You
might have known that something was wrong or you might have no idea that you
were suffering from diabetes. For many, everything is okay until it’s not, but
they do have hints or clues here in there. They may be urinating more and
getting unreasonably thirsty. They may be experiencing weight loss despite
eating more or feeling hungry all the time, even while they’re eating. They
could even experience tingling in the hands and feet or noticed that wounds
were slow to heal. Or they may have been oblivious to the signs, not noticing
that something was off about their body until they were diagnosed at a clinic.
If
left untreated, diabetes can put your life at risk. Uncontrolled diabetes can
lead to multi-organ complications, having a detrimental effect on your heart,
lungs, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves, and even gums and teeth. And
despite what books and online articles may try to promise you, diabetes has no
cure. But here’s the upside – as a diabetic, you can live a completely normal
and active life if you eat the right food and follow a relatively fit lifestyle
which is what this book is all about.
When
you have diabetes, it means that your body is unable to produce enough insulin
to deal with the sugar in your blood. This is the basic problem with diabetes
though the causes for the insulin deficiency may differ with the different
types. Because insulin is in charge of converting sugars or glucose into
energy, it is vital for the body’s continued good health. Despite the fact that
there are millions of people all over the world who have been diagnosed with
diabetes, there are plenty of myths surrounding this disease.
One
of the biggest misconceptions about diabetes is that it is not that serious of
a disease. While it is true that you can manage your diabetes by eating the
right food and living a healthy lifestyle, diabetes-related complications cause
more deaths than AIDS and cancer combined.
Another
myth is that being overweight automatically means that you have type 2
diabetes. Unfortunately, it is true that having high body fat content is a risk
factor for diabetes but there are plenty of other risk factors to consider,
including family history, ethnicity, and age. Plenty of people who are
overweight do not suffer from diabetes type 2 and a lot of those who do have
the disease are of normal weight.
The
best way to manage your diabetes is to understand the disease and to separate
misconceptions from facts. For example, it is not true that you need a special
diet filled with food marked as diabetic-friendly. Instead, what you need to do
is to pay special attention to the food that you eat by avoiding processed and
fatty food and opting for meals based on whole grain foods, vegetables, and
fruit that are moderate in salt and sugar. In short, a healthy meal plan for a
diabetic is the same as a healthy meal plan for anyone else – with a few added
considerations.
This is an excerpt from the book: The Easy Diabetes Diet Plan Cookbook
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