diabetes and carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that affect blood sugar levels and therefore should be the mainstay when it comes to diabetic nutrition. The carbohydrate content of the diet should be around 55% , which is basically just as high as that of a "healthy" person. But the diabetic has to make a different distribution, several meals make sense here, because this way you can prevent a fluctuation in the blood sugar level or keep it quite low. Carbohydrates cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly, see list below: • Vegetables and legumes, whose carbohydrates seep into blood sugar • Those made of milk drip into the blood. • Those from whole grain cereals and potatoes flow into the blood. • Those from wheat flour products and fruit flow into the blood. • And the carbohydrates that come from sugary drinks, “isolated sugar” and sweets shoot up in the blood. An exception is fatty sweets such as chocolate, because here the fat prevents the blood from absorbing the sugar.

The composition of the meals

When it comes to meal planning and preparation, it's very important to eat lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These foods are not only very healthy foods, they also fill you up very well and the feeling of satiety also lasts for a very long time, so that fewer calories are automatically fed to the body. Furthermore, the body can utilize them very well, which is due to the high fiber content, which is not absorbed by the body. They are then excreted after passing through the intestinal tract. The positive effect of dietary fiber is that it stimulates intestinal activity and gives you a good feeling of satiety. They also cause a slower and continuous absorption of nutrients. White bread and sweets, on the other hand, only cause one thing: a short-term feeling of satiety. But they very quickly lead to a high blood sugar level, which then requires a high insulin requirement. In most cases, more insulin is then released than is needed to digest the food. As a result, more blood sugar is removed from the blood and the result is that the blood sugar level drops. This low blood sugar level causes the famous food cravings to develop, which then leads to more food being consumed.

Change your diet slowly

If you have previously had a very low-fiber diet, then it is advisable to slowly increase the amount of fiber in the diet. Because this gives the intestines the chance to slowly get used to the " difficult to digest " food and the body learns to benefit from it. Furthermore, one should rather eat several small meals than just three, because this way the body is not overloaded with nutrients and calories, but it is continuously supplied with what it needs. Carbohydrates also include sugar, which is absorbed very quickly by the blood. It is advisable for diabetics to only consume sugar if they have a good metabolic status and also regularly check their blood sugar levels. However, the sugar should then not be taken as a drink, because here the sugar content is not exactly known, but rather drinks that contain saccharin, cyclamate or aspartame as sweeteners should be drunk. In addition, sugar should not be eaten pure, but always in combination with other foods.