A sweet disease with bitter consequences. How to prevent diabetes

The worst thing is that almost half of the people on the planet live and do not suspect that they have diabetes. How to recognize and, most importantly, how to prevent this formidable disease – this was discussed at a conference organized by the weekly “AiF-Lipetsk” within the framework of the joint project of the publishing house “Arguments and Facts” and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation “Time for Health”. The event took place at the Lipetsk Regional Hospital. Its participants were doctors, nurses and medical assistants of a medical institution.

Plate rule

Physical activity, nutrition and diabetes are closely related topics. It is believed that lack of exercise and overeating trigger in our body processes that lead to excess body weight – one of the main factors in the development of diabetes 2 – nd type.

How to eat properly and what physical activity to perform to reduce the risk of disease.

“The recommendations for diabetic and obese patients are generally similar,” said Daria Suvorova, endocrinologist at the Lipetsk Regional Clinical Hospital. – Meals should be regular. You need to eat five to six times a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. The main meal should be in the first half of the day. About 25% of the daily required amount of calories should be breakfast, 10-15% – second breakfast, 25-30% – lunch, 5-10% – afternoon tea and up to 20% – dinner. Don’t overload your stomach in the evening. Dinner should be light, with few carbohydrates, the more protein and fiber the better. 

To understand how much and what foods to eat at one time, nutritionists advise using the plate rule. If we conditionally divide the plate into four parts, then approximately 50% should be occupied by fiber – vegetables, 25% – proteins – lean meat, poultry, fish and 25% – carbohydrates – cereals and pasta. 

Do not forget about such an important element of proper nutrition as water. Before the main meal, it is recommended to drink a glass of clean cold water.

“So you deceive the stomach, due to the liquid it stretches, and the signal of saturation in the brain comes a little earlier,” the endocrinologist explained.

How you prepare your food also matters. The most useful methods are stewing, steaming and baking. Moreover, it is better to bake potatoes, beets and carrots, and not cook. You can also cook foods in a Pan-Asian style – quickly fry them over high heat. When preparing food, avoid high-calorie ingredients. For example, it is better to dress a salad not with mayonnaise, but with sour cream with lemon juice – lemon is the same way as ginger and mint improves digestion.

Products – “bogus”

There are foods that are better for those who are overweight to exclude from their diet – these are sweet, fried, fatty foods, sausages, canned food, and sugary carbonated drinks.

“We recommend that our patients consume up to 200 grams of bread a day, usually one slice of bread per meal,” said Daria Sergeevna. – Soups – 2-3 times a week, preferably vegetable, but it is possible in fish or meat broth, only it is better that it was the second (the first broth should be drained). Lean meat and poultry – up to 100 grams per week and fish – up to 150 grams per day. Oatmeal, pearl barley, rice cereals, legumes and pasta – as rarely as possible. But vegetables and herbs – no restrictions. Potatoes, beets and carrots – no more than 100 grams per day. Eggs – no more than 2 pieces a week, although this food is dietary, but quite heavy. ”  

The nutritionist paid special attention to the choice of dairy and fermented milk products. A huge number of them are sold in stores – for every taste and color, both fatty and low-fat, and completely fat-free. Which ones are more useful?

“We advise buying low-fat products because many manufacturers add starch to them to increase the nutritional value of low-fat foods. And these are extra carbohydrates, ”explained the endocrinologist.

For overweight people, doctors also advise limiting alcohol consumption, as it promotes the intake of additional unnecessary calories.

Of course, a healthy lifestyle is not only proper nutrition, but also movement.

“Unfortunately, people move very little today,” said the doctor. – We urge our patients to reduce the time they spend behind the wheel of a car, watching TV. Up to 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes to do aerobics or do regular exercises, and 2-3 times a week to do exercises for strength and flexibility. And, of course, walk as much as possible – the extra 10 steps from the stop to work, 30 steps up the stairs will only add to your health. “

Myths and truth

The doctor also debunked the most popular myths about diabetes. The first myth – with type 1 diabetes mellitus, you cannot eat sweet, fatty and fried foods.

“In fact, with type 1 diabetes, the patient’s diet is practically no different from the diet of a healthy person without diabetes,” said Daria Sergeevna. “You can eat anything, just you need to know how much insulin you can then add to this“ everything ”.

The second myth is that buckwheat does not increase blood sugar. In fact, buckwheat is a common carbohydrate, the same as barley and oatmeal, and it increases blood sugar in the same way. And even more so, there is no point in soaking it overnight in kefir, as some people who want to lose weight do.

The third myth is that honey is half fructose, so sugar can be replaced with it. “No, honey is not a sweetener. Fructose is the same carbohydrate, therefore, with obesity, overweight and diabetes, it is advisable to exclude it, – explained Daria Suvorova. “For those who cannot live without sweets, we recommend using stevia and sucralose as sweeteners .”

The fourth myth – black bread increases blood sugar less than white bread. And this is also not true. If you compare the amount of carbohydrates contained in pieces of black and white bread, it will be almost the same.

The fifth myth – unsweetened green apples can be eaten with diabetes, sweet ones cannot.

“The color of the apples does not matter,” the endocrinologist assured. “You can eat any apples with diabetes, but not more than one fruit at a time.”

The sixth myth – it is impossible to completely exclude sugar from the diet, since glucose is needed for the brain. In fact , the brain does not consume glucose from the food we eat, but from the blood. 

In the end, the doctor once again reminded that people with risk factors need to control blood sugar. The level of glucose is considered the norm – from 3.5 to 5.5 millimole (on an empty stomach) and up to 7 millimole (after meals).

The doctors listened attentively to the specialist, participated in the discussion, and asked questions. They noted that such events should be held more often. After all, taking care of your health is important for everyone – both patients and doctors.

local_offerevent_note September 15, 2020

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