Do you recognize the symptoms of hyperglycemia? It can be a life threatening condition that all diabetics must be aware of and avoid like the plague. The classic symptoms include frequent hunger, excessive thirst and peeing often.
Other signs of this condition are erectile dysfunction, blurry vision and the constant need to rest. If you have been noticing any of these changes lately, and all else has remained the same (eating and activity level), then it’s time to pay a visit to your healthcare provider for further evaluation.
Hyperglycemia is happens when the sugars in the blood doesn’t get converted to energy at the very cell level but continues circulating throughout your body causing nerve damage. Many complications will result when this happens — including kidney damage, vision problems, strokes and that ever-annoying ‘tingling’ in your hands and feet.
To protect yourselves from developing this condition in the first place, you need to get proper advice from a doctor who specializes in the treatment of diabetes. If you are prescribed medication, then take it . . . . but know this, you can also help your condition by changing your diet and starting a good exercise program.
Read the following article which discusses the importance of timing your meals in-order to maintain a balance glucose level throughout the day.
A breakfast of champions for diabetics
Our modern epidemic of obesity has led to an alarming rise in the incidence of diabetes. More than 382 million people on the planet suffer from diabetes, predominantly type-2 diabetes. For these people, blood sugar surges—glucose spikes after meals—can be life threatening, leading to cardiovascular complications.
A new Tel Aviv University study published in Diabetologia proposes a new way to suppress deadly glucose surges throughout the day—eating a high-caloric breakfast and a more modest dinner. According to TAU’s Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz and Dr. Julio Wainstein of the Wolfson Medical Center’s Diabetes Unit, Prof. Oren Froy of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Prof. Bo Ahrén of Lund University in Sweden, the combined consumption of a high-energy breakfast and a low-energy dinner decreases overall daily hyperglycaemia in type-2 diabetics.
“We found that by eating more calories at breakfast, when the glucose response to food is lowest, and consuming fewer calories at dinner, glucose peaks after meals and glucose levels throughout the day were significantly reduced,” said Prof. Jakubowicz.
All in the timing
The new study was conducted on eight men and 10 women aged 30-70 with type-2 diabetes. Patients were randomized and assigned either a “B diet” or “D diet” for one week. The B diet featured a 2946 kilojoule (kj) breakfast, 2523 kj lunch, and 858kj dinner, and the D diet featured a 858 kj breakfast, 2523 kj lunch, and 2946 kj dinner. Both diets contained the same total energy measured in kilojoules, a food energy measurement similar to a calorie, but were consumed at different times through the day, with the larger meal taking place during breakfast in the B diet. The larger meal included two slices of bread, milk, tuna, a granola bar, scrambled egg, yoghurt and cereal; the smaller meal contained sliced turkey breast, mozzarella, salad and coffee.
Patients consumed their diets at home for six days before the day of testing. On the seventh day, each group consumed their assigned meal plan at the clinic, and blood samples were collected just before breakfast and at regular intervals after the meal. Blood sampling was repeated at the same intervals after lunch and dinner. Post-meal glucose levels were measured in each participant, as well as levels of insulin, c-peptide (a component of insulin), and glucagon-like-peptide 1 hormone (GLP-1, also known as incretin: an indicator of glucose metabolism that stimulates insulin release). Two weeks later, patients switched to the alternate diet plan, and the tests were repeated.
The results of the study showed that post-meal glucose elevations were 20% lower and levels of insulin, C-peptide, and GLP-1 were 20% higher in participants on the B diet compared with those on the D diet.
What—and when—to eat
Despite the fact that both diets contained the same calories, blood glucose levels rose 23 percent less after the lunch preceded by a large breakfast.
“By demonstrating that a diet of high-energy breakfasts and more modest dinners is more effective in lowering overall daily post-meal glucose surges, we suggest that such a regimen is a powerful therapeutic approach for improving glycemic control and may potentially reduce cardiovascular complications in type- 2 diabetics,” said Prof. Jakubowicz. “It is not enough to tell the diabetic patient what he or she should or should not eat. It is more important to emphasize that a more advantageous meal schedule should be followed.”
The researchers are currently engaged in an extended study of the benefits of high-energy breakfast and reduced-calorie dinners over time.
You can view the original post here.
P.S. As the article indicates ‘the combined consumption of a high-energy breakfast and a low-energy dinner decreases overall daily hyperglycaemia in type-2 diabetics’. This important concept – eating a big breakfast and a modest dinner – which will go a long way in helping to control blood sugars. Combine this with a good exercise program and it is possible to eliminate or at least significantly cut down on any medications you may be taking.
P.P.S. Visit How to Prevent Pre-diabetes for more information.