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The Role of Nuts In Diabetic Control Having a healthy diet is important especially for people with Type-2 diabetes. Following the right diet plan can help diabetics manage their blood sugar levels. Comparing with proteins and fats, carbohydrates have almost immediate effect on one’s blood sugar because carbohydrates are broken down directly into sugar early during digestion. If a diabetic eats more carbohydrates than the insulin supply can handle, the blood sugar level goes up. On the other hand, if the intake of carbohydrates is too little, the blood sugar level might just fall too low. As such, knowing the amount of total carbohydrates consumed each day is very important for diabetics. As suggested by a new study that was published online on June 29, 2011 in the journal ‘Diabetes Care’, nuts can play a part in diabetic control. The study was partially funded by the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation and the Peanut Institute (both industry groups). Researchers from the University of Toronto in Canada found that when people with Type-2 diabetes replaced some of their usual carbohydrates with about a half-cup of mixed nuts each day, the study participants' blood sugar and bad cholesterol levels declined slightly over 3 months. In contrast, there were no such improvements found among people who swapped their normal carbohydrates for a daily whole-wheat muffin.
In the study, 117 adults participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: first group was given unsalted mixed nuts which they should eat instead of some of their usual carbohydrates; second group replaced their normal carbohydrates with healthy whole-wheat muffins with no added sugar; and the third group adopt a diet of a half-nut/half-muffin. The first group ate, on average, about 2 ounces (or a half-cup) of nuts each day, totaling roughly 475 calories. After 3 months, the average hemoglobin A1C level, which is a measure of long-term blood sugar control, of the first group showed a decline of 0.2 percent. The change was small, and is not considered a "clinically significant" improvement in blood sugar control. But as people in the study were already on diabetes medication and typically had good blood sugar control, the results no doubt showed a benefit over and above what they were achieving with medication. Meanwhile, the average LDL cholesterol (the so-called bad cholesterol) of the first group also declined from about 97 milligrams per deciliter to 89 mg/dL. An LDL count below 100 mg/dL is generally considered optimal. No similar improvements were seen in the other 2 groups, though. The findings showed that appropriate diet could help people with diabetes manage their conditions, even if they are taking medications. While researchers were unclear why participants in the first group showed better blood sugar and LDL numbers, they suspected it could be due to the monounsaturated fats in nuts, which also have protein, a little fiber, and some polyphenols. Unsaturated fats have been associated to a lower risk of heart disease and other health benefits, and polyphenols are antioxidant compounds that can be found in a wide range of plant foods. Since nuts are high in calories, people with diabetes should not simply add a handful to their usual diet. Instead, they could use them to replace some of their usual less healthy snacks. Besides nuts, there are other sources of monounsaturated fat. If people who do not like nuts, they can simply turn to alternatives such as olive oil and avocados. Though the study did not examine these foods, researchers believed that it is worthwhile for diabetics to replace some carbohydrates with those fats. In order to find out whether the blood sugar and cholesterol changes linked to eating nuts could last over time, and whether these could in turn lower rates of heart disease or other diabetes complications, large study that follows large group of people over longer period of time must be carried out, though this can be very expensive.
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