Diabetic Guide to Better Living

An Informational Resource for Seniors with Diabetes

Learn how the proper diagnosis, lifestyle changes & diabetic supplies can change your life. While there is no known cure for this disease, there are healthy ways to manage it & prevent diabetes altogether.

Topics: Diabetic Lifestyle

Diabetes Information: Preventing Diabetes Naturally

More and more information about diabetes and the effect that foods have is continuously emerging. Recent diabetes information indicates that certain natural foods can help prevent type 2 diabetes. (Being an autoimmune disease, type 1 diabetes can’t be prevented by diet.) These foods, which you may already have in your pantry or refrigerator, are common in treating diabetes naturally. Eating them regularly can even help prevent the disease.

Nuts

Nuts provide lots of potassium, folic acid, vitamin E and magnesium. It’s the magnesium in the nuts that is important. Magnesium helps your pancreas produce insulin and affects how the insulin works in your body to allow your cells to absorb the sugar in your blood and to control your blood sugar level. Men should consume 400 milligrams of magnesium a day and women should get 300 milligrams. Don’t eat coconuts or macadamia nuts, though. Coconut is loaded with saturated fat and macadamia nuts are high in both fat and calories. But don’t let this diabetic information give you license to gorge on nuts, because they’re also a high-fat food. Remember: A few nuts go a long way.



Cinnamon

The benefit derived from eating cinnamon shows that information about diabetes is certainly not cut and dry. Several years ago, studies indicated that, like insulin, cinnamon helped your body absorb sugar, thereby lowering your blood sugar level. But more recent studies are mixed. One indicates that eating cinnamon provides no benefits and another shows that eating cinnamon does, indeed, lower blood sugar levels. So what do to with this diabetes information? Do whatever you think is best—and consult your physician if you’re unsure. If you decide to use cinnamon, you probably shouldn’t take it in high-fat, sugary foods like pastries. Instead, sprinkle a little bit over fruits such as apples, blueberries, bananas and strawberries — or any other food you think might go well with it. All you need to use is half a teaspoon a day.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar might taste sour, but its effects are sweet — as this piece of diabetes information proves: Taking just two tablespoons of cider vinegar each night before going to bed can lower your blood sugar up to 6 percent in two days. Even better, taking apple cider vinegar before a meal reduces the sugar spike you often get after eating. Actually, other kinds of vinegars can give you the same results, too. And here’s still another piece of information about diabetes and vinegar: Taking vinegar before meals or bed can help you lose weight. So why not give vinegar a try?

Flax Seed

One final bit of diabetes information about natural foods: Eating flaxseed provides magnesium in addition to protein and fiber. Don’t use the whole seeds, though. Grind them or buy them already ground. You can sprinkle the ground flax seed on your cereal or include in muffins or cookies (low in sugar, of course). The more information about diabetes and food you can find, the more you can control the disease naturally.

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© 2009 DiabeticSeniors.com — This information is not designed to replace a doctor’s judgment about the specific solution for your particular condition.