WHAT FRUITS SHOULD
DIABETICS AVOID?
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Nov 9, 2010 | By Jeffrey Traister
Photo Credit Monkey Business Images Ltd/Valueline/Getty Images
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder that
involves high blood sugar. The glycemic index used in rating foods indicates
how certain foods affect your blood sugar. A higher glycemic index causes more
blood sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index have a score between 70 and 100;
foods with a medium index are scored 50 to 70; and foods with a low glycemic
index are scored below 50, according to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals
and Clinics Center for Integrative Medicine.
WATERMELON
Watermelon is a popular fruit eaten
during the summer season. According to the George Mateljan Foundation,
watermelon is loaded with antioxidants such as vitamins C and A and lycopene, a
substance that may prevent prostate and other types of cancer. Watermelon is
also rich in B vitamins and arginine, an amino acid that may help men with
erectile dysfunction. Despite some of these nutritional benefits that would
otherwise be healthy for people with diabetes, watermelon has a high glycemic
index of 72, according to the Center for Integrative Medicine. If you are
diabetic, you should avoid watermelon, because it may rapidly increase your blood
sugar levels. If you decide to eat watermelon, you should eat a small amount,
monitor your blood sugar levels and have insulin available to lower your blood
sugar, if needed.
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PINEAPPLE
Pineapple is a tropical fruit that is
an excellent source of several nutrients including manganese, vitamin C and
bromelain, according to the George Mateljan Foundation. Manganese is a trace
mineral that is involved with energy production and antioxidant activity.
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that stimulates your immune system and protects
your body from free radicals that can cause cancer and plaque buildup in the
arteries. Bromelain is a complex mixture of substances that include
protein-digesting enzymes that can reduce inflammation, blood coagulation and
tumor growth. Yet for diabetics, eating pineapple can negatively impact blood
sugar and should therefore be avoided. Pineapple has a glycemic index score of
66. If you are diabetic and choose to eat pineapple, you should consume a small
portion along with other foods that have a low glycemic index.
BANANAS
A raw banana has a glycemic index of
62, according to the The University of Sydney. Bananas are high-energy fruits
that contain vitamin B-6, vitamin C, potassium, manganese and fiber. Diabetics
should avoid bananas, including muffins, desserts and other dishes that contain
this fruit, because your blood sugar levels may quickly rise.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/301400-what-fruits-should-diabetics-avoid/#ixzz2VhLEocmd
Amputations and ulcers, especially in the feet, are more frequent in patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Decreased circulation to feet and legs leads to damage and loss of nerve function. The nerves lose their ability to sense pain, pressure, touch, or temperature correctly, which results in tingling and numbess of the feet and toes (fingers, too). This condition is called peripheral neuropathy.
Autonomic neuropathy occurs when there is nerve
damage affecting the automatic processes in your body such as heart rate or
sweating, so they do not work as they should. The stomach may not process
food correctly. The heart rate or blood pressure does not speed up or slow
down in response to exercise, exertion, rest, standing, or sitting. Autonomic
neuropathy also contributes to the absence of chest pain with heart attack,
and can cause sweating at inappropriate times or in specific areas, leaky
bladder, pupils that do not constrict or dilate as needed, sexual
dysfunction, and decreased ability to sense an infection or hypoglycemia.
If you already have numbness in your feet, is
there any point to controlling blood sugars? Absolutely. Numbness and burning
in the feet are signs that nerves have been damaged. Evidence has shown that
nerves, when only damaged, can learn to trasmit messages through different
pathways. If your feet are so completely numb that you cannot tell where they
are because you cannot feel them, managing your blood sugars most likely will
not get any sensation back. But it can prevent the numbness and nerve damage
from spreading farther up your leg. And controlling your blood sugars will
give your damanged nerves and your immune system a fighting chance to help
your feet stay healthy.
Vision Problems
Retinopathy, macular edema, glaucoma, and
cataracts are the more common eye disorders related to diabetes.
Eye disease is typically progressive, and there
are usually no symptoms until damage has occurred. You may have 20/20 vision
yet one day have complete vision loss due to a hemorrhage. This is the reason
a yearly eye exam is so important. An eye doctor will be able to see the
changes occurring before vision is at risk. Laser surgery can destroy the
abnormal vessels in the eye and prevent their regrowth.
So What's The Good
News?
Believe it or not, there is some good news. The
whole process of long-term complications started with sticky red blood cells.
The good news is that red blood cells only live two to three months. That
means that in three months of keeping your blood sugar levels nearer to
normal, you have a whole new set of unsticky red blood cells. This turnover
eliminates the cops, slow cars, and semi-trucks from the freeway, and
prevents further damage to the road. When blood sugar levels come down, the
stickiness decreases on the walls of the arteries and veins, and
triglycerides and cholesterol levels are reduced. So where lanes of traffic
were closed, we now have open roads. Where damage has been done, we may not
be able to repair it, but with improved control, we can prevent further
complications and slow or stop the progress of any existing ones. Keeping
blood sugars close to normal is the best way to prevent complications. Unlike
genetics, age, or sex, it is the one component we have some control over.
Excerpt from: Mastering Your Diabetes (Before
Diabetes Masters You)
Author: Janette Kirkham, RN, CDE, EMT for the American Diabetes Association
Author: Janette Kirkham, RN, CDE, EMT for the American Diabetes Association
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