I have gone back to the beginning and started trying to
learn more about diabetes. When Silent Sam was first diagnosed, I just accepted
what I was told and did not ask any questions. As a result, I didn't really
know what diabetes was, what happened if blood sugar isn't controlled, and how
eating really affected blood sugar.
It has been very interesting. I now know that for Silent
Sam, his beta cells are either not producing insulin or his body is insulin
resistant. Insulin resistance means that even though it is there, the body is
not using the insulin it produces.
I have also found that the body uses glucose as energy. Glucose
is produced in the body during the digestion of carbohydrates. In a person
without diabetes, the glucose is joined by insulin and is carried to the cells
to provide energy and if the cells don’t need all the glucose and insulin that
they are then stored either as glycogen (long term energy) or as fat. In a
person with uncontrolled diabetes, the glucose cannot be used for energy
because it’s not matched with insulin. Cells will not accept glucose without
insulin. The glucose then flows through the blood stream and eventually is
excreted in urine. The problem is that while the glucose travels through the
blood stream it damages the passageways. That damage is particularly bad in
small blood vessels. The glucose thickens the blood vessels and less blood can
get through. The glucose also damages
the walls of the blood vessels.
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Red blood cells |
In learning all this information, I also came across the
concept of the glycemic index and the glycemic load. At first, I thought that
the glycemic index was just another fad diet. I was wrong. The glycemic index
was introduced in the 1980s. It was introduced as a way for people with
diabetes to be able to control their blood sugar better. The basic concept is
that there are some carbohydrates that when ingested affect the blood sugar
quickly and there are others that the affect takes much longer.
The basic desire is to have the blood sugar be pretty
constant during the day. Therefore by
watching which carbohydrates you eat, you can help to maintain your blood sugar
levels.
The best quote I read about including the glycemic index
information in your diet indicated that if you are careful with your
carbohydrates already then adding the glycemic index information is just
another layer of help.
Next week – How they determine the glycemic index of a food
and what is a glycemic load.
Thanks for reading!
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