How Bad Is Type 2 Diabetes

Is Dairy Ultimately Good Or Bad For Blood Glucose Levels

We lack a clear consensus on whether dairys insulinogenic effect is ultimately beneficial or harmful to our metabolic health. Some studies show dairy consumption can lead to reduced insulin sensitivity and increased insulin resistance:

• One study of 272 middle-aged women without diabetes . Notably, the association remained even after controlling for mitigating factors like age, body weight, body fat, energy intake, physical activity, education level, insoluble fiber intake, and soluble fiber consumption, and the dietary breakdown of carbohydrate, protein, and fat.
• Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center studied dairys impact on blood sugar regulation in people with metabolic syndrome , by separating study participants into three groups: limited dairy, low-fat dairy, or full-fat dairy. After 12 weeks, the groups showed no differences in blood sugar levels but participants in the two dairy groups were insulin-sensitive.
• Another oft-citedstudy looked at 8-year-old boys who ate 53 grams of protein every day as either meat or milk. After a week, fasting insulin concentrations in the milk group doubled, causing insulin resistance to increase as well.

Other research shows a more positive dietary impact:

Related Article: What is Glucose?

Diet For Type 2 Diabetes

Diet is an important tool to keep your heart healthy and blood glucose levels within a safe and healthy range. It doesnt have to be complicated or unpleasant.

The diet recommended for people with type 2 diabetes is the same diet just about everyone should follow. It boils down to a few key actions:

• avocados

Although these options for healthy fats are good for you, theyre also high in calories. Moderation is key. Opting for low-fat dairy products will also keep your fat intake under control. Discover more diabetes-friendly foods, from cinnamon to shirataki noodles.

Medications For Type 2 Diabetes

In some cases, lifestyle changes are enough to keep type 2 diabetes under control. If not, there are several medications that may help. Some of these medications are:

• metformin, which can lower your blood glucose levels and improve how your body responds to insulin its the preferred treatment for most people with type 2 diabetes
• sulfonylureas, which are oral medications that help your body make more insulin
• meglitinides, which are fast-acting, short-duration medications that stimulate your pancreas to release more insulin
• thiazolidinediones, which make your body more sensitive to insulin
• dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, which are milder medications that help reduce blood glucose levels
• glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, which slow digestion and improve blood glucose levels
• sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, which help prevent the kidneys from reabsorbing glucose into the blood and sending it out in your urine

Each of these medications can cause side effects. It may take some time to find the best medication or combination of medications to treat your diabetes.

If your blood pressure or cholesterol levels are a problem, you may need medications to address those needs as well.

If your body cant make enough insulin, you may need insulin therapy. You may only need a long-acting injection you can take at night, or you may need to take insulin several times per day. Learn about other medications that can help you manage diabetes.

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Which Foods Fight Diabetes

These foods are high in the nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals, that protect against diabetes and other diseases.

Dark green leafy vegetables. Theyâre low in calories and carbs, and high in nutrition. They also have a low glycemic index, so theyâll help keep your blood sugar under control. And they contain magnesium, a mineral that helps your bodyâs insulin work like it should. Add spinach, kale, or collard greens to your salads, soups, and stews.

Berries. To satisfy your sweet tooth, pick berries. Theyâre loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins. Research shows that eating low-GI fruit as part of a low-glycemic diet can lower blood pressure and heart disease risk.

Fatty fish. Aim to eat fish twice a week. Fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines, are packed with healthy omega-3 fats, which lower inflammation. They protect against heart disease and an eye condition called diabetic retinopathy. For the biggest benefit, skip fried, breaded fish and serve it broiled, baked, or grilled.

Nuts. Research shows that eating nuts makes people with diabetes less likely to get heart disease. Theyâre full of healthy fats, protein, and fiber to keep you full and your blood sugar steady. Whether you prefer peanuts, almonds, or walnuts, snack on a handful of nuts at least three times a week.

Harvard Health Publishing: âCarbohydrates,â âGlycemic index for 60+ foods.â

CDC: âDiabetes and Carbs.â

UCSF: âSimply Counting Carbs.â

Do Apples Affect Diabetes And Blood Sugar Levels

• Bottom line

Apples are delicious, nutritious, and convenient to eat. Theyre known to have several health benefits. Yet apples also contain carbs, which can affect blood sugar levels.

However, the carbs found in apples affect your body differently than the sugars found in foods containing refined and processed sugars.

Lets talk about how apples affect blood sugar levels and how to incorporate them into your diet if you have diabetes.

