Eat your way out of diabetes

May 31, 2005

Did you know that children of diabetic parents or grandparents are potentially at higher risk of becoming diabetic? But that does not mean that others are not.

Did you know that children of diabetic parents or grandparents are potentially at higher risk of becoming diabetic? But that does not mean that others are not.
Diabetes is on the increase the world over. According to research, type II diabetes used to make up about 90% of the cases generally occurring in adults; and type I usually occurring in children, adolescents and youth accounted for about 3-5% of all cases.
However, today, more people are developing type II diabetes regardless of age.
A problem strongly linked to dietary factors, heredity. For example, viral infections like flue, chicken pox and measles may trigger diabetes.
Diabetes is a disorder involving the way the body uses carbohydrates. In a normal person, glucose derived from carbohydrates eaten is transported through the blood to all muscle cells, and is used to provide energy and other functions. But in a person with diabetes, the glucose does not enter the muscle cells. Instead it accumulates in the blood stream and is passed out in urine. This is why diabetics tend to urinate frequently, experience thirst, feel tired and lose weight in spite of large amounts of food eaten.
The good news is that eating the right foods could prevent, control or reverse type II diabetes. It is a fact that children should consume more carbohydrates than adults because they need the extra energy for growth and maintenance of other body processes. However, children should be discouraged from consuming the following carbohydrates;
  • Cake, cookies, icecream, chocolate, sweets, all colas, sodas and commercial juices with added sugar and other soft drinks.
  • White or brown table sugar, honey, syrup, molasses.
  • Posho prepared with refined maize flour, chapatti and mandazi prepared with refined wheat flour, sausages, potatoes crisps, chips and white rice.
    Instead children should be encouraged to consume wholesome and healthy foods like:

  • Sunflower and sim sim seeds, groundnuts, roasted soybeans
  • Avocado, tomatoes, cucumber (in a sandwitch with whole wheat bread)
  • Boiled eggs.
    Fruits and vegetables
  • Pears, apples, tangerines, berries, cantaloupe, lemon, lime, paw paw, guavas, jackfruit any other fruit available in your area.
  • Pineapple, water melon, bananas, mangoes (eat sparingly because they contain high amounts of sugar).
  • Cabbage, bell pepper, cauliflower, egg plant, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, onions, garlic, green plantain (gonja), pumpkin leaves or any other green vegetables of your choice.

    Carbohydrates
  • Oats, whole wheat bread, mandazi and chapatti prepared with whole wheat flower and posho prepared with maize flour number two
  • Yellow sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cassava, irish potatoes (eat sparingly; they yield high amounts of glucose in the blood stream)

    Proteins
  • Chicken without skin, meat with all fat trimmed off, fish, eggs, low fat yoghurts and milk, canned sardines and low fat cottage cheese.

    Drinks
  • Eight to twelve glasses of clean boiled water daily and unsweetened fresh fruit juices.

    Fats
  • All oils that are liquid at room temperature preferably sun flower and olive oils. If there is a family history of diabetes, teach your child healthy eating habits. Healthy food choices can save your child from future agony of diabetes.
    Further more, these foods will greatly enhance your child’s health, appearance, self-esteem and school performance.
    Ends

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