Sugar in a Diabetes Diet - You Mean I Can Have Candy?

The latest news on diabetes diets isn't very late. In 1994 researchers released information on dramatic changes for the diabetic diet. It seems a little number called the glycemic index (more on this later) is the most important thing to know for a good diabetes diet. But, strangely enough, many doctors and nutritionists don't seem to have caught up with this information. Patients continue to be advised not to eat sweets and are often told to follow the pyramid type of diet with six servings of carbs at the base of the diet.

The potato and the diabtes diet

Here's a little quiz. Is it better to eat a nice potato or a yummy but nasty candy bar? If you said potato, you'd be wrong. When you have a diabetic for dinner simmer him slowly. Oops. If you serve dinner to a diabetic, don't serve potatoes but do give him a nice little dessert. And don't trust those "no sugar added" labels. He can't scarf down a bunch of "no sugar" muffins and not send his blood sugar soaring. So what's going on here with the diabetes diet? A candy bar can't be healthier than a potato. Ah, but if you're trying to keep your glycemic index low, the candy bar is better. But if your blood sugar drops too low and you are in danger of insulin shock, chomp a potato for the fastest results. It's all due to the glycemic index.

The glycemic indes and the diabtetes diet

The glycemic index, or the g.i. as we who like to be hip in the wonderful world of carbs call it, is really quite simple to understand, in spite of its scary scientific sound. The glycemic index indicates the effect of a food on blood sugar, or glucose levels, in the body. All foods, even a protein like steak eventually break down into glucose. The glycemic index is a measure of the rate at which foods break down into glucose. The lower the number, the faster the food breaks down into glucose and the higher the number the slower the blood breaks down. There, that wasn't so bad, was it? The glycemic index is thus a very important tool for creating a diabetes diet.

So what's the diabetes diet?

Unfortunately, there is not one single diabetes diet for everyone. Not one size fits all. What a person can eat depends on their size and the type and severity of their diabetes. Diabetics typically see a nutritionist to help map out an individualized diabetes diet. But not all nutritionists explain or pay much attention to the glycemic index. If yours doesn't, ask him about the g.i. and if you are not satisfied, get another nutritionist.

You should have a list of the glycemic index for a variety of foods. On this list, you will find that both potatoes and white rice have a higher glycemic index number than most candy bars. The general idea with carbs is to eat complex, whole grain and unrefined carbohydrates. You can't go hog wild with sweets, but an occasional cookie or piece of candy won't hurt as long as your overall glycemic index number is low. Bon appetite.