Apples are one of the most popular fruits in the world. Theyre also highly nutritious. In fact, apples are high in:

• vitamin C
• fiber
• several antioxidants

). So washing and keeping the skin on when eating or cooking is the best way to optimize the nutrition youre getting.

Furthermore, apples contain large amounts of water and fiber, which make them surprisingly filling.

Summary

Apples are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants. They also help you feel full without consuming a lot of calories.

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How Is Diabetes Diagnosed

After examining you, discussing your symptoms, and going over your health history, your doctor may test for diabetes if he or she suspects youre at risk. To check for diabetes, your doctor may request the following tests:

The AAFP recommends screening adults for type 2 diabetes as part of a heart risk assessment for people between the ages of 40 and 70 years who are overweight or obese. Doctors are encouraged to offer or refer patients with abnormal blood glucose levels to behavioral counseling to promote a healthy diet and physical activity.

How Can I Lower My Chances Of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Research such as the Diabetes Prevention Program shows that you can do a lot to reduce your chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Here are some things you can change to lower your risk:

• Lose weight and keep it off. You may be able to prevent or delay diabetes by losing 5 to 7 percent of your starting weight.1 For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, your goal would be to lose about 10 to 14 pounds.
• Move more. Get at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. If you have not been active, talk with your health care professional about which activities are best. Start slowly to build up to your goal.
• Eat healthy foods most of the time. Eat smaller portions to reduce the amount of calories you eat each day and help you lose weight. Choosing foods with less fat is another way to reduce calories. Drink water instead of sweetened beverages.

Ask your health care professional about what other changes you can make to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

Most often, your best chance for preventing type 2 diabetes is to make lifestyle changes that work for you long term. Get started with Your Game Plan to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes.

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What Happens With Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes develops over a long period of time . During this period of time insulin resistance starts, this is where the insulin is increasingly ineffective at managing the blood glucose levels. As a result of this insulin resistance, the pancreas responds by producing greater and greater amounts of insulin, to try and achieve some degree of management of the blood glucose levels.

As insulin overproduction occurs over a very long period of time, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas wear themselves out, so that by the time someone is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, they have lost 50 70% of their insulin-producing cells. This means type 2 diabetes is a combination of ineffective insulin and not enough insulin. Lifestyle changes may be able to slow this process in some people.

Initially, type 2 diabetes can often be managed with healthy eating and regular physical activity. Over time many people with type 2 diabetes will also need tablets and some may eventually require insulin. It is important to note that this is normal, and taking tablets or insulin as soon as they are required can result in fewer long-term complications.

How Many Eggs A Day Is Okay

The answer appears to be that you can eat eggs every day if you want to studies indicating 6 to 21 eggs a week is perfectly fine.

• Eggs are the gold standard for protein sources.
• Eggs are a complete and natural nutrient dense food source.
• The scientific facts show they are safe to eat.

So go ahead and enjoy your eggs, including the yolks!

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Can People With Type 2 Diabetes Eat Dairy Products

Yes. In fact, you can pretty much eat any food if you have diabetes. But you need to know how much of that food you can eat and how often you can eat it. Dairy foods, such as milk and yogurt, contain carbohydrate, along with protein and maybe some fat. Carbohydrate has the most effect on blood glucose, compared to protein and fat. One cup of milk and six ounces of light-style yogurt each contain about 15 grams of carb, about as much as in a slice of bread or a piece of fruit. So if you want to drink milk or eat yogurt, you need to count them in your meal plan as one of your carb choices. Other dairy foods, like cheese, eggs and butter are mostly protein and/or fat, so theyre counted differently in your meal plan. Cheese and butter tend to be high in saturated fat, a type of fat that can raise cholesterol levels, so its wise to limit your intake of these foods, and choose lower fat cheeses and trans-fat free tub margarine, instead. Of course, if you have a lactose intolerance or a milk allergy, you may need to avoid some dairy foods. A dietitian can help you figure out how much of any food you can eat, as well as give you guidance on how much carbohydrate, protein and fat to aim for at your meals.

Medicines For Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and usually gets worse over time. Making lifestyle changes, such as adjusting your diet and taking more exercise, may help you control your blood glucose levels at first, but may not be enough in the long term.

You may eventually need to take medication to help control your blood glucose levels.

Initially, this will usually be in the form of tablets and can sometimes be a combination of more than one type of tablet. It may also include insulin or another medication that you inject.

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Diabetes Type : Dr Zoe Williams Discusses High Blood Sugar Risks

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Type 2 diabetes means the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or the insulin it does produce is not taken up by the cells. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar the main type of sugar found in blood. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels can cause a torrent of destruction on the body and a person may be unwittingly increasing their risk by drinking milk.

Forget About Eating Oily Breaded Fried Foods

You may have a weakness for fried foods like french fries, fried chicken, and potato chips, but satisfying this craving another way will be better for your health in the long run. Fried foods typically soak up tons of oil, which equates to lots of extra calories and many are coated in breading first, jacking up the numbers even more. Overdoing the greasy stuff can pack on the pounds and cause blood-sugar chaos, says Kimberlain. Not only do these foods initially spike blood sugar, they can leave it high over a long period of time. Fat takes longer to digest, so it keeps blood sugar elevated, she says. To make matters even worse, some foods are deep-fried in hydrogenated oils that are laden with trans fats.

For the same flavor without the fat and calories, Kimberlain suggests finding new ways to prepare the fried foods you like, such as baking, roasting, or grilling . You can even make baked fried chicken, she says. Air fryers are popular now as well, so there’s that option, too. And if you don’t have an air fryer, I have a little convection oven that works just the same. I make baked fries in there that taste so crispy, you’d think they were fried.

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Are Green Bananas Healthier Than Ripe Ones

Green bananas often come up in conversations about fruit intake and blood sugar because green bananas contain resistant starch.

Unlike regular starchy foods , resistant starch moves through the gastrointestinal track undigested.

Because resistant starch remains mostly undigested, it has a lower impact on blood sugar than other starches do.

But does that mean that diabetics can eat endless amounts of green bananas without any negative side effects?

Unfortunately, no.

Green bananas dont automatically get a free pass just because they dont raise your blood sugar as much as a ripe banana would.

You still have to take the total number of carbohydrates into account when deciding which foods to snack on and which ones to toss. And overall, green bananas still contain the high levels of carbs that a ripe banana does .

A few studies have found that banana starch may decrease glucose and insulin level after a meal. But, keep in mind that these studies often use isolated starch that is separated from the actual fruit, and therefore, does not contain any of the carbohydrates and sugars.

The key point: green or ripe, whole bananas are packed with carbohydrates and will result in an increase in blood glucose levels compared to other lower carb options.

Summary Of Evidence From Prospective Cohort Studies And Rcts

Evidence from prospective cohort studies and RCTs suggests that dairy consumption has a neutral or moderately beneficial effect on glucose homeostasis and T2D risk. One advantage of the prospective cohort studies is that they can show the long-term association between dairy consumption and a disease outcome, such as incident T2D . However, analyses of prospective cohort studies have important limitations. For example, residual confounding can never be ruled out from prospective cohort studies, which may have led to the inconsistent findings in studies on dairy consumption and T2D. Furthermore, the definitions of the dairy foods consumed vary substantially across different cohort studies. For example, high-fat dairy in a study by Montonen et al. included cheese, cream, ice cream, and yogurt, whereas high-fat dairy in a study by Soedamah-Muthu et al. was defined as full-fat cheese, yogurt, milk puddings, whole milk, and Channel Island milk. Therefore, additional epidemiological studies should assess the associations between different well-defined types of dairy consumption and T2D risk. In addition, in most longitudinal cohort studies, dairy consumption was only reported at baseline but not during the follow-up period. Thus, it is unknown whether or not the conclusions are affected by dietary changes with time.

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Treatments For Type 2 Diabetes

There are a number of different ways you can treat type 2 diabetes, such as making healthy lifestyle choices, using insulin or taking medication. Your healthcare team will help you to find the right treatment for you. This can reduce your risk of developing complications and help you to live well with diabetes.

Learn more about diabetes treatments.

Diabetes And Healthy Weight

If you are overweight, even losing a small amount of weight, especially around the abdomen, helps to lower your blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels.

It can be difficult trying to lose weight, so to get started set yourself a short-term, achievable goal. Try thinking about the food you are eating, whether you really need it, if it’s a healthy choice, and consider the portion size. An accredited practicing dietitian can help you set a realistic meal plan and answer any food related questions you may have.

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Overall Conclusions/public Health Relevance And Possible Impact For Public Health Recommendations

Based on the reviewed evidence, epidemiological data and RCTs suggest that there is a neutral or moderate inverse association between dairy consumption and T2D risk. Yogurt was especially associated with a lower T2D risk. Therefore, more and better data from epidemiological studies and RCTs are needed on the impact of dairy consumption on glucose homeostasis. Specifically, there are several key research questions that need to be answered to optimize the benefits of dairy consumption and to close the gaps in the existing knowledge:

How does an individuals phenotypic status, such as age, sex, weight, disease status, metabolic status, and gut microbiota composition, affect their glucoregulatory responses to different types of dairy consumption?