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What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is widely recognized as one of the leading causes of death and disability in North America. In 2000, it was the sixth leading cause of death. However, diabetes is likely to be underreported as the underlying cause of death on death certificates. About 65 percent of deaths among those with diabetes are attributed to heart disease and stroke.
Diabetes often leads to blindness, heart and blood vessel disease, stroke, kidney failure, amputations, and nerve damage. Uncontrolled diabetes can complicate pregnancy, and birth defects are more common in babies born to women with diabetes.
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body. Glucose is used by cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, is required.
When we eat, the pancreas should automatically produce the right amount of insulin to move glucose from our blood into our cells. In diabetics, however, the pancreas either produce little or no insulin, or the cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced. Glucose builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body.
Types of Diabetes
The three main types of diabetes are:
- type 1 diabetes
- type 2 diabetes
- gestational diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease results when the body's immune system turns against a part of the body. In diabetes, the immune system attacks the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas then produce little or no insulin. A person who has type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily to stay alive. Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5 to 10 percent of diagnosed diabetics. It develops most often in children and young adults, but can appear at any age.
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. About 90 to 95 percent of people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes is associated with older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity, and ethnicity. About 80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas is usually producing enough insulin, but the body cannot use the insulin effectively, a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production decreases. This causes glucose to build up in the blood, overflow into the urine, and pass out of the body.
Gestational Diabetes is a temporary diabetic state brought on by pregnancy and may lead to other forms of diabetes.
Diabetes Treatment and Fiberrific
The primary aim of diabetes treatments is to balance blood sugar levels to prevent incidents of high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia). This can be accomplished with either insulin injections, or through dietary measures. Due to the inconvenience, the expense and the risk of error (which can cause hypoglycaemic periods), insulin injections are not the preferred route.
Fiberrific has undergone extensive research as a treatment and preventative for diabetes. Fiberrific is unique in that it can prevent periods of high blood sugar while, at the same time, helping to prevent some of the complications associated with diabetes.
Unlike other fiber supplements and foods, Fiberrific has a zero glycemic index. It is naturally free of any sugars and has none added. In fact, the British Journal of Nutrition noted that supplementation with soluble fiber improves glucose tolerance. If anything is classified as a “free food”, soluble fiber is it. While soluble fiber technically is a carbohydrate, it won’t raise our blood glucose, which is why it is separated from all other carbohydrates on nutrition labels. In Europe, in fact, it’s not even counted as a carbohydrate. Soluble fiber actually helps us to control blood glucose levels.
As you eat, your body converts carbohydrates (sugars and starches) from food into glucose. This rapid increase in blood sugar (hyperglycemia) is dangerous for diabetics. Studies have shown that consumption of the soluble fiber in Fiberrific before and while eating prevents hyperglycemia.
Fiberrific controls blood sugar in several ways. First, it helps to slow the absorption of glucose in the gut. This reduces blood sugar spikes and, in turn, the amount of insulin required by the body during and after eating carbohydrates.
The ingredient in Fiberrific also helps control blood sugar levels by inhibiting your body’s production of glucose. As Fiberrific is broken down into short chain fatty acids (SCFA) the body senses the increased amount of SCFA, which it interprets as similar to glucose and therefore sends signals to the liver not to produce more glucose as there is already enough. One of the properties of Fiberrific is that it helps to increase the insulin sensitivity of cells. As cells become more sensitive to insulin they begin to use glucose more efficiently. In diabetics who do not produce enough insulin, this reduces their need for insulin. In people that produce too much insulin, this action results in a reduction in the amount of insulin produced, bringing levels more in line with healthy people.
Fiberrific also decreases the level of cholesterol in our blood, which reduces our risk of heart disease, the main complication of diabetes. A side benefit for diabetics is that Fiberrific helps fill you up without adding calories, helping you avoid increasing your waistline and weight.
Fiber and Fiberrific
Except for Fiberrific, all fiber supplements and foods containing fiber have some impact carbohydrates, and therefore raise blood sugar levels. Even oat bran has some impact carbohydrates. There isn’t any fiber in meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, eggs or fats.
Most people have an exceptionally low fiber intake. The experts, including the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board, recommend that we consume at least 30 grams of fiber each day. Americans average less than half this recommended daily dose! On average adults get around 10 grams per day, and almost none of it is the valuable soluble fiber. Fiberrific can boost your daily intake of dietary fiber easily and naturally. Each tablespoon of Fiberrific provides over 13 grams of soluble fiber to help you maintain and improve your health.
Diabetics are in the unique position that virtually everyone has an opinion of what they should not eat or what foods they need to limit. But friends, family and even “the experts” rarely agree on a game plan. Overall, a diabetic might be told to stop eating so much of this and that, specifically starches and sugars, fat and even protein. But all the experts do agree on one nutrient. Everyone needs more fiber, especially soluble fiber. Everyone needs Fiberrific!
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