Fruits combating diabetes and best foods to consume against diabetes

Fruits that combat diabetes
Diabetes diseases arises when the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood.

Can controlling your blood sugar levels and preventing Diabetes complications can be as simple as eating the right foods? The answer is yes. Certain foods are overflowing with nutritional substances that stabilize the blood sugar levels, protect out heart, and even save our vision from the harmful effects of Diabetes. 

Fruits and vegetables offer a wealth of natural chemicals that can improve your health. Researchers at the Salk Institute in California have discovered one common fruit that contains a substance that may protect against both diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Though our focus is on diabetes.

According to a lab study at Salk, the natural chemical called fisetin, found in strawberries, can reduce the complications of diabetes and also protect the brain against the harmful effects of aging.

A chemical substance in the family of plant ingredients called flavonoids, can help the body fight off several different health problems.
Flavonoid producing fruits are Citrus fruits including grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges are high in the flavonone group of flavonoids including apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots, bananas and are best if consumed raw with the skin on, excluding bananas of course so as to prevent a stomach ache and gummy teeth 😀.smh.

simultaneously, this is apart from the researchers discovery of  fisetin which helps neurons survive and can improve memory.  

Fisetin producing fruits and vegetables include Strawberries,Mangoes,Cucumber with skin,Apples, Persimmons,Kiwi,Peaches,Grapes,Tomatoes,Onions


Lab animals with diabetes who were suffering kidney problems experienced significant improvement in their condition when they consumed a diet rich in fisetin. Fisetin also calmed their demeanor and they displayed much less behavior that was related to anxiety.

Best variety of foods fighting diabetes.

Cold Water Fish

As if getting Diabetes isn't hell enough, those that suffer this disease have doubled their chance to suffer from heart disease. That is why a diet rich in the Omega-3 amino acid, also known as 'the good fat' in cold water fish, can help reduce the levels of 'bad' cholesterol while raising the levels of 'good' cholesterol.  


Cinnamon

A research in Maryland, at the Human Nutrition Institute, found that if you add just half a spoon of Cinnamon a day to your diet, your cells will gradually become more sensitive to insulin. This means that they will metabolize sugar into energy in a more efficient process, and so will control the blood sugar levels better.

Use it on your porridge, that is hot oats, millet, cornflour, tapioca or any other breakfast or supper porridge you love to eat. In enjoy it on my millet and cornflour porridge with some milk or yoghurt and honey. Yummy!!
Some people even put it on their jollof rice, go figure.
So splurge away.

We will continue with others in 2 days or 3. 
Keep going, keep healthy, Keep consistent.

Fruits or not.

Don't take fruits yet, I heard... It is not good for you. My first thought was what?!?!
I am trying to have my portion of healthy fruits for the day and now you tell me not to eat  it as soon as I cleaned up my plate of salad, rice, and chicken?

One common topic is the best time to eat fruit.

There are claims about when and how you should consume fruit, as well as who should avoid it altogether.

Here are the top five myths about the best time to eat fruit, along with the truth.

Myth 1: Always Eat Fruit on an Empty Stomach

This is one of the most prevalent myths regarding when to eat fruit.

It has been popularized through websites and email chains, and seems to have originated from a chef in Singapore.

The myth claims that eating fruit with meals slows digestion and causes food to sit in your stomach and ferment or rot. This myth also claims that eating fruit with meals is what causes gas, discomfort and a range of other unrelated symptoms.

While it’s true that the fiber in fruit can slow the release of food from your stomach, the rest of these claims are false.

Although fruit can cause your stomach to empty more slowly, it does not cause food to sit in your stomach indefinitely.

One study found that in healthy people, fiber slowed the time it took the stomach to empty half its contents from an average of 72 minutes to 86 minutes.

While this change in speed is significant, it’s by no means slowing digestion down enough to cause food to spoil in the stomach.

Additionally, slowing the emptying of your stomach is a good thing isn't it?  At least that means one would be fuller for longer!! Aha!!
But even if fruit did cause food to sit in your stomach for significantly longer than usual, your stomach is specifically designed to prevent the growth of bacteria, which is what causes fermentation and rotting.

When food reaches the stomach, it’s mixed with stomach acid, which has a very low pH of about one or two. Your stomach contents become so acidic that most microorganisms cannot grow.

This part of digestion occurs partly to help kill bacteria in your food and prevent microbial growth.

As for the rest of these claims, saying that eating fruit with meals is the cause of bloating, diarrhea and discomfort is equally misleading.

In conclusion: Eating fruit with a meal can slow the emptying of your stomach but only by a small amount. This is actually a good thing as it may help you feel more full and cut back on calories. This is what you want in the end isn't it?

How to reduce fat in the body

Fat is used as fuel when glycogen stores run low or during low intensity exercise. This is what happens in our body. Fat is stored in our fat cells. It however cannot be burned without the presence of some carbohydrates.
Food for thought people.

• 1 gram of carbohydrates yields 4 calories.

Before we go on, there 2 major things to consider before continuing with your relationship with food.

Never demonise any macronutrient of  food, by insisting on keeping away from them. They exist for our consumption for a reason e.g carbohydrates, fats and oils. It is just that some are more calorie dense than others the calories in an ounce of rice would be more than the calories in an ounce of cauliflower or cabbages which contain some carbohydrates.

You know the feeling of contentment and satisfaction?? Well, we are all human beings and obviously the satiety, only comes from those calorie dense foods but please the secret is eating it in moderation.

If you need to lose weight, the only method of reduction in size is CALORIE DEFICIT. EATING LESS

Carbohydrates help to regulate the digestion and utilization of proteins and fat.

 I am not including carbohydrate snacks, which contain large amounts of refined sugars and starches, typically promote a sudden rise in blood sugar levels, thereby providing the body with an immediate source of energy and few nutrients. The "insulin spike" which shortly follows this reaction, rapidly lowers the blood sugar levels and results in uncontrollable cravings for more sugary foods and potentially causing fatigue, dizziness, nervousness and headaches.  

Diets that are high in refined carbohydrates are usually low in vitamins, minerals and cellulose. Foods such as white flour, white sugar and polished rice are lacking in the B vitamins and other nutrients. Overindulging in starchy and or sweet foods gives you calories without the nutrients and robs you of essential nutrients to metabolize these foods.

If you eat a meal or snack that contains a high concentration of refined or simple sugars and is low in fiber, fat or protein, your blood-glucose levels may rise so high that the pancreas over-secretes insulin. This process drives the circulating glucose into the cells at too rapid a rate. As a result, the blood-glucose level may fall low enough to cause symptoms such as fatigue. The effect that food has on a person's blood glucose and insulin response is called the glycemic effect. The glycemic effect determines how fast and how high the blood glucose rises and how quickly the body responds to bring it back to normal. 

Most people can quickly re-adjust but those with an abnormal carbohydrate metabolism (diabetics, hypoglycemics and insulin resistant) should avoid foods that severely alter circulating blood glucose levels.

We should bear in mind that 1 gram of carbohydrates yields 4 calories, therefore carbohydrates should not be taken in excess but is necessary for satiety and the functions mentioned above.

Allow me to reiterate that nothing beats the satiety that calorie denser carbohydrates provide. Take for example grilled sweet potatoes drizzled not soaked in oil is quite satisfying.

 A lot of foods have mixed contents of carbs, proteins fats and oils, even beans have a percentage of carbs in them! 

 A lot of foods have mixed contents of carbs, proteins fats and oils, even beans have carbs in them! 

Calling carbohydrates fibre!

Calling carbohydrates fibre!!

I had always wondered why we should eat one type of Carbohydrate or the other. 
Over the years I demonised it. Thinking I should keep away from it totally. 
I then realised that the best thing to do is just to manage your portion. That is have portion control. 

It’s pretty common knowledge in the health and fitness industry that you should always choose to eat fibrous starchy carbs instead of pure white starches if you’re goal is to lose belly fat.  The most popular example is replacing white rice with brown rice because brown rice has more fiber. 

I realised that, the main difference between white and brown rice is the processing and nutritional content. Only one layer (the outermost) is removed when producing brown rice.  When white rice is produced, everything is removed leaving only the “starchy” component. This means pretty much all of the key vitamins and minerals in white rice are lost including the fiber. 

Now you can see why we’ve been told to use brown rice instead of white rice. 
If you’re trying to eat healthy balanced meals and keep blood sugar stable throughout the day, and you’re an exerciser, this is a great choice.  But each cup of brown rice contains only 3.5 grams of fiber for every 45 grams of complex carbohydrates. This means you would have to eat FIVE cups of brown rice (225 grams of extra carbs) just to get HALF of your daily fiber intake. Not to mention it would add nearly an extra thousand calories per day to your daily calorie intake.Now you can see why trying to get more fiber from starches is really a waste of time and could make you fatter if you’re not careful.

 The small amount of fiber you get is a nice bonus side effect, but it’s NOT what healthy starch intake is for. It’s another food lie. 

You should easily be able to get all the adequate fiber you need on a daily basis from moderate amounts of whole fruits and lots of cruciferous vegetables.

Remember to always consume starches based on your metabolic needs, NOT because they have more fiber. Save your starchy carbs to fuel your daily activities, recover faster from exercise, and keep your metabolic rate at healthy levels.And make sure you always combine them with a complete protein and veggies whenever possible.  This will prevent unhealthy blood sugar spikes and help keep your body in a fat burning state.And believe it or not, many times the pure glucose based starch found in white rice is BETTER for your hormones and metabolic health than brown rice.  You just have to make sure you’re consuming all-natural white starches in moderation, paying attention to the servings required depending on the fact that you are male or female.  

I will be expecting planning this in my next blog. 
Have a lovely week people and eat health and live healthy.