Amino Acids Info

carbohydrates

How can you find out how many grams of carbohydrates you can have?

I just got diagnosed with borderline diabetes. My big problem is the carbs. Is there a way to find out how many grams of carbohydrates you can have either for one meal or one day? I can't seem to find anything out.

Some diabetes nurse educators and dieticians will tell you that you can have a total of about 150 carbs per day. For some that's a good number, for others, its too much.

I'm on 30 NET carbs for breakfast, 30 for lunch and about 40 to 50 for supper. I can also have 2 or 3 snacks per day of 10 to 20 carbs each, but usually only have 1.

These are NET carbs, meaning you subtract the fibre from the total carbs and just count what is left.

So if the nutrition label on a package of bread says 2 slices contain 30 carbs, and 6 of these carbs are fibre, then you should count that as 24 NET carbs per 2 slices.

Stick with whole grains, do not use white flour or sugar. Eat low carb veggies, not starchy ones. Watch the condiments like ketchup, its pretty high. Switch to low carb versions for condiments.

Get a glucometer, they are usually free if you buy 100 test strips. Ask your doctor to prescribe them, they might be covered by your insurance. If not, then try Walmart and see what their cheapest ones are.

Test following the directions on this website, and you'll find out how many carbs YOU can tolerate. It varies from individual to individual. Once you know what you can tolerate, you can cut back to testing once a day, after supper to make sure you are keeping your blood sugar under control.

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/jennifer.htm

You can download a printable version of this information here...
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/flyer.pdf

If you are in Canada or the UK, download this version...
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/flyer-mmol.pdf

Borderline diabetes means that your body is on its way to becoming diabetic. You can't stop it, you can only delay it. The best way to delay it is to eat right, lots of low carb veggies, and lean meats. Basically, eat the way you would if you were on the maintenence level of the South Beach Diet plan.

You can get lots of good recipes from the South Beach Quck and Easy Cookbook.

I also recommend that you get the book called:
The First Year: Type 2 Diabetes: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed, written by Gretchen Becker

Its written for people with diabetes or prediabetes. Its really a worthwhile read.

Also, check out this blog for more info on books, testing, good links, and a couple of recipes too.

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-NbDgUzQhfrJTXdmg.DfXS.Tx

take good care of yourself, avoid stressful situations, and eat healthy. Avoid junk food and processed foods, and of course carby foods too. Get more walking in, and drink enough water to avoid feeling thirsty. If your blood sugar starts to climb, get another HbA1c test done to see if you have progressed to diabetes.

At that point, you will probably be put on Metformin, an oral drug. If it doesn't work well enough, insulin may be safer than many of the other drugs that are out there. Metformin is very safe and is the gold standard for type 2 until you need insulin.

Good luck!

How Carbohydrate Blocker Cause Weight Loss in Obesity?

Energy content of food is measured in terms of calories. 1 gm of carbohydrate and protein provide 4 calories each, whereas 1 gm of fat generates 9 calories. Body does not utilize protein for energy, because main function of protein is formation of cells and tissues.

So, carbohydrate and fats are the major sources of energy for the body. Body requires energy to perform the functions such as breathing, physical activity, and absorption. Carbohydrate is the main nutrient in our diet. However, consumption of carbohydrate rich diet increases calorie supply to our body that can lead to obesity. Carbohydrate blocker can reduce the supply of excess calories from carbohydrate, which is required in the management of obesity. Obesity increases the risk of several health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, gallstones, sleep apnea and colon cancer. So, you should always maintain your weight within normal limits.

Obesity or overweight is a condition in which excess fat gets accumulated in the body. When you take more calories from food than needed, those extra calories are deposited in the body as fat.

Whatever food material we consume, most of it is absorbed in intestine. But before absorption, food goes through a process called digestion. Digestion is required to break down complex food particles into smaller particles and simple forms for absorption.

Food contains various forms of carbohydrates such as starch, monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. However, body cannot absorb the complex form of carbohydrates. Digestion of carbohydrate breaks down all forms of carbohydrate to simple sugar, which is then absorbed by the body. Carbohydrate digestion takes place with the help of an enzyme called alpha amylase, secreted in saliva and intestine.

After absorption, this carbohydrate is utilized for energy, which is either burned off through exercise or stored as fat. The deposition of extra fat in body leads to obesity and other health problems associated with obesity. So, in case of inactivity or in overweight person, by reducing the absorption of carbohydrate with carb blocker, the extra supply of energy and extra deposition fat can be avoided. This state of negative energy balance leads to weight loss.

A natural ingredient extracted from white kidney beans has got the action of carbohydrate blocker. It neutralizes the digestive enzyme alpha amylase thereby reducing the conversion of complex carbohydrates into simple sugar.

Neutralization of amylase enzyme by carb blocker reduces the absorption of carbohydrate and helps obese person to achieve a state of negative energy balance and weight loss. As extra calories from carbohydrate is deposited as fat, so by reducing carbohydrate absorption and negative energy balance, the carbohydrate blocker also reduces fat in the body.

For detail information on carbohydrate blocker and natural ingredient that neutralizes alpha amylase enzyme, please visit,
Carb Blocker website.

About the Author

For details on role of nutrients in various diseases, please visit Diet for Disease and for information on natural carbohydrate blocker for management of obesity carbohydrate blocker website.

Carbohydrates & You, Part 1, Advanced Nutrition Lecture