Diabetics can eat sugar

Only a diabetic knows what goes on in the mind of another diabetic. It is not easy dealing with diabetes. First of all it is a disease which has no obvious symptoms. In most cases the patient is leading a fairly healthy life and some sudden serious problem leads to the diagnosis. 80% of the contribution to the disease is from your genes. To top it all managing sugars requires a good amount of consistency and self restraint, for the rest of your life. At times, failure is caused due to lack of accurate information.

Thorough, knowledge about the disease can help the patient relax and look at it more objectively. Most patients think that all sweets are off limits. Managing diabetes is not about avoiding sugars, it is about managing your carbohydrate intake for the medication you are taking, so that your blood sugars are under control most of the time. People try to do this for sometime but get tired of the constant control and watch by self and family. Without clear guidance it is not achievable in long term and therefore they rebel or give up.

 It is important to learn to count carbohydrates in a meal so that you can substitute it for a sweet treat once in a while. This keeps you from feeling discouraged during your blood sugar management. In India diabetics commonly avoid sugar in tea. But, they do not realize that a teaspoon full of sugar contains only 4-5 gms of carbohydrates whereas the milk in the tea itself has more carbs. Of course the milk is much more nutritional than refined sugar. But this knowledge can help you decide if you want to reduce your milk a little and take a pinch of sugar in your tea. Similarly one chapatti can have carbohydrates anywhere from 12 – 40 gms, depending on the size and thickness. So, stringently avoiding sugar and gulping down loads of chapattis, dal or beans, may not be the right approach. There is no doubt that there is difference between refined carbs and whole grains or fiber rich carbs. All carbs are not created equal. So, always follow age old nutritional information. But we need to strike the balance, so we can eat healthy as well as a satisfying meal. Eating our favorite food by substituting for some carbohydrates from a meal can help us stick to our meal plan even better in the long run. E.g. American Diabetic Association advices meal of 45-60 gms of carbohydrates. For one meal a week, you can eat a meal free of carbs like Grilled Chicken and Veggies (cauliflower, beans, broccoli, cabbage), then at that meal you can eat a whole cup(about 2.5 scoops) of regular ice cream which is approx. 35gms of carbs. And still be in your normal range.

If a patient is in denial about his disease, then this information can ease him. He can be handled by a sensitive family member or friend. Patient needs to be accompanied for the doctor visits and somebody needs to take charge of the diet and medication. The whole family needs to modify their eating patterns and diets, according to the doctor’s advice. Eating healthy is good for all. Diabetes is a lifestyle disease and is caused since our lifestyle has changed to a great extent from what it should have been.

Take the patent for a walk. Say,”Let’s go for a walk regularly”, rather than, “Why don’t you go for a walk”. Don’t leave him alone to fight the disease. Lend him a supportive hand to live with diabetes.

Some interesting links:
http://www.joslin.org/info/fitting_sugar_into_your_meals.html
http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/newly-diagnosed/getting-started/top-13-diabetes-food-myths?page=9&sssdmh=dm17.739983&esrc=dlowte01_13