Low-Carb Diet for diabetes

Carbs have been identified as one of the primary influences on blood sugar levels. Most diabetics discover that eating low carb diets help them to control their blood sugar levels better that any other type of diet.

Reducing the intake of carbs means that you do not have to inject so much insulin. This is because insulin helps to store fats and therefore less circulating insulin would prevent weight gain.

Low carb diet is one of the most contentious topics relating to diabetes diet. Low carb diet helps to retain blood sugars at relatively low and stable levels. A low carb diet contains less carbs than the ordinary diet.

What qualifies as low carb?

Research has indicated the following brackets of daily carbohydrate intake:

Moderate carbs; 130 to 225g of carbs,

Low carbs; below 130g and

Very low carbs; fewer than 30g

For diabetics, it is recommended that they should take less than 100g of carbs per day. Low carb diets are very popular especially with people with type 2 diabetes. This diet is also common with people having type 1 diabetes who are struggling to control on normal diets.

Individuals who are on insulin or any other glucose lowering medication are supposed to take care if they are planning on reducing their carbohydrates intake. This is because they might develop hypoglycemia. It is advisable to search people to speak to their doctor first before embarking on making significant diet changes.

 

 Benefits of low carb diet to diabetics

Low carb diets lower the blood glucose levels especially in the periods after taking meals.

These diets help in reducing what is referred to as ‘brain fog’ that occurs as a result of high sugar levels. Additionally, low carb diet helps in weight loss and also helps in improving cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body.  

To decrease your carb ingestion you will likely cut down on or cut out food such as pasta, bread rice, potatoes and evidently sweeter foods.

Vegetables ought to be the basis of a low carb diet.  You possibly will need to increase your intake of protein or fat to make up for the decline in carbohydrate. In case you go for increasing the amount of fat, make sure you are getting a good supply of unsaturated fats. These fats are found in nuts, avocados and oily fish.

Effects of change in diet

For any considerable change in diet, you might experience some noticeable effects in the first few weeks as your body adjusts to the change. These may include: tiredness, headaches and constipation or in some cases loose stool. In case these effects do not lessen in after a couple of weeks then you need to make some changes or better still visit a dietitian for advice. Some people view low carb diets as being restrictive.

Conversely, many people on the diet find resourceful ways to substitute starchy foods - such as using celeriac as a substitute to potato, using cauliflower instead of rice and making dough from almond meal. You possibly will find that a low carb diet is more wholesome than your previous diet.