Glycemic index.
Date: Thu, 9 May 1996 00:59:58 GMT
Sender: HERB.TREARNPC.EGE.EDU.TR
From: Dorothy DeBisschop <dotdb.USA.PIPELINE.COM>
Subject: Re: Mother with diabetes
> my mother recently learned that she has diabetes. i would appreciate any basic information regarding herbal treatment of diabetes and its related conditions. i am a vegan, and am recommending some sources that address dietary guidelines for diabetics.
Dear Sarah:
The following herbs are recommended for diabetics:
1. Goats Rue (Galega officinalis)
2. Fenugreek (trigonella foenun-graecum) -- This herb has reduced urine sugar levels up up to half, so you have to be careful using it in a person who is taking insulin--really needs medical supervision.
3. Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillux) lowers blood sugar levels and increases insulin production.
(Don't do herbs for your kind of diabetes until you know what they do - raise insulin? No in NIDDM, yes in IDDM. Lower sugar production in the liver? No - produces rather severe side effects in the long run. Raise insulin-receptiveness in cells? Yes in NIDDM, not needed in IDDM. -Henriette)
Several authors encourage the addition of garlic and stinging nettle to the diet. You can buy nettles tea at most health food stores (as you can the above herbs as well).
Besides garlic and onions, dietitians are now recommending broccoli and curry spice (which contains fenugreek seeds), and cinnamon to help diabetics. High fiber, low-fat foods are recommended.
You should become aware of the so-called "glycemic index" of foods. This fairly new emphasis was started when Dr. David J. Jenikins, M. D., University of Toronto measured blood sugar after feeding subjects a variety of foods. He found that the most rapid rises in blood sugar were stimulated not by ice cream and candy bars, but by carrots, potatoes and processed cereals. His research indicates that foods with a "low-glycemic" index are best for diabetics and that these foods also lower triglycerides.
According to this research, foods are rated on the glycemic scale as follows:
| 100% | glucose |
| 80 - 90% | corn flakes, carrots, parsnips, instant potatoes, maltose, honey |
| 70 - 79% | whole wheat breat, millet, white rice, potato |
| 60 - 69% | White bread, brown rice, muesli cereal, shredded wheat, bananas, raisins, Mars candy bar |
| 50 - 59% | Buckwheat, white spaghetti, sweet corn, oatmeal biscuits, frozen pans, yams, sucrose, potato chips |
| 40 - 49% | Whole wheat spaghetti, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, navy beans, dried peas, oranges, orange juice |
| 30 - 39% | Butter beans, lima beans, blackeyed peas, chickpeas, ice cream, skim and whole milk, yogurt, tomato soup. |
| 20 - 29% | Kidney beans, lentils, fructose |
| 10 - 19% | soybeans, peanuts |
The lower the "glycemic index" of the food the safer it is for diabetics.
Overall, the diet should emphasize maintaining appropriate body weight, with 50 to 60 percent of the calories coming from carbohydrates, less than 30 per cent from fat and 30 to 40 grams of fiber a day.
Be sure to include water-soluble fiber (legumes and oats). This fiber stretches the time for the absorption of sugar from foods and prevents the blood sugar surges which are the source of diabetic problems.
The diet should be high in antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin E and C and beta carotene, because the normal problems of artery-clogging are more severe in diabetics.
Regular exercise is important -- can improve over-all body functioning, especially important for circulation in the limbs.
And while you are at giving all this advice to your mother, follow it yourself and eat plenty of fish to ward off the day when you would be "statistically" likely to get it.
Good luck!
From: Paul Iannone <pi.DIGITALPOPCORN.COM>
> You should become aware of the so-called "glycemic index" of foods. This fairly new emphasis was started
Don't know why anyone would call the glycemic index 'fairly new.' It has been around since the '70s, and has been poo-pooed several times since.
From: Dorothy DeBisschop <dotdb.USA.PIPELINE.COM>
>Don't know why anyone would call the glycemic index 'fairly new.' It has been around since the '70s, and has been poo-pooed several times since.
Reference: Jenkins, D.J.A.: Lente carbohydrate: a newer approach to the dietary management of diabetes. Diabetes Care, 1982;5:634.
Individual patients and practitioners may agree or disagree, with his conclusions, but before dismissing the ideas, a read of the literature is appropriate, at the minimum.
See also: Close, E.J.: Diabetic diets and nutritional recommendations: what happens in real life? Diabetic medicine 1992; 9(2):181-88.
This study found that very few diabetics actually ate the recommended diet. They concluded that since many patients had not seen a dietitian in years and were following outdated advice that once curbed carbohydrates.
From: Paul Iannone <pi.DIGITALPOPCORN.COM>
> Reference: Jenkins, D.J.A.: Lente carbohydrate: a newer approach to the dietary management of diabetes. Diabetes Care, 1982;5:634.
OK, that is fourteen years, long enough that any physiology text from that era would be worth pennies today.
> Individual patients and practitioners may agree or disagree, with his conclusions, but before dismissing the ideas, a read of the literature is appropriate, at the minimum.
The glycemic index is a gross simplification of digestive/absorptive mechanics, especially given that foods are rarely eaten by themselves, and NO ONE can state what the glycemic index of a meal is. Pretty useless and misleading idea, in fact.
