Jo’s Cafe

Have diabetes and your cake too!

‘This research is in line with the dietary guidelines set by the ADA, which state that sucrose does not cause a greater increase in blood glucose levels than an equivalent amount of starch.’  ~ Professor Frost

 Type 2 Diabetes And Carrot Cake Study On Sugar

Patients with type 2 diabetes are often advised to cut out sucrose (table sugar) all together. However, in recent years this traditional advice has been questioned by some researchers who suggest that moderate amounts of sugar can be safely consumed as part of the diet of patients with diabetes. Now a new study has been published that is consistent with this revised approach. It showed that patients who increased their daily sugar intake (in the form of carrot cake) but maintained a stable body weight, showed no adverse changes in their blood glucose.

I do eat some sugar in my diet, I mean there are times you can’t avoid it. But all in moderation folks - even with carrot cake.

Legumes linked to lower diabetes risk

An increased intake of legumes like peanuts and soybeans could reduce the risk of developing type-2 diabetes by over 40 per cent, suggests a new study.

The dietary habits of over 64,000 women were assessed and correlated with the development of type-2 diabetes over about five years, and a high intake of all legumes was associated with a 38 per cent reduction in risk of developing the disease, report researchers in this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

…
The authors, led by Raquel Villegas, used food-frequency questionnaires to assess the dietary intakes of the subjects, and reported an inverse association between the intake of legumes and the incidence of type-2 diabetes.

Indeed, for a high intake of all legumes, the researchers reported a 38 per cent reduction in risk, while a high intake of soybeans was associated with a 47 per cent reduction in risk.

Interestingly, no relationship was observed for the consumption of soy products and soy protein with diabetes risk.

I’ll take a double dose of gas beans please.

Cinnamon does not control blood sugar or fat levels

Cinnamon does not appear to have any impact on blood sugar or cholesterol levels in people with diabetes, Connecticut-based researchers report in the journal Diabetes Care.

“The preponderance of evidence currently available does not suggest that cinnamon has the ability to decrease a person’s risk of heart disease by helping them control their diabetes or lower their cholesterol,” Dr. Craig I. Coleman, of Hartford Hospital, who was the principal investigator, told Reuters Health.

Several studies have looked at the impact of cinnamon on blood sugar and lipids (fats) in patients with diabetes but had only modest sample sizes and yielded mixed results, Coleman and colleagues note in their report.

I tried this when first diagnosed. Didn’t note any changes in my glucose levels at all so gave it up.  But does vinegar work?