Showing posts with label Carbohydrates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carbohydrates. Show all posts

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Diabetes Diet - The Importance Of Carbohydrates

Diabetes diet and the importance of carbohydrates is the knowledge of how much is enough. Did you know that carbohydrates are the main energy source of the body and is the essential source of fuel for the brain?


Did you know that the brain is the most energy-demanding organ in your body? Your brain cannot burn fat or carbohydrates like the muscles in your cells. If you do not get enough carbohydrates your liver will suffer as your brain goes there first to see what it can get. Once that is used up, your liver begins to create glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, which include amino acids from your muscle tissues and you need to know that the ability to do this is limited.


Being type 1 diabetic, knowing that if you increase your carbohydrate intake it will increase your insulin requirements. Being type 2 diabetic, or even have gestational diabetes too much carbohydrate in your diet may be no good for your sugar levels as you will have insufficient insulin.


You need to take into consideration that your carbohydrate intake should include enough to meet the requirements of your brain, your central nervous system and your red blood cells.


It is important to note that carbohydrate is an essential part of your diet, as it benefits and helps to keep your body sensitive to insulin and also allows you to get stamina. Carbohydrate is the only part food that directly affects your blood glucose levels.


Another important factor to remember in our diabetes diet is that if you don't have enough carbohydrates you can cause yourself some unpleasant problems. These problems can include:
Headaches and constant tiredness - this can be due to low blood glucose levelsMuscle fatigueAn insufficient intake of fibre that can cause constipationBad breath that is a problem with the breakdown of fat products known as ketonesThe most important concern is the chance of eating too much saturated fats in your diet

It is important to understand that carbohydrates are the source of energy that starts with the sugar in your bloodstream, which is considered one sugar molecule; and these substances contain many sugar molecules that are called complex carbohydrates, cellulose, starches and gums. Some of the most common sources of these are bread, cereals, rice, grains and potatoes.


Having a good diabetes diet knows the importance of carbohydrates and how much you should include in your diet is of vital importance if you want to achieve optimum health.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Lower Carbohydrates Intake, Top 5 Low Carb Fruits and Vegetables

There are many reasons to lower carbohydrates intake in your daily diet. If you are a diabetic, to help you lose weight, to increase endurance and decrease fat storage in your body. What ever the reason, the amount of carbohydrates intake play an important role in living a healthy life.

Overeating carbohydrates can prevent a large amount of fat from being used for energy. Not taking any carbohydrates is not good either. It is important to keep the amount of carb intake in check for a proper nutrition.

Here are the top 5 Fruits and Vegetables that will help you to lower carbohydrates intake but, still are a good source for the carbs your body needs to function properly.

Note: to give you an idea of the amounts in grams, a 50 gram portion equals to 10 grapes, or 3 medium size strawberry or ? cup chopped celery or 2 extra long spears of asparagus. All the reference below is for a 50 gram portion.

Fruits:
Watermelon contains 4g
Strawberry contains 4g
Cantaloupe melon contains 4g
Avocado contains 4g
Honeydew melon contains 5g

Vegetables:
Arugula contains 1g
Cucumber (peeled) contains 1g
Broccoli Raab (cooked) contains 1g
Lettuce (iceberg) contains 2g
Celery contains 2g

It is not easy to keep track of all that you eat, weather is healthy or not. Including these fruits and vegetable as a snack or part of your daily meal, will help you live a healthier life. Having a lower carbohydrates intake in your daily diet will help you feel more energy and burn more fat. Good carbs is better than no carbs at all.