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A View Of Pre-Diabetes And Carbohydrates

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Read any internet forum on health and invariably some participant will ask the group to explain the difference between a sugar, a starch and an carbohydrate. Often as not the information provided by the person answering will be inaccurate, even misleading. Not that this is critical in any way, but since it is part of the common lexicon of most chronic diseases, and since separating them is easy, the information needs to be more easily attainable. Pre-diabetics need to know about this. Especially when the terms polysaccharides, glucose, etc are interchanged as is often found.

When you read a label and it says this item contains 100 calories of carbohydrate do you understand what that means? It means the number of calories from both sugar and starch combined.

A carbohydrate means the item is either a sugar or a starch. Sucrose is the traditional table sugar made up of glucose and fructose. All sugars, for our purposes, are simple units of similar construction, which are called simple carbohydrates. Link them in a chain or widen them into a many unit matrix and you have what is called a complex carbohydrate, or starch.

Even the most elaborate carbohydrate is far less complex than a protein. That means a carbohydrate can be disassembled faster than a protein making it more available for immediate energy.

A balanced meal provides protein, carbohydrate and oil, and for a reason when it comes to energy. Carbohydrates are utilized for the first two hours, then protein takes the helm and finally oil.

You will notice that when energy is discussed carbohydrates take center stage. The common reason is that sugar is the only fuel for energy.

One of the most ignored and under appreciated facts is that acetic acid, or acetate, which is derived from oils, is necessary for burning sugar. There are individuals who find oil more energy producing than sugar and certainly it satiates appetite. Pre-diabetics rarely ask about this.

Half your calories should come from carbohydrates, 30 percent from oils and the rest from proteins, according to the authorities on diabetes. Without any doubt there are individuals who are metabolically better balanced with another formula.

The focus is always on carbohydrates when it comes to controlling the blood sugar. Without taking any of the importance away from that, it’s important to call attention to other factors in the diet, and outside the pre-diabetic and diabetic diet, that need attention too.

As to carbohydrates, it’s time a clear and concise view pre-diabetes and blood sugar and diet #1

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Pre-Diabetes and Diabetic Glycation

Monday, April 5th, 2010

The unhealthy bonding of a sugar to a protein or a fat is called glycation. Another name is used when a protein actively seeks a sugar molecule and enzymatically assimilates it.

Sugars can glycate to proteins in a haphazard fashion. The protein, in this case, does not seek it because the metabolic function of the protein is then severely degraded.

The stomach is where sucrose, table sugar, is divided into glucose and fructose. Fructose can glycate 10 times faster than glucose.

Sugars are tacky things, the greater the number and the longer the exposure to them the higher the chances of glycation.

Glycations are big trouble to the body because not only do they unset molecular and cellular functions thorough out the body, they generate hydrogen peroxide and other toxic, oxidizing materials.

Glycation severely affects long lived cells in the nerves and brain, long lasting proteins in vital organs as well as DNA. Glycation even attacks beta cells in the pancreas, important because they produce the insulin used to fight glycation. Maybe worst, glycation stiffens as well as weakens blood vessels.

AGEs, advanced glycation end products are what the glycated molecule ends up being, basically it is a toxic waste product. Essentially there are no tissues that are immune to glycation therefore all organs and system are vulnerable to chronic diseases: Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular, cancer, neuropathology’s, diabetes, eyes, ears, etc, etc.

With a lifespan of 120 days, easily accessible red blood cells can be analyzed for recent increases in glycating materials. Recently this has become the most reliable way of determining the blood sugars affect on tissues. This measurement of glycated hemoglobin levels in the cells is called HbA1c,

There are additional pathologies in diabetes beyond glycation, some may be worse, but they are less understood.

As you can see, diabetes is definitely a life shortening disease to be feared. Early diabetes and especially during pre-diabetes one still has time to actively back out of the mess ahead.

For more on the damage and treatment of diabetes go diabetes information #1

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Is A Generic Drug As Good As A Brand Drug In Early Diabetes?

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Everyone is aware brand drugs cost more than generic drugs. Companies that make brand drugs must factor in hundreds of millions in research costs, therefore they must make that up in their pricing. Early diabetics and all diabetics should know about this.

Knockoffs are a lesser quality product, everyone knows that. Generic drugs, being knockoffs, are made differently than brand name drugs which are required to have a higher standard of manufacturing. Early diabetics using drugs for the first time need to be aware

Do people react differently to each one? Absolutely!

A small modification to that statement must be added. Simple antibiotics are equal to brand names, but newer drugs and move complex drugs are far superior to generic drugs.

Should you be prescribed a drug that does not work at all, or its effects are disappointingly weak, then it’s likely a generic.

It may add a little to The cost, but here is the best approach. Ask the pharmacist for the brand name first, and try it. Then refill with a generic drug. You will know what to do if you see a difference.

It can be done the other way but it’s not the best. Take the generic the pharmacist offers and try it. If the results are not what you wanted then ask for the brand name on refill. The problem is, you may be wondering at this point whether you need a different drug altogether, it makes the decision fuzzy.

When you begin with the brand name first you have a chance to fully appreciate the, sometimes startling, differences between the two forms of the drug. It will be a lasting lesson.

How could a generic be an absolute copy of a brand drug – there is patent protection against that. The government will allow a closely similar drug to be manufactured, but not the exact drug. Drugs for the early diabetic and all users of prescriptions for that matter need to cognizant of this fact.

There is much more to say aboutearly diabetes treatment #1

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Pre Diabetes, They Don’t Count Calories Like They Used To

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

They should mark packages, pre diabetics beware. I was down at the local market the other day wondering if they had anything new to brighten my day. Sure enough there it was in a see-through package, a knock your eye out pastry with a great come either look in its eye

I looked around to see if I was still in the diet food section of the store, I had to be sure I hadn’t drifted subconsciously into the bakery area and was staring at an untouchable.

Nope. The overhead sign read diet foods and supplements – I was okay there. I pinched myself t be sure, because I knew I had struck gold. I tore open the lid, removed the pastry and took a bite, how sweet it was.

Label, what label, do these things have labels? Ignorance is a bliss. When I finally did think of the label I was greatly relief to find there was an acceptable level of protein and fat in the product. That should have been reassuring enough to finish it off, right? However, reluctantly I did nag myself into reviewing the carbs. Only 70 calories, where are the other zeros?

Right away, I wanted to find out how the bakery did it. How did they manage such a delicious, and even generous treat with such a trivial calorie penalty for eating it. The brand was not national, but there was a phone number, so I called it.

The young voice that answered the phone sounded like someone’s daughter, she had such a youthful voice. She was the wife of the baker, they were two years old and doing great with the product that I was investigating.

After she refused to divulge the formula I ask her what laboratory method the bakery used to determine calorie content. She said the Food and Drug agency told her they required a label divulging the contents but did not specify which method the bakery use. I asked her again for the method – she said she looked it up in a book. Her method was to make a guess.

By all safety standards, this product was ready to be consumed, and likely will be by all who choose to believe anything that’s in print.

This is a real personal story. Large food corporations use outside laboratories for food analysis. Regional and smaller companies get along with less. The point: when it come to diabetes and even pre diabetes, the stomach can easily blindfold the eye.

There out there, all the easy ways for a diabetic and pre diabetic to screw up without a diabetic meal plan #1

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