Diabetes Care
How Fats induce Type 2 Diabetes: Fa(c)ts You Need to Know about
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