Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms
Sugar Mythbusters
If you have diabetes, you may think that you have to stay away from sweets entirely. While its true that eating a chocolate bunny or a handful of jelly beans will raise your blood glucose (sugar) level, so will eating more nutritious carb-containing foods, like a slice of whole wheat bread or a tomato wedge.
Today, experts agree that the key to eating sugary foods is moderation. Its okay to eat a small portion of sweets if you balance it at the same meal by cutting back on rice, fruit juice, or other food containing carbohydrates. Then put on your walking shoes and take a brisk walk; physical activity will lower your blood sugar.
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Here are some other sugar myths:
Brown sugar is better than white sugar. Brown sugar is just granulated white sugar with molasses added. It does contain tiny amounts of minerals, but not enough to make it more nutritious than white sugar.
Foods with sugar alcohols are free foods. Though sugar alcohols–including sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol – provide (0.2 calories to 3 calories per gram) about 0 to 75% the calories of sugars (which gives 4 calories per gram), and therefore dont raise blood glucose levels as much as the same amount of other carbohydrates, theyre not calorie-free. (They dont actually contain alcohol, either.) Sugar alcohols can cause gas and diarrhea if you eat too much of them. Follow the recommended serving size.
Low-calorie sweeteners arent safe to use. Current information says that low-calorie sweeteners are safe for everyone except people with a rare condition called phenylketonuria (fen-l-kee-toh-nooree-uh), who shouldnt use aspartame. Aspartame sold as Equal and other brands will breakdown in cooking and baking. Also, your body will break it down and absorb some of the pieces. Keep searching for reputable research reports on sugar replacement sweeteners.
Low-calorie sweeteners, such as saccharin, sucralose, aspartame, and acesulfame-K, wont raise your blood glucose levels.
