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Controlling your possible pre-diabetes...
Have you ever felt like a sugar addiction was controlling your life? This is a weakness for many people as candy and high sugar breakfast cereals are promoted so heavily toward our children. Just by becoming aware of the physical harm that refined sugar and High fructose corn syrup can do over time should be enough to make you want to cut back. Most desserts are packed full of sugar, and yet there is plenty of evidence that sugar-laden desserts are not healthy foods.
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In the early stages of the disease, people almost always have "pre-diabetes". Blood sugar levels are higher than normal yet not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. There are 65 million people in the United States who have pre-diabetes. Research has shown that long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes. This condition may also contribute to Erectile Dysfunction. Most people with pre-diabetes have no symptoms at all. Symptoms of early diabetes may include unusual a frequent desire to urinate, thirst, blurred vision, or extreme fatigue.
You may decide to cut your sugar intake for a number of reasons:
- You must began to consume a more natural diet of whole grains and natural
sweeteners. Sugar (eaten in the form of most western cultures) is a highly
processed food, and our early ancestors used it rarely, if at all. In the early
stages of human food consumption, whole grains were eating in abundance by
civilizations that learned to grow and harvest.
- To keep your blood sugar under control, research suggests that low sugar/carb
diets help to control your blood sugar levels. Without all of those sudden
sugar spikes, your sensitivity to insulin stays normal.
- To lose weight, you must restrict your refined starch and sugar intake. A high sugar intake will destroy a diet. It will create false
hunger and a yo-yo cycle that brings with it unwanted weight gain.
- Don’t eat post-meal desserts
unless you really have to. Believe it or not, even the strongest and most
demanding sweet tooth will eventually quiet down, if your sugar addiction is not
being fed. In most meal situations, you can avoid dessert. And if you have to
then just keep the portion to a minimum. Remember, regular blood sugar spikes
can lead to insulin insensitivity.
- Use natural sweeteners when possible and always when at home. Natural
sweeteners such as honey and Stevia are increasing in use. Also popular in use
is Fructose.
-
Honey should only be used occasionally if your goal is to gain control of your
blood sugar. However, honey, in very small quantities, does still have its place
in a low-sugar, natural foods diet.
- Stevia is an extract from the leaf of the Stevia plant. It is intensely sweet,
and only tiny amounts are needed to sweeten a dessert. Stevia is also a very alkaline
food.
- Gaining popularity is Splenda because of the ability to cook with it. If you're cooking with artificial sweeteners, read the label and avoid those with high calorie / high-carb fillers. But don't waste your time attempting to do any cooking Nutrasweet/Aspartame sweeteners. Its sweetness disappears with the heat of the cooking. This is why aspartame is mainly used for drinks.
Steps to take if you think you have pre-diabetes:
With the potential millions of people at risk of Diabetes, eating a low sugar/low refined starch diet would help curb the numbers who are afflicted with this disease every year. Avoiding consumption of foods processed with High Fructose Corn Syrup or sugar should be the goal of all people wanting to normalize their sensitivity to insulin.