{"id":214940,"date":"2019-06-05T11:58:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T11:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nutrition.nellsar.com\/?p=214940"},"modified":"2019-06-05T12:02:30","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T12:02:30","slug":"diabetes-and-the-benefits-of-a-mediterranean-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nutrition.nellsar.com\/diabetes-and-the-benefits-of-a-mediterranean-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"Diabetes\u00a0and the benefits of a Mediterranean diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diabetes is\u00a0a\u00a0condition that causes a person\u2019s blood sugar to become\u00a0too high and can be a risk factor for various complications if not treated properly. <\/strong>It is common for the elderly to present with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes.\u00a0This can be well controlled by diet\u00a0and support from those surrounding them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two main types of diabetes<\/h3>\n

Type 1<\/h3>\n

Often this is genetic and affects around\u00a08% of the population. The pancreas is an organ that produces insulin. Insulin is a hormone that carries glucose (or sugar) from the blood into the cells to be used as energy.<\/p>\n

Type 1 diabetes means that the body\u2019s immune system has attacked its own pancreatic cells preventing them from producing insulin.\u00a0Therefore,\u00a0someone with type 1\u00a0diabetes\u00a0is insulin dependent and will need to inject themselves with insulin\u00a0daily\u00a0to control their blood sugar, allowing glucose from food to be used as energy\u00a0in the cells.<\/p>\n

Type 2<\/h3>\n

This type affects\u00a090% of people with diabetes. Type 2 is typically caused by too much glucose from food\u00a0and drinks entering\u00a0the body over sustained periods of time.<\/p>\n

The pancreas releases insulin every time we eat. If our meals are high in sugars (processed foods\u00a0high in refined\u00a0carbohydrates,\u00a0breads,\u00a0pastry,\u00a0chocolate, pasta, white potato and sugary drinks, including\u00a0diet sodas)\u00a0then the pancreas\u00a0must\u00a0work harder to release more insulin to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n

This can result in either the pancreas becoming over-worked and eventually stopping to produce enough insulin to keep up with demand, or the cells stopping responding to the insulin wanting to bring the glucose into the cells to be used for energy.<\/p>\n

Mediterranean diet<\/h3>\n

The Mediterranean\u00a0way of eating\u00a0has been well studied in recent years and has shown to be the most effective\u00a0for overall well-being and helping to control Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

The main principles being:<\/p>\n