Once you are diagnosed to be diabetic, it is imperative you take control of what you eat in terms of nutrient intake. Starch intake is one of the most important things you need to understand as a diabetic. Your physician might likely warn you to watch your “carbohydrate intake”.
What are carbohydrates and what do they do?
They are an essential structural component of living cells and source of energy for animals; includes simple sugars with small molecules as well as macromolecular substances; are classified according to the number of monosaccharide groups they contain They provide your body the energy needed to function properly. They are then converted into glucose in the bloodstream and absorbed into the body’s cells to give energy.
The are divided into two types
· Simple
· Complex.
Simple carbohydrates are in foods such as fruit, corn or and table sugar. They are single molecules. Complex carbohydrates are the foods that contain three linked sugars(they could be more than three).
Carbohydrates are digested and absorbed into the blood stream fron the GIT(gastro intestinal tract) as glucose. There are some diets which cause a high rise in blood sugars, foods like white rice for instance. In contrast, brown rice does not increase blood glucose drastically because it is digested slowly and releases the sugars into the blood in little amounts
In preparing diets for a diabetic patient, high energy foods capable of increasing blood sugar excessively should be reduced. Also because the disease condition is characterized with frequent urination and excessive thirst, it is also good to drink lots of water to keep the body from dehydration.
So minimal low caloric diets with the required protein content vitamins and minerals with special consideration for the role water plays should be taken cognizance of in the menu for a diabetic.
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