A Diabetic's Guide to Understanding Glycemic Index

A Diabetic’s Guide to Understanding Glycemic Index

Beating Diabetes Without Meds
Diabetics are bombarded with discussion about losing weight and controlling blood sugar by utilizing the glycemic index or glycemic load. But that is of little help if you do not know what a glycemic index is. Most diabetics know that carbohydrates are somehow responsible for their weight gain, and contribute heavily to their blood sugar levels. The glycemic index, and glycemic load make understanding the relationship easy.
All carbohydrates are converted to glucose. The body will use some for energy, store some in muscle tissue and the liver, and preserve the rest in the form of fat. If you are diabetic, that usually is in the abdomen. Carbohydrates are converted at different rates. In other words, different carbs will convert to glucose and enter the bloodstream at different rates, and therefore vary in how much of a blood sugar spike you experience.
The glycemic index is a simple (comparative) method of rating food items, as to how fast they are converted and absorbed; indicating what type of blood sugar spike you can expect. A value of 100 is assigned to pure sugar (glucose or white bread), and all other food items are rated relative to that value. To determine a foods GI (glycemic index), ten healthy individuals are fed 50 grams of the test food item. Each volunteer will have fasted a minimum of 10 hours prior to eating the sample, and no more than 16 hours. Then every 15 to 30 minutes, for several hours, a blood sample will be taken. The data will show how quickly the food item (resulting glucose) enters the blood stream, how high the spike will be, and the rate of drop that follows. The data can be plotted on a mathematical curve and compared to other samples. The area under the curve is calculated. The resulting area is divided by the area for the control substance (glucose or white bread) and then multiplied by 100. The average value for the ten volunteers is then published as the glycemic index for that food item.
Since the average serving size is more representative of what is consumed, a value called the glycemic load has been developed. The glycemic index represents the quality of a food item, but does not take quantity into account. To correctly measure how a food item will affect blood sugar, the amount of that food found in an average serving must be used. For example: if a food item has a glycemic index of 75 (as compared to pure glucose), and the serving size is 6 grams, the resulting value is the glycemic load (the GI is expressed as a decimal = 0.75 X 6 = 4.5). That suggests that that particular food item is likely to spike blood sugar levels about 3/4 of that found in pure glucose.
The higher the glycemic load or index, the faster a food will enter the bloodstream and cause a blood sugar spike. Usually, these are foods that will spike your blood sugar level, then crash, causing drowsiness and listlessness. Likewise, if the food item has a low glycemic index, or load, the slower it will enter the bloodstream, and is less likely to cause a spike in blood sugar.
The glycemic load of common foods can be found in tables published on the internet. If a food item is not listed, it is probably because they haven’t found volunteers willing to starve themselves for 10 hours; eat 50 grams of some single substance (like chili powder); and allow blood samples taken every 15 minutes. Different sources will also give a different value for the same item. Likely, the average of the volunteers was different for different studies. The important point to bear in mind is that the concept is still the same. It is recommended that the glycemic loads for everything eaten in one day not exceed a total of 10.
Take note that the word healthy was in bold above. That is an important point. Diabetics will not react to food items the same way a healthy person will. For a diabetic it is very important to use the glycemic index as a guide. The general trends will be basically the same, however due to inflammation, diabetics are frequently more sensitive (have an increased likelihood to have glucose spikes) to some carbohydrates than a health person. Each individual should test various food items to determine his/her sensitivity to that food. Then make meal plans accordingly. Further, it should be noted that no meal consists of only one food item. Therefore, bear in mind that combinations of food items will alter the total for the day.
For related topics do an internet query search on the following articles: “Diabetic’s Guide to Modifying the Glycemic Load”, “How Excess Body Fat Contributes to Diabetes”, ” Why Diabetics Struggle with Weight Control”, “3 Keys to Diabetic Weight Loss” and ” What Diabetic’s Should Know About Carbohydrates” www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com
Beating Diabetes Without Meds

Thomas Nelson is a freelance internet researcher. MBA, Business Admin. BS, Business Admin. He resides in Central Florida with his family.
Crucial conditions exist in diabetics that cause and support the cycle of destruction that diabetes is known for- All play crucial roles in the progression of diabetes, and all are treatable if the diabetic takes specific action. http://www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com is the gateway to an ebook containing 350 pages of concise information that every diabetic should know.

Why Diabetics Crave Sweets

Why Diabetics Crave SweetsWhy Diabetics Crave Sweets

Beating Diabetes Without Meds
No matter where you go, someone is always offering you things that you should not eat if you are a diabetic. Yet, we all, especially diabetics, find it very difficult to turn it down. We use the excuse that we do not want to offend someone. But, the fact of the matter is there is a very good reason for our craving sweets.
All diabetics, and 90% of Americans, are seriously deficient in chromium and four other crucial nutrients. When someone is deficient in chromium, they begin to crave sugar (sweets). The more deficient they are the more they crave. Unfortunately, if you eat sugar, or high glucose items (high glycemic index foods) the glucose will further strip your body of chromium, setting up a vicious cycle. As your chromium stores deplete, you crave more and more sweets, that in turn reduces the chromium levels.
Why is this important? Chromium is one of two nutrients responsible for aiding our body’s cells in absorbing and utilizing insulin. So, is it any wonder that a Type II diabetic is insulin resistant? The symptoms of a chromium deficiency are obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, anxiety and fatigue. Any of those sound familiar? Chromium is the pivotal nutrient involved in sugar metabolism. It helps regulate glucose levels and produce energy. It increases lean body mass and enhances the calorie-burning results during exercise. It reduces the LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels. Chromium repairs cell damage (glycation) caused by high glucose levels. It, along with vitamin C, reduces the buildup of pressure inside the eyes, a cause of glaucoma. And, it helps regulate blood pressure. So it should be easy to understand why chromium is so important to diabetics. It also explains partially, why diabetics have high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, glaucoma and cataracts, heart disease, low energy, anxiety and obesity.
Unfortunately, chromium cannot be obtained from normal food sources, and the body does not manufacture it. Conglomerate farming has depleted the soil of chromium. Even many organic foods suffer from chromium deficiencies. Meat and seafood contain chromium, but only if their diet is rich in chromium. Most commercial feed is deficient in chromium. To further complicate the matter, diabetics have a reduced capacity for absorbing chromium when it is present. And, strenuous activity increases the excretion of chromium.
There is hope. There are some inexpensive supplements that can help rebuild the chromium stores. However, all nutrients have to be taken with other specific nutrients in order to function and be absorbed, or the effort is wasted. Steps need to be taken to improve the body’s ability to absorb nutrients and maintain balance. If the effort is put forth to reverse the deficiencies that prevail; if effort is put forth to restore and bolster the immune system; understand inflammation and how to regulate it; and a proper balance in diet is put into action; it is entirely possible to reverse the damaging effects of diabetes.
If you would like to learn more go to http://www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com. 350 pages of concentrated information that will guide you through the process of reversing diabetes. Learn what every diabetic should know about the disease.
Reversing Diabetes Without Meds

Thomas Nelson is a freelance internet researcher. MBA, Business Admin. BS, Business Admin. He resides in Central Florida with his family.
Conditions common to all diabetics cause and promote serious damage due to diabetes. They are treatable without pharmaceuticals. All diabetics need to know what they are and how to reverse them. www.how-to-take-charge-of-your-diabetes.com is an extensive compilation of research that every diabetic should know about his/her disease.

tomenelson@bellsouth.net

More Than Just a Psychiatric Facility – The Elgin Mental Healthcare Center

What is The Elgin Mental Health care Center? Suppose if a friend of you or someone in their family is to be treated in a mental care facility, we try to find the best facility for them. After all, the goal is for them to get well, and we believe that our choice of hospital is vital for the person’s recovery. In Illinois, when we speak of psychiatric facilities, one hospital easily comes to mind. That is Elgin Mental Health Center or EMHC. As the second oldest state hospital in Illinois, this facility opened in 1872 under its former name, Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum for the Insane. The first-ever physiological measurements of mental patients were recorded by the Elgin Papers back in the 1890s. By 1997, the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Health care Organizations gave EMHC its commendation for two years in a row.

How the hospital was developed can be broken down into five phases. The first phase ended in 1893. A stable leadership was responsible for the gradual growth during this period. After this phase, the hospital immensely grew to more than twice its size. This second phase, which ended by 1920, was characterized by a lot of politicking, leadership changes and power struggles in the system. For the third period, growth was more rapid. Hospital population, which reached its peak by the 1950s, increased for both geriatric and veterans. This is because the period was post World War I and World War II. By the time the third phase ended, hospital population declined. During this phase, psychotropic medications were introduced. Other milestones for this period include the development of community health facilities, institutionalization, until the decentralization of decision-making and authority. This fourth phase ended until the 1980s.

The last phase is what some call the “rebirth.” It began in 1983, when hospital census was at its lowest. Because of this, the hospital was on the verge of closure. However, the state decided to close Manteno Mental Health Center instead. During this time, the hospital was practically rebuilt. While the old buildings used a congregate model called the Kirkbride plan, new physical facilities were added such as cottages in order to adhere to a segregate plan. There are two divisions, civil and forensic. Each division has an acute treatment center, office and conference rooms which faculty and trainees can use. Forensic programs were further developed, and new affiliations with medical schools were also made. Affiliations include that with The Chicago Medical School, among others. An increase in educational activities showed that EMHC is also concerned with the education of future doctors and medical graduates. Hospital system operations were also modified. Activities of community mental health centers are integrated in the system operations. Community mental health centers refer their patients to EMHC. These community mental facilities include DuPage County Health Department, Lake County Mental Health Center, Ecker Center for Mental Health, and Kenneth Young Center.

At present, admissions are close to 1300 annually. Patients are usually African-American, Euro-American and Hispanic. The hospital holds 582 to 600 beds and about 40 full-time physicians. Just like any health facility, EMHC is harassed with problems and controversies with respect to their policies and programs. Nevertheless, Elgin Mental Health Center continues to do what it is supposed to do, and that is to provide the best treatment for their patients.

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