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Proteins are the natural choice when a patient is faced with diabetes. If diabetes is uncontrolled, muscle protein is broken down into amino acids and converted into glucose by the liver. Proteins have to supply enough energy to substitute for carbohydrates and proteins are broken down faster than they are made. If this happens the body ends up with a protein deficit which affects normal body functions.

A protein deficit has been shown to impair resistance to infections in diabetics.

Nutrition therapy for diabetes has progressed from prevention of obesity or weight gain to improving the effectiveness of insulin. With this new approach, a high protein diet (30% of total food energy) is a very pertinent part of nutrition therapy.

It is speculated that a high protein diet has a favorable effect in diabetes due to the ability of proteins and amino acids to stimulate insulin release from the pancreas.

As well, dietary supplements containing proteins like whey and casein come highly recommended. A protein supplement containing casein can increase the amount of energy manufactured from every meal and, at the same time, reduce the need for pharmacological insulin.

Ask your health care professional about your dietary protein needs if you have diabetes.

Tagged with: diabetes • diabetics • protein deficit • proteins

A recent study from Duke University shows that caffeine increases blood sugar levels in diabetics who regularly drink coffee.

These findings are surprising because coffee contains no calories and has a glycemic index of 0. However, caffeine is a stimulant similar to the fight-or-flight response. The fight-or flight response causes a rise in blood sugar.

The problem is that diabetics are not being told to avoid caffeine as part of their blood-sugar control.

If you’re diabetic and consume a lot of caffeine, you may want to consider this new research, especially if your blood sugar levels are not well-controlled.

Here are some tips for caffeine control:

1. Don’t go cold-turkey.

2. Limit consumption of decaf. Even decaf has a small amount of caffeine.

3. Herbal tea or green tea makes a good antioxidant rich substitute when you’re craving a hot beverage.

4. Replace your coffee break with an oxygen break. Do one to two minutes of deep breathing.

5. Move around. You can instantly increase your alertness by getting up, stretching or walking briskly–even for one or two minutes.

Make sure to talk to your doctor about caffeine consumption if you are diabetic.

Tagged with: blood sugar levels • caffeine • coffee • diabetics