How To Eat With Diabetes -

Once we have clarified which carbohydrates should be avoided and why, we can move on to the "allowed" carbohydrates. Here we must immediately clarify that in diabetes the term "permitted" or even "acceptable" carbohydrates is very relative .

To the extent that complete avoidance of carbohydrates is impossible (and unnecessary), their intake should be strictly controlled. Every diabetic should strive to take carbohydrates exclusively in the form of complex carbohydrates. These are carbohydrates mostly like starch (of plant origin) and glycogen (of animal origin), which have a high molecular weight. They are made up of a large number of related glucose molecules. Complex carbohydrates have large and complex molecules that are broken down in the gut, with glucose gradually released into the bloodstream. This provides a smoother rise in blood sugar after a meal and more constant blood sugar levels. If we compare the situation with feeding a large amountsimple carbohydrates that are not degradable or undergo minimal degradation in the gut, in which blood sugar rises sharply after a meal and then falls rapidly (at least in healthy people), we will see why doctors are desperately trying to stop diabetics from sweets.

Simple carbohydrates taste sweet, complex ones have no taste . This means that everything sweet should be severely limited, in the ideal (but unrealistic) case - completely avoided.

The question of the quality of carbohydrates is quite simple. However, this is not the case in terms of quantity. It is even more complicated to say how the carbohydrates and the rest of the food should be distributed. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, some experts and even influential medical organizations such as the American Diabetes Association recommend that a relatively large portion of the caloric intake (70 percent or more) be obtained in the form of carbohydrates. This is, to put it mildly, a controversial recommendation . In our country, the practice of most GPs is to advise their patients to limit caloric and carbohydrateyour reception. The appropriate dosage and timing of postprandial insulin administration are determined solely by the treating physician. Depending on the age, body weight, physiological needs and characteristics of the patient, the doctor also recommends the amount of carbohydrates to be taken. Based on his own experience and understanding, the doctor will recommend an appropriate regimen of "dosing", ie. distribution of carbohydrates, as well as the overall diet.

It is the patient's personal responsibility to monitor the amount of carbohydrates ingested . This is not particularly difficult, on the contrary, one of the priorities of the food industry is to make food information accessible and easy to understand. Apart from the fact that the nutritional value of the products is clearly indicated on the back of the packaging, more and more food (and now medicinal) products are marked for their carbohydrate load, measured in bread units. One unit of bread equals 12 grams of carbohydrates . As mentioned, the doctor will recommend the optimal amount and mode of carbohydrate intake for each patient, ie. he will advise the patient on how many bread units he can eat daily and how he should do so. In any case, it is good to take carbohydratesevenly and in small portions , not at once or in two hearty meals. The first approach provides a smoother rise in blood sugar levels, which, in addition, fluctuate within narrower limits. The second approach is unwise because blood sugar levels fluctuate in a much wider range, which is unfavorable for a number of reasons.

Obviously, their excessive rise is undesirable - this is the main symptom that is treated all the time. In addition, sharp fluctuations in blood sugar make it difficult to dose antidiabetic drugs. Inaccurate dosing, in turn, also carries serious risks. First of all, drug overdose allows diabetes to develop and progress to its many complications. Overdoseof antidiabetic drugs, in turn, exacerbates their side effects, which vary for different groups. For biguanides, these are mostly nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. It is important to emphasize that they cannot cause hypoglycaemia. For most other antidiabetic drugs, the most serious potential complication is severe hypoglycaemia. This is especially true for insulin, which must be dosed very precisely. If overdosed, insulin may cause severe hypoglycaemia, loss of consciousness, and potentially hypoglycaemic coma .