Over time, many diabetes diet – that is, diets developed with a view to helping people with diabetes better manage their diabetes, have been developed, had their heyday and quietly passed away into sunny retirement. Many though remain strong and just as popular as when they were first introduced. But really, how effective though are these diets.
With the list appearing to grow longer by the year, it often leaves a befuddled public wondering where to begin. So I decided to do review of the most popular diets currently on the market and at the end of that review two diets came through as outstanding performers for helping people manage their diabetes. One of them being the DASH diet. What follows is a brief of what I learnt about that diet. But before we go into that, one may want to ask, what exactly makes up a good Diabetic diet? The following therefore are just some of those elements.
It will be low on carbohydrates or at least provide for a way of either balancing out the carbohydrate through the course of the day or “burning” off the excess, as for example, through exercise.
It should be high in dietary fiber which has been proven to have multiple health benefits like having a low glycemic index and helping to lower the probabilities for diseases like heart disease etc.
Low in salt. Salt can lead to hypertension-that is high blood pressure, so cutting it down is a must
Low in fat. Since fat or foods easily converted to fat like sugars can lead to the individual becoming overweight- a risk factor for diabetes, it is often necessary for such food to have a low-fat content.
A good diabetic diet should strive to meet the recommended daily allowance for potassium. Potassium is important because it can help to reverse the negative effects on the circulatory system that salt has.
The DASH diet evidently has all these characteristics and more. But what exactly is the DASH diet and how did it come about. Well in 1992, the DASH Diet, DASH meaning Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension was formulated. Under the aegis of the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIS), The National Heart, Lung and Blood institute (NHLBI) worked with five of the most highly respected medical research centers in the United States to investigate the effects of diet on blood pressure. The result of that research was the formulation of the DASH diet, the best diet to take for a healthy blood pressure.
However that is not as far as its benefits go. The diet has also been found to be equally efficacious as a diabetes diet. In fact in a review of 35 diets carried out by US News and World report earlier this year it came out joint first with The Biggest Loser diet as the best diabetes diet. Mirroring much of the advice offered by the American Diabetes Association, it has been shown to display both diabetes prevention and control qualities.
On prevention, it has been shown to help individuals lose weight and also keep it off. Since being overweight is a major risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes, this quality shows it off as a great diabetes diet option.
In addition, the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, a condition which increases the chances of developing diabetes is also reduced by a combination of the DASH diet and calorie restriction. As regards control, the results of a small study published in a 2011 edition of Diabetes Care disclosed that Type 2 diabetics following eight weeks on DASH had reduced their levels of A1C and their fasting blood sugar.
Moreover the diet has been found to be more flexible than most, a fact that would make it easier to follow and adjustable, to enable it comply with a doctors dietary advice to his diabetic patient.
