DIABETES
is one of the major national diseases in the Western countries. In
Finland about 200,000 people have diabetes, but that number is
expected to increase by up to 70% in the next ten years. Already, the
cost of treating diabetes represents 11% of public health budgets.
The
prevention or care of diabetes starts from the same point as the care
of cardiovascular diseases. Adult diabetes, which is the most common
form of diabetes, is very closely associated with cardiovascular
diseases. Those who suffer diabetes have a greater risk of getting
cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure, and vice versa.
Newspaper Etelä-Suomen Sanomat reported on 6 May 2004 that “up to
two thirds of people who have had a heart attack have morbidly high
sugar values.” These diseases often accompany each other.
So, when
we try to prevent or to take care of diabetes, we must start with the
very same factors as with heart diseases and the care of high blood
pressure. The same means are suitable also for treating
arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. However, a few minerals and
trace elements such as chromium and magnesium are important in its
care. Fibers are also especially useful in the care and prevention of
diabetes.
Chromium
is an important ingredient in adjusting sugar metabolism. Those
exposed to the Western diet do not get much chromium, whereas they get
plenty of sugar that predisposes them to diabetes. Newspaper Helsingin
sanomat reported on 28 August 2004,
"Drinks
containing sugar predispose to diabetes."
The newspaper reported a study of almost a hundred thousand women.
Results showed those who consumed at least one glass of sweetened
drink per day had approximately 83% higher danger of getting adult
diabetes.
The
significance of chromium is that it regulates sugar and fat content in
the blood. An adequate amount of chromium decreases and neutralizes
elevated sugar values, but having too little chromium may raise them
to a harmful level. Some studies show that adult diabetes can be kept
in check by increasing the intake of chromium (magazine Terveyden
kuvalehti 2 / 1997, p. 71), thus helping people with diabetes.
A good
source of chromium is mushrooms. It can also be found in whole meal
grain, potato, nuts, yeast, spinach, banana, fish, meat, and eggs.
Magnesium
is another ingredient believed to be useful in the prevention of
diabetes. It has been found that those who get enough of magnesium
have a much smaller risk of getting adult diabetes. The best sources
of magnesium are, for example, whole meal grain products, fish, nuts,
peas, beans, blueberries, soybean, and seed.
Zinc may
also help prevent diabetes. It is found in whole meal grain, meat,
fish, nuts, beans, peas, and vegetables. Zinc can also decrease a very
common ailment of men, over-growth of the prostate, which may cause
impotence.
Fiber.
Food containing fiber is good for those people who suffer from heart
problems, and it is useful to diabetics because it binds to itself
both sugar and fat and prevents their access to the body. Fiber also
decelerates the rise of the blood sugar level after meals, and holds
it at an even level for a long time.
Lots of
fiber can be found in whole meal grain (rye bread and porridge,
rolled oats, bran, barley grouts, dark rice, dark pasta, graham bread),
and that is why we should use these instead of white flour, white
pasta, and white polished rice. Other good sources of fiber are nuts
(peanut 8.1%), seed, black currant (4.9 %), and all produce of the
plant kingdom.
