Why is having diabetes hard on your body?

I thought for my nutrition topic this week I would try to shed some light on diabetes. I’ve recently had several clients say they didn’t understand why diabetes was so bad. One even decided to stop taking their medication because they didn't feel bad so didn’t feel the medication was doing anything. 

So what is diabetes? Diabetes is having too much sugar in your blood over a months or years. 

Sugar is found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes and it is very important to our bodies. In fact, it's the main source of energy for our brains and muscles. 

So why would our bodies have difficulty absorbing sugar? 

The food you eat travels through your digestive tract to the small intestine where it is broken down then absorbed into your bloodstream. The bloodstream then takes all those vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats and carbohydrates on a ride through the whole body. As these passengers travel by the places (body parts) they’re needed they are absorbed. 

Under normal conditions your body is told to produce insulin, then all the sugar in the bloodstream would be absorbed into the body parts that need the sugar. 

Think of insulin as sugar’s escort. Sugar requires a perfect insulin molecule to carry it across the barrier from bloodstream to body. Without these escorts sugar is trapped and will continue to collect after every meal. 

This is how diabetes starts. 

Generally speaking, diabetic medication is insulin and/or it helps your body produce insulin to increase the number of escorts available in the bloodstream to be matched with the sugar.
Let’s look at two possible snack options. 

Crackers and cheese and fruit and cheese can both be a nice little snack in the middle of your day.  
Lets just compare the nutrition of these carbohydrates. The cracker has more than twice the calories and just under twice the amount of total carbohydrate compared to the fruit. 
Which means more insulin is required to transport the sugar from your bloodstream to your body (and this is if you just have 6 crackers versus half the box) 

Would you have only had 6 crackers? 

I’m not suggesting that crackers are bad or that you shouldn't eat them. I just want to show how easy it is to consume a lot of carbohydrates/ sugar without trying. 
It is important to understand how the quality and quantity of the foods you eat affects your body. That way you can help your body feel and move better. 

Triscuit
Serving Size  6 crackers
Calories  120
Total Carbohydrates   20 g
Dietary Fiber   2.9 g
Sugar   < 1 g (added sugar)
Protein  3 g
Vitamins / minerals   Iron, Potassium

Strawberries 
 1 cup of whole 
Calories  47 
Total Carbohydrates  11 g
Dietary Fiber  3 g
Sugar  7 g (natural sugar) 
Protein 1 g 
Vitamins / minerals Iron, Potassium, Calcium, Vit C, vit B-6, Magnesium 


In my next blog I will discuss why having extra sugar in your blood is hard on your heart. 

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