Diabetes: How To Manage It With Diet and Herbs

What Is Diabetes?

Diabetics is a chronic health condition that affects negatively how the body turns foods into energy which are glucose and accumulates excess of the glucose in the blood stream [Blood sugar level]. The body breaks down the food we eat into sugar [glucose] and release it into the blood stream. Therefore, diabetics is accumulations of excess glucose in the blood stream. The blood glucose is the main source of energy and it’s gotten from foods especially macro nutrients [carbohydrates, fat, and protein]. A hormone called insulin produce by the pancreas, help the glucose from food to get into the body cells to be used for energy.

What Are The Types OF Diabetes?

There two main types of diabetics (type 1 and type 2 diabetes) with different causes but have the same common problem and symptoms of too much glucose in the blood stream. If diabetics is poorly controlled it can lead to serious health complication causing damage to most of the organs and tissues in the body including the liver, heart, eyes, kidney, nerves and  prevent fast and proper wound healing.

Type One (Insulin Dependent Diabetes):

Is a type of diabetes that is autoimmune disease. In this case the insulin producing cells in the pancreases are damaged, autoimmune disease means the body attacks itself. It is common among children and young adults but can also develop at any stage of life. It is called juvenile diabetics. The insulin is not produced enough or not produced at all to regulate blood sugar so people with type 1 diabetes   should be given insulin every day. This is it referred to insulin dependent diabetes.

Type Two Diabetes:

Is the most common type of diabetes in which 95% of people with diabetes are type 2 diabetics. It’s common among middle age to insulin resistant diabetes and adult onset diabetes. In this case the body’s cells don’t respond normally to the insulin produced in some cases the insulin produce is not enough.

What Are Other Types Of Diabetes?

Gestational Diabetes:

This type can only develop in women and its only during pregnancy. Some women develops gestational diabetes when their pregnant and usually goes away after pregnancy. Research have shown that most women with gestational diabetes may ends up with type 2 diabetes at later stage of life if not eaten healthy and living a healthy life style.

Prediabetes:

This type of diabetes is a warning stage where the blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not too high or enough to be medically diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Monogenic diabetes syndromes:

It’s a rare inherited form of diabetes examples are neonatal and maturity onset diabetes of the young people.

Drugs or chemical induced diabetes:

This types occurs after treatment of diseases like HIV/AIDS or transplant of an organ. The use of steroids like glucocorticoid steroid.

What Are The Risk Factor Of Diabetes?

• Family history [parents or sibling] of prediabetes or type 2 diabetes

• Over weight /obesity.

• Injury to pancreas.

• Auto immune disease [ attacks the body’s tissues or organs].

• Exposure to illness caused by viruses.

• High blood pressure [ hypertension].

• Low level of physical activities.

• Gestational diabetes.

• Smoking tobacco.

• Aging [over 45 years].

• History of heart disease such as stroke.

• Physical stress [surgery or illness].

What Are Symptoms Of Diabetes?

• Blurred vision.

• Weak, tire feeling.

• Increased thirst.

• Poor and slow healing of sores or cuts.

• Urinating frequently.

• Drying of the mouth.

• Weight loss.

• Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet.

• Yeast infections.

• Urinary infection.

• Thirsty [feel like drinking water ] always.

Complication In Diabetes

• Nerve damage [neuropathy.

• Kidney [kidney failure].

• Eye damage [retinopathy].

• Dementia.

• Erectile dysfunction.

• Damage of the foot.

• High blood pressure.

• Atherosclerosis.

• Stroke.

• Loss of hearing.

• Depression

• Hypoglycemia in new born. Higher normal birth weight.      

What Are The Food Disallowed For A Diabetics Patient?

• Limit or avoid refined carbohydrate such as pasta [macaroni, spaghetti couscous]. White bread.

• Dehulled grains – such as white rice, corn, millet, hungry rice and finger millet that are denuded [back removed].

• Fatty meat [fatty beef, pork, lamb, poultry skin].

• Sugary beverages [fruits juice, energy drinks, soda, carbonated drinks such as cola].

• Sweets [candy, ice cream, chocolates, cakes, cookies, doughnut, baked products.

• Full fatty milk and dairy products [whole cream milk, sugary milk, whole yogurt, high creamed butter, cheese etc.].

• Unhealthy fats [saturated fats and transfer].

• Liquid sugars or sweetener [such a date syrups, and jams and jelly.

• Avoid foods with high glycemic index in general, eating them will leads to sudden sugar spikes.

• Fried foods [such as fried potatoes chips, yam, vegetables] they drained in certain amount of fats which is unhealthy.

• Foods high in sodium [salt] to prevent excess accumulation of such, which may results to kidney failure and cardiovascular diseases.

• Trans fat  [they are created by adding hydrogen [H] to unsaturated fat to make them stable and extend life style of trans fats, which increase inflammation, insulin resistance and decrease level of HDL  [good cholesterol].

• Honey and maple syrup. Intake of these natural sugar too much that are not highly processed contains many carbohydrates that sparkle glucose. They may have similar effects on blood sugar and insulin.

• White sugar: 12.6 grams.

• Honey: 17.3 grams.

• Maple syrup: 13.4 grams.

• The results in one study that shows the mount carbs presents in the sweeteners that may raise sugar level.

• Dried fruits: dried fruits have higher concentrations of all nutrients including sugar, they may contain more than four times carbs as the fresh fruits.

Note: See your dietician to guide you and plan your menu for the prevention of diabetes using your locally available foods. The main goals is staying away from unhealthy fat, processed grains, refined foods, added sugars, sweeteners and liquid sugars. They may increase your sugar level and drive insulin resistance. Stay healthy and eat health.

What Are The Food Allowed In Diabetes?

Whole grains: 

Whole grains and cereals such as whole hungry rice [acha], finger millets, millets, brawn rice, whole grains of corn, sorghum. They are all high in fiber.

Increase fiber intake: 

Both soluble and insoluble fiber play very vital roles in controlling bowel movement during digestion, slowing digesting and absorption of sugar and fat from food, therefore prevent the spikes of blood sugar and fats after eating. Example of fiber rich foods are whole grain in general, fruits such as berries, apples, avocado, sweet potatoes with skin etc.

Legumes:

Such as beans, Bambara nut, peas. They boost up both protein and fiber, preventing raise of blood sugar.

Vegetables: 

Increase leafy vegetables such as spinach, pumpkins leaves, moringa leaves, bitter leaves, water leaves, baobab leaves, jute.

Other vegetables: 

Such as cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, carrot, garden eggs should be eaten in their raw forms to get all the phytochemicals to prevents inflammation and oxidation in the body.

Fruits: 

Less sugary fruits should be eat along with their skins, such as apple strawberries, and mango [modesty ripe or oranges and water melon and pawpaw should be eaten whole with the roughage not juicy.

Free fat: 

Non sugary milk and diary products: such as skin milk, skin sugary yogurt, fat free cheese.

Lean meat and poultry: Take lean meat and skinless poultry such as chicken breast, turkey, duck etc.

Fish: 

Consume fish instead of red meat, fish's are rich in good fat called omega 3 fatty acids which removes bad fat [saturated and trans fat] from the body to prevent inflammation of the insulin. Examples of rich fatty fish are sardine, herring, mackerel, limits and avoid cat fish its high in omega 6 fatty acids, which may leads to cardiovascular disease, therefore causing more complications on the diabetes patients.

Herbs: 

Such as cinnamon , bitter melon, ginger, turmeric [curcumin] aloe Vera bitter leaves. Herbal tea using fresh or dry herbs is good for diabetes, they are in anti-oxidative and anti-mutilation agent, and they are also rich in fiber. Herbal medicines are referred to as Phyto medicine are good remedy for diabetes. Example curcumin in turmeric is a strong antioxidants which can prevents sugar spike in the blood. Turmeric is also a high in anti-inflammatory properties. Cinnamon is a herb that is high in anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s very powerful as it contains methyl hydroxyl chalcone polymer that stimulates the uptake of glucose. According to nutritionist: Nmami Agarwal, 2021.