What are good and bad carbohydrates?

Good carbs and bad carbs may sound Greek and Latin to many. These terms are used recently to classify carbohydrates in terms of health benefits. Carbohydrates are not always good and not always bad. Some promote health and some causes problems which we generally say as good carbs and bad carbs respectively. Carbohydrates are called the fuel of our body because they give energy to run the engine of life. It's our responsibility to identify good carbs from bad carbs and take them appropriately.

Our body should get energy from the carbohydrate content of our diet and not from the protein or fat content. Good carbs are found in legumes, whole grains, oatmeal, spaghetti, milk, vegetables and fruits. The complex sugar molecules here are broken into simpler substance and are stored in the form of glycogen to give the energy we need. Bad carbs are found in soda pop or soft drinks, snacks such as cookies and chips, pasta, white bread and alcohol. Though they give energy the carbohydrate content is highly refined and processed. Hence they are full of empty calories with no benefit. When these bad carbs are the only source of carbohydrates in our diet, our body abstracts energy from protein and fat. Moreover, these refined and processed carbohydrates are the main cause of heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Good carbs will not suppress our appetite because they are rich in fiber and protein which get digested easily. They give you enough strength between meals. Bad carbs fill the stomach easily and suppresses your appetite for now. But soon you will feel hungry because they have only empty calories and you land up in eating more that leads to obesity.

Calories just increases the body weight and has no nutritional value. Bad carbs has only calories and no carbohydrate content. Hence they contribute only to unwanted weight gain. But good carbs on the other hand is rich in carbohydrates which gives energy and not just calories that increases weight. This is the reason why weight loss program is based on low caloric diet.

According to the chemistry of carbohydrates, good carbs are complex carbs and bad carbs are simple carbs. Bad carbs are called glycemic agents that alters the glucose and insulin level rapidly leading to diabetes and fat gain. Try to replace refined and processed food with fresh whole foods.

Tips to control blood glucose without medication

You are lucky if you know beforehand that you are going to get diabetes. I called you lucky because you can do something to save yourself from taking medications and injections. You cannot prevent diabetes since it is heriditary but you can always keep them under control. This topic will be more useful for people who are at high risk of getting diabetes, those in pre-diabetic stage or probably gestational diabetic mothers.

Diet and exercise plays an important role to maintain your blood glucose level without medication. May be these are the only tricks and tips to keep yourself away from medication.

1. The total number of calories is usually individualized based on your current or desired weight and the presence of existing health problems. But the accepted diabetic diet may be 1000 or 1200 Kcal diabetic diet/day, which is adequate and maintains a good blood glucose level in most of the clients.

2. Make a plan of your daily diet considering 1200 Kcal as your limit. Do not have the same plan for the next day, instead use different food items each day so that you are not bored or start to hate a specific food.

3. You can find out a large variety of foods that can be used by diabetic clients from certain associations like 'food exchange from the American diabetic association diet or dietary guidelines for Americans' which are issued by the U.S Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human services.

4. You need not cook seperately for yourself because there is no food that you should avoid. All that matters is the amount. Cook for the whole family as usual but stay within your limits.

5. When you are planning your diet, consider your own likes and dislikes.

6. Eat 6 meals a day, you will feel hungry and go into low sugars easily because you eat less.

7. Eat foods that fills your stomach and is low in Calories.

8. If life style or your kind of occupation is causing this problem, you might have to alter or change them if necessary. Some people sit the whole 8 hours a day in their work which may lead to obesity and eventually diabetes. Such kind of workers can take a walk in between and have the habit of exercising daily.

9. Exercise will definitely lower the blood glucose levels.

10. As exercising causes weight loss, naturally your blood sugar level drops down.

11. Involve in some kind of sports or games you are interested in.

12. If you don't like to do exercise then try aerobics or yoga.

13. Keep yourself active and do the regular household work which itself is a good exercise.

14. Swimming, walking and jogging everyday keeps your body energitic and your mind at peace.

15. Buy a glucometer and check your sugar levels daily until its maintained.

These tips and tricks will surely keep your sugars under control without medication but keep your physician notified about your diet, exercise and sugar levels from time to time.