people don't think about what they're eating - they're focusing on the next bite." Both these habits make it hard to ever feel full. When you eat mindfully, you pay attention to what you are eating, consciously savor each bite, and learn to recognize whether your need to eat is physical or emotional, which will help curb overeating and snacking.

In a randomized controlled trial at Duke and Indiana State University, binge eaters who participated in a nine-week mindfuleating program went from binging an average of four times a week to once per week and reduced their amounts of insulin resistance. To practice mindful eating, slow down and really consider the food on your table; notice its aroma, shape, color, texture, and taste.

Benefit from the satisfaction of each single bite and tune in to how you feel while on your table: Are you in an anxiety for more or calm and satisfied? Eating out is a time when it is simple to set off your meal plan.

You're not sure what ingredients or how much carbohydrate or fat are in a dish. Entrées in many cases are bigger than one portion size, and you may feel it is a time for you to throw caution towards the wind and treat yourself. Here are a few of my strategies that let me have things I want as well as stay with my meal plan.

Nine and a half times out of ten, my requests are honored with a smile. Restaurants want your business. If it's a neighborhood restaurant, inform them that if they accommodate you, they'll see you often.

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This article was sent to us by: Chloe Larson at 02152011

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