Supporting Diabetes Awareness Month
KetoSkream is happy to support Diabetes Awareness month during November one sugar free ice cream tub at a time! Our team is so proud to have created a diabetic friendly ice cream that has no added sugar, is made with real cream, and only has 2g net carbs per serving!
In honour of this awareness month, we are going to explain what diabetes is and break down exactly how the body deals with sugar...
The Lowdown On Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that affects insulin (the hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood). When diagnosed with diabetes it means that the body either cannot produce insulin (Type 1) or it cannot properly use the insulin it does produce (Type 2). This leads to your body failing to correctly use sugar for energy.
Type 1 diabetes is a less common autoimmune disease where the body attacks the pancreas and is treated by injecting insulin into the body. Type 2 is more common and can often be managed with healthy eating and regular exercise, but in some cases might require medication or insulin therapy.
Common symptoms of diabetes can include the following: frequent urination, extreme thirst, slow healing cuts and bruises, itchy skin, weight loss, numbness in limbs, severe fatigue, blurry vision, feeling hungry after just eating, dry mouth, etc. If you think you might have diabetes, your doctor can test you through a blood test that measures your glucose levels.
How Sugar Works In The Body
When diagnosed with diabetes, it is very important to keep your glucose levels steady. When carbs (sugars or starches) are consumed they are broken down into single sugar units and immediately absorbed into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to spike. So diabetics (especially Type 2) should try to avoid carbs that cause glucose spikes.
Foods to avoid:
Starchy or sugary foods such as: rice, breads (pastries, pizza, sandwiches, buns, etc,), pasta, peas, potatoes, corn, sweet beverages (juice, pop, alcohol, etc.), beer, beans and lentils, sweeteners (honey, white sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, agave, etc.), fruit, milk, etc.
Foods to consume:
Anything that is low-carb such as: protein (beef, chicken, pork, fish, eggs, tofu, etc.), full fat dairy products (cheese, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, butter, etc.), vegetables (celery, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, avocados, etc.), or a limited amount of berries per day, etc.
Extra learning!
You have probably heard of “net carbs” and do not actually know what that means… Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fibre (and sugar alcohol) from the total carbs a food contains. An example of this would be if one cup of spaghetti squash has 10 grams of carbs and 2.2 grams of fibre - then the total net carbs for one cup of spaghetti squash would be 7.8 grams.