Honey and diabetes: Can I use honey instead of sugar in diabetes?

Honey and diabetes: Can I use honey instead of sugar in diabetes?

Very often people ask the doctor: "I have diabetes and I wonder whether it is possible to use honey in diabetes to replace the sugar?" Generally, there is no advantage to replace sugar with honey diabetics. Both - honey and sugar - increase blood sugar levels.

Honey is sweeter than sugar, because honey contains slightly more carbohydrates and more calories per teaspoon than granulated sugar, so substituting sugar with honey for diabetics, will only lead to increase glucose in blood and high calories.

If you prefer the taste of honey, you can safely use it - but only in moderate amount. Be sure that you accurately calculate the amount of honey.

Diabetics, as is known, there is no need to consume any kind of sugar - in sweets, desserts, etc. However, the most important not only the amount of sugar you eat, but your overall carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates can be found in both the white and brown sugar, and the products from them, such as honey, syrups, jams. Further, carbohydrates are also present in large quantities in cereals, starchy vegetables and fruits. You should limit your intake of carbohydrates to 45 g- 60g per meal for better control of blood sugar levels.

The content of carbohydrates in honey

Honey, like all other sugars, is a concentrated source of carbohydrates. A tablespoon of honey provides 17.3 grams of carbohydrates, while a teaspoon of honey contains 5.8 grams of carbohydrates. While these numbers may seem small, they can quickly add up depending on how much you consume. It’s a good idea to keep track of carbohydrate intake. Record the food you eat, notice the portion sizes and estimate the carbohydrate content of each of the products using food labels or food composition tables. Make sure that each of your meals will provide no more than 45g - 60g carbohydrates. If the use of honey in diabetes will exceed the daily carbohydrate "budget", the blood sugar level becomes critical. 

Healthy Sweetener

 Honey often considered healthy sweetener, compared with white sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Although honey is a more natural and less processed foods, it still contains about the same amount of sugar, as well as any other type of high-calorie sweeteners. For example, 1 tsp. sugar has 4.8 g of carbohydrates, 1 tsp brown sugar .. has 4.5 g of carbohydrates, 1 tsp .. corn syrup has 5.6 g of carbohydrates and 1 tsp maple syrup has a .. 4 5 g carbohydrates. The amount of carbohydrates is more important than the quality of carbohydrates, when it comes to diabetes.

In diabetes you can use honey! But count it

You can use honey in your diet but you have be careful about something. Number one is the amount you honey, as we already established the biochemical profile of honey, it's clear that honey can also increase blood glucose as the processed sugar. Second important point is to buy unprocessed honey. Yes you can find a lot different kind of honey in markets which are not processed. The next issue will be to get used to the low levels of sweetness in your diet. The thing is that, even a person is not diabetic, he/she isn't suppose to load themselves with sugar. That's why keep in mind that you are following the healthy regime which is necessary to stay healthy but with little more restrictions. Within 2 weeks you will adjest to the these levels of sweetness in your diet and it will new normal for you. But don't eat honey flavored products because the concentration of honey is not under your control. Mix half tea spoon of honey in desirable food by you self.

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Warning Signs of Diabetes

Warning Signs of Diabetes.

Frequent urination

When the body detects a high level of sugar in the blood, kidneys respond by attempting to get rid of excess glucose in the urine. This can lead to an increase in urine production, and the need to urinate frequently. If you find yourself going to the toilet more often, especially if you wake up at night to urinate, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor about whether you need a check.Nighttime awakenings to urinate may also be associated with other diseases.

Who should be tested for diabetes?

According to the National Institutes of Health, people 45 years old and older should consider getting tested for diabetes. People under the age of 45 should consider testing if they are overweight or obese. Initial screening for diabetes includes checking blood glucose level of the blood sample, fasting overnight. Accepted normal range for fasting blood glucose, typically from 70 to 99 mg / dL. The level of post above 100 may require additional testing.

Increased thirst and dry mouth

Production of excess urine can lead to dehydration and the loss of liquid, which is why people with undiagnosed diabetes frequently experience excessive thirst and dryness of the mouth. People can see that they drink more and more water and other liquids, and still not feeling their thirst was quenched.

Increased hunger

When someone developing type 2 diabetes, the ability of glucose to enter the cells of the organism to be used as energy disturbed. When glucose is less accessible cells, the body can react to the feeling of hunger, even if the food has been consumed recently.

Unexplained weight loss

When there is less glucose, the body is also programmed to start burning fat and muscle energy. This may lead to sudden and sometimes rapid weight loss.

Fatigue

A high content of glucose in the blood can also slow blood flow, which reduces the amount of oxygen and other nutrients are delivered to the cells. As a result, fatigue can develop.

Headaches and difficulty concentrating

The brain requires adequate hydration for optimal function, so when the body enters a state of dehydration, as it happens when blood sugar is high, and there is increase in urine output, headaches or blurred mind and fuzzy thinking can be a sad result.

Blurred vision

High blood sugar levels can cause the lens to swell, which may lead to blurred vision. Once blood sugar returns to normal, vision changes back to normal. Nevertheless, the American Diabetes Association recommends that people with Type 2 diabetes to have a complete eye examination soon after they are diagnosed.

Slow healing and increased risk of infection

High blood sugar can lead to disruption of the natural healing process of the body and the ability to fight infections. Experiencing the normal creaking or cut, for example, can take too much time to heal in someone with untreated diabetes and increase the risk of infection. Women with diabetes, bladder, vaginal yeast infections, are generally more common.

Sore throat and numbness

If diabetes go unnoticed or untreated, chronic high blood sugar can damage the nerves throughout the body, a condition known as diabetic neuropathy. When neuropathy develops, people may notice numbness, tingling or pain in the extremities, especially the legs and feet.

Risk factor for diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is often called "lifestyle diseases" because certain factors that put people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes come from the lifestyle that they have. These factors include  physical inactivity and obesity, poor diet, and smoking. Smoking can be the worst. According to the researchers, smokers are about 50 percent more likely to develop diabetes than non-smokers; smokers are at even higher risk.

Other factors that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes include family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and high blood pressure.

Race may also play a role. Native Americans, African-Americans and Hispanics almost 1.5 times more likely to develop diabetes than Asian Americans or Caucasians.

Age is also important. Type 2 diabetes is most often diagnosed in adults over 45. However, as obesity is increasing among children and adolescents, the number of diagnosed cases of "pre-diabetes" in young adults is also increasing. When someone has pre-diabetes, blood sugar levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. 

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How diabetes does affects brain and vision?

How diabetes does affects brain and vision?

Effects of high blood glucose on brain

Some symptoms of the impact of diabetes on the brain do not appear immediately, especially if they are associated with high blood sugar.

In diabetes, after some time, you have an increased risk of damage to blood vessels, including tiny blood vessels of the brain. These lesions destroy the white matter of the brain

White matter is an essential part of the brain, by means of which the interaction of nerve fibers. When the nerve endings of the brain are damaged, you can get various changes in thinking, for example, vascular cognitive impairment or vascular dementia.

If you control your diabetes well, you simply avoid the development of hypoglycemia - low blood sugar levels. But it should be remembered that the low level of sugar in the blood carries much more serious and obvious implications for the brain than elevated blood sugar.

Patients with type 2 diabetes are more prone to the development of various vascular complications of the brain, as they tend to be have poor metabolism, low levels of good cholesterol (HDL, HDL), high triglycerides and high blood pressure, and they are likely to suffer from overweight or obese

Hypoglycemia, even light, is usually very difficultly tolerated by patients in unlike when they have high sugar. Low blood glucose worsens mood and complicated thought processes of the brain. You can have a headache, dizziness, impaired coordination, can be difficult to walk or speak. Very low blood sugar can cause seizures or convulsions, cause fainting or lead to a hypoglycemic coma.Repeated episodes of hypoglycemia can cause serious problems.

So far, scientists have not yet made ​​final conclusions if repeated episodes of hypoglycemia have long-term affects on memory or the risk of developing dementia. One large study showed that low levels of blood sugar does not have long-term effects on memory or the ability to think in patients with type 1 diabetes. However, another study showed that there is a correlation between the occurrence of episodes of severe hypoglycemia, and increased risk of dementia in older people with type 2 diabetes.

The bottom line is that careful control of diabetes is extremely important. The low level of glucose in the blood will not lead you to dementia, but you will feel bad. High levels of blood glucose, on the contrary, not much degrade your health but can cause problems with dementia.

Effects of high blood glucose on vision

One of the most common diseases which effects the eyes is diabetes, this condition is called diabetic retinopathy and it is one of the complications of diabetes, which resulted in the dysfunctions of blood circulation and metabolism, and the person may even lose vision. Therefore, at diagnosis of diabetes doctors’advice urgently to address not only to the endocrinologist and an ophthalmologist.

The pathological process cause by high glucose affects the retina, which disrupts its normal blood circulation. This organ, as if trying to help itself, launches a compensatory mechanism, an active growth of new vessels for retina. But they are so thin and brittle that they themselves become the cause of bleeding inside the eye. So there is a vicious circle that leads to the development of secondary glaucoma and retinal detachment.

The main treatment in such cases is laser coagulation, it often allows to preserve vision or cause blindness. An endocrinologist who first identified diabetes in person, knowing about such consequences, shall immediately send the patient to an ophthalmologist for examination.

In any stages of a diabetic retinopathy if you control your sugar, your eye will preserved for long time. At the same, to achieve this goal, the person need to change lifestyle, diet and habits. Prohibit smoking, alcohol, sweet. It is necessary to follow a diet, taking hypoglycemic agents, not to worry, and regularly observed by doctors.

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