Diabetes Care

About 80 percent of type 2 diabetics are overweight, clearly indicating the relation between fatty foods and diabetes. Fats destroy insulin receptors and prevent sugar from entering your cells. As a result, they stay in the blood.

Medical experts will tell you that the risk of diabetes largely depends on obesity, cholesterol, high blood glucose and high blood pressure. Factors like family history and age do come into play but a healthy lifestyle minimizes their influence.

Saturated fats and Trans fats are the worst offenders when it comes to high cholesterol levels. With increased cholesterol you become particularly vulnerable to heart aliments and attacks. Sources of saturated fats include:

* High fat dairy products
* Dark meat and other high fat meat
* Chicken skin
* Butter and margarine
* Chocolate
* Cream sauce
* Oils like coconut oil, palm oil

It is no surprise that doctors recommend limiting the calorie intake through saturated fats to 7% of the total. That's about 15g a day for most. Always look up the nutrition facts on whatever product you buy. A single ounce of cheese could have 8g of saturated fat, so beware.

Also look for the Trans fat on the label. Trans fats too are bad for your cholesterol and therefore for your diabetes. Foods that contain Trans fats include:

* Processed food like chips and crackers
* Baked food like cakes and cookies
* Fast food like fries

Dietary cholesterol poses a big risk if taken even in moderate quantities. Direct intake of cholesterol has to be less than 300 milligrams a day. Sources of dietary cholesterol include:

* Egg yolk
* Organ meat like liver
* High fat dairy products

Cholesterol clogs your arteries and increases blood pressure particularly among diabetics. While you are advised to cut out the bad fats from your diet, you are also encouraged to include "good" fats in moderate quantities. These fats are essential for the body and have numerous health benefits like:

* They transport vitamins throughout the body.
* They protect our organs.
* Essential fatty acids boost metabolism.
* They provide energy and aid weight loss.

These "good" fats are actually unsaturated fats (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated). Sources of unsaturated fat include:

* Avocado
* Canola oil
* Olive oil
* Almond, cashew, peanut
* Walnut
* Sesame seeds
* Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
* Soy
* Mayonnaise

Omega-3 fatty acids are also among the good fats as they help prevent clogging of arteries. Fish are the richest source of omega-3 fatty acids. Eating fish 2 or 3 times a week can be very good for your diabetes. The best ones are:

* Tuna
* Herring
* Mackerel
* Sardines
* Salmon