Blood Sugar Diet - Research Paper Example

Because of the increasing obesity rates and the increasing obesity-related illnesses, different blood sugar diets became rampant in the market (Francis & Stevenson, 2011; Walker & Reamy, 2009; Fleur, et. al., 2010). Blood sugar diets are popular for lowering blood sugar and for losing weight. There are different blood sugar diets such as the high protein low carbohydrate diets, complex carbohydrate diet and the vegan diet. For the high protein low carbohydrate diet, it includes meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Examples of high protein low carbohydrate diets are the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet and the Glycemic Index diet. All these diets allows high protein intake but limits your carbohydrates intake. The complex carbohydrate diets followed a high protein diet with moderate to high complex carbohydrates intake. But the common tie between blood sugar diets is that it focuses on meals that contain very low carbohydrate and very low fat. It is believed that one way to lower blood sugar is to have a balanced diet, meaning your diet should include carbohydrates that do not cause fluctuations in the blood sugar and combining these with protein and other dairy products.

An example of this diet includes whole grains, low fat dairy and lots of fruits and vegetables. This diet makes you lose weight significantly and also helps in reducing your blood sugar. The Glycemic Load actually follows this kind of diet. Usually, blood sugar diets are for people who have diabetes. But it is also popular for those who want to lose weight. Why is it connected to losing weight? Because obese individuals have a tendency to have high blood sugar (Joosen, et. al., 2008; Kuhlow, et