Diabetes and Diets - Some Help

As with certain drugs, people (usually those who are not diabetic) like to recommend diets and food "fads" that will supposedly help with diabetes.

Bookshops have shelves full of books on diets, but they all basically fit into 3 categories.

Firstly you have the high protein low carbohydrate diet.

This has been much maligned in recent years, and there is no doubt that it suits some people better than others. The main drawback is that it tends to lack certain vitamins, and some claim that you have to live off tofu for the rest of your life, and that one's urine smells of acetone.

However, the author of this article is keen on this diet. It is very effective for weight loss, and suits the author fine, not least because he has an intolerance of wheat based products. The best way to use a diet like this is to be strict for about 3 weeks, when you can literally lose a stone and a half, then back off a little, but when the weight starts to appear, go back to being radical again. The author has found this diet very easy, but others may find it hard, particularly vegetarians.

Secondly there is the low fat diet.

The single biggest problem with low fat diets is not the fact that meals are difficult to prepare, it is that in order to take in calories, this type of diet requires you to eat a large amount of carbohydrate.

As you should know, carbohydrates are the single thing that diabetics should minimize, as they carry so much sugar. As with high protein diets, there is some concern that this low fat type diet is too low in vitamins, so a supplement may need to be taken. However, given the amount of carbohydrate you have to eat, it may not be a good diet for a diabetic.

Thirdly, low calorie diets.

This is where the common form is drinking some sort of shake for each meal. These types of diets lack minerals and nutrients, and are so totally different to our regular eating habits it is impossible for most people to stay on them for long.

Also it has been found that when people stop this sort of diet and return to more familiar patterns of eating, they rapidly lose all the weight they've lost and often end up heavier than they were before they started the diet.

Eating is generally a pleasure and often a social occasion. Try and find a diet type that suits you and stick to it.

Toby has been diabetic for almost 2 years now, but likes to prove that one can still have a normal lifestyle. Visit his latest website at http://www.tentsforcampingreview.com which helps people find the best deals on a Coleman sundome tent and information for the keen camper.