About 15 percent of the adult population in Turkey is struggling with diabetes. This means approximately 7 million diabetics. The key issue in diabetes, which is a preventable and curable disease, is nutrition! There is quite a lot of wrong and confusing information on this subject. Alright,diabetes why does it happen? How is it treated? How should diabetic patients be fed? For Posta.com.tr readers, we have compiled what you need to know about nutrition in diabetes from an expert.
Diabetes (diabetes ) occurs as a result of an increase in the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood due to insufficient insulin hormone. Since the insulin secreted by the pancreas is not enough, diabetics have to take insulin supplements from outside.
So why does the pancreas become unable to secrete enough insulin or how does insulin deficiency occur?
Sugar is the body’s main source of energy. In particular, the fuel that the brain needs for its daily activities is the sugar we get from carbohydrates. The pancreas, on the other hand, is our organ responsible for transmitting sugar, which is synthesized from carbohydrate-containing foods, to the brain, internal organs, muscles, in short, all cells through the hormone insulin. Thanks to the pancreas, the energy required for the body to continue its daily activities is supplied and compensated for all metabolism.
When the insulin hormone is insufficient, glucose cannot be transmitted to the cells and the amount of sugar in the blood rises. This is the initial stage of diabetes, and at this stage the pancreas releases more insulin to balance the sugar in the blood. Overworking causes the pancreas to become tired and insufficient in a short time. At this point, insulin supplementation becomes inevitable.
Type 2 diabetes can occur due to many different factors. Pregnancy period, genetic predisposition, constant and excessive stress, overweight, tumors or infections in the pancreas are among the most common causes. In addition, type 2 diabetes can occur after giving birth and/or breastfeeding . Changes in the hormonal structure cause the cells to become insensitive to the hormone insulin. Especially people in the risk group with a family history of diabetes should be more careful about type 2 diabetes symptoms.
SYMPTOMS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
- Constant feeling of hunger, feeling hungry again for a short time after eating
- frequent urination
- Don’t drink a lot of water, don’t get thirsty
- dry mouth
- Muscle pains
- skin dryness
NUTRITION SUITABLE FOR DIABETES REDUCE THE DISEASE
Although it is based on genetic factors, nutrition is the most important element in the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
IT CAN BE IMPROVED WITH THE RIGHT NUTRITION!
Although the cause of diabetes is mostly explained by genetic predisposition and evaluated in the category of autoimmune diseases of unknown origin, diabetes is a kind of crisis management that our body enters due to various dietary habits.
Dietitian Pınar Demirkaya said, “We can now say much louder that diabetes is a disease that can be cured with nutrition.” He says that diabetes, which is closely related to weight problems and healthy eating, may be the cause of excess weight.
“Diabetes, as it is known, often causes excess weight due to the deterioration of the body’s balance of processing sugar and converting it into energy.” Dietitian Demirkaya says that when the processing of the insulin hormone is interrupted, the balance of blood sugar fluctuates very frequently, and this may cause the metabolic rate to slow down or accelerate more than once.
“The reason why diabetics are overweight or underweight is this unbalanced working rhythm of their metabolic rate.”
MIXED WITH VITAMIN DEFICIENCY
The symptoms of diabetes are similar to many diseases or syndromes such as anemia and thyroid. Many people lose the chance of early diagnosis in the pre-diabetes stage because the early symptoms are attributed to these diseases or vitamin deficiencies.
ATTENTION TO WEIGHTS THAT CANNOT BE GIVEN FOR EARLY DIAGNOSIS!
Dietitian Pınar Demirkaya underlines that diabetes patients have difficulty in losing weight. “In terms of nutritional counseling, the symptoms of diabetes are often unsuccessful weight loss and failed diet attempts because dieting for diabetics, whether diabetes or pre-diabetes, can be more difficult than for other people due to sudden sugar drops.”
Dry mouth is also one of the important symptoms of diabetes patients. “Excretion of sugar in the blood through the kidneys causes the body to lose excessive water.” said Dyt. Demirkaya, “The reason for popular symptoms such as drinking a lot of water and dry mouth is that sugar is being removed from the body through the urinary system, which is a danger of causing kidney failure in the long run.” and lists the most frequently observed symptoms of diabetes as follows;
- Fast weight gain, fast weight loss.
- Inability to gain or lose weight.
- Delayed healing of wounds.
- Weakness, chronic fatigue and sleep problems.
- Aggressive or depressed mood.
- Burning eyes, visual disturbances.
- Dry skin, sensitive skin.
- Burning, tingling, restlessness in feet.
CAN HEAL FULLY WITH THE RIGHT NUTRITION
Type 2 diabetes is a high sugar condition that occurs as a result of the cells becoming insensitive to the hormone insulin for any reason. Hidden sugar that is not detected in time is then seen as Type 2 diabetes.
Although there are different types of diabetes, the most common type 2 diabetes is directly related to healthy eating. dit. Demirkaya “One of the most well-known types of diabetes is type 2 diabetes mellitus, and it can be completely cured by regulating the diet.” says.
HOW TO FEED TYPE 2 DIABETES?
Type 2 diabetes should include nutritional counseling in which weight loss and recovery process go together. As the weight gains, the disease progresses, so it is important for diabetics to maintain their ideal body weight for the continuity of the treatment.
dit. Demirkaya said, “We can say that many type 2 diabetes patients among our clients have managed to both lose weight and say goodbye to insulin drugs, thanks to the nutrition and exercise plan we have created individually.” says
The good news is that; Since type 2 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, it can be cured by regulating diet and lifestyle. dit. Demirkaya describes the nutritional model that will help us maintain ideal body weight in a way that prevents high or low blood sugar for Type 2 diabetes.
- Simple sugar and simple carbohydrates should be excluded from the diet.
- Packaged and processed food consumption should be kept to a minimum.
- Considering the food variety, attention should be paid to the seasonal nutrition.
- The personalized diet list should include foods that the diabetic patient likes to eat.
- Satisfying meals should be planned in sufficient quantities according to height, weight and body mass index, without calorie restriction.
- Attention should be paid to the balance of fiber, protein, fat and complex carbohydrates.
- Animal fat consumption should be limited.
- The diabetes diet list prepared by the dietitian should be updated periodically according to the blood tests and the season.
TYPE 1 DIABETES
In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas may stop producing insulin completely or it is secreted insufficiently. For this reason, type 1 diabetes patients need insulin injections. Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes usually occurs in children, and they need to receive nutritional support even though they continue to use insulin from this period. Dietitian Demirkaya talks about some nutritional tips for people with Type 1 diabetes.
LIFE LONG NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT IS VERY IMPORTANT IN TYPE 1 DIABETES
The symptoms of Type 1 diabetes are the same as Type 2 diabetes. Drinking a lot of water, frequent urination and other symptoms are the same in Type 1 diabetes, but weight loss is different.
dit. Demirkaya said, “Type 1 diabetes patients experience weight loss because the inability of the nutrients to be processed in the cell and converted into energy causes the fat cells to be used as an energy source. For this reason, they should pay attention to their nutrition when insulin is injected, and they should receive lifelong nutritional support in addition to their treatment. ” says
“ Due to the necessity of being hit with insulin and not consuming sugar, type 1 diabetes compels us to accept a lifestyle that relatively increases the comfort of life. Diabetes is a serious health problem that can have dangerous consequences, but it is not impossible to have an extremely healthy body thanks to nutritional support, exercise and regular checkups. Said Dyt. Demirkaya shares tips on nutrition for people with type 1 diabetes.
- Consumption of simple sugar and simple carbohydrates should be avoided.
- He should be careful not to drink alcohol.
- A diet rich in fiber and high in food variety should be preferred.
Regulation of nutrition, exercise, restructuring of life habits according to diabetes, and awareness about diabetes are integral parts of diabetes treatment.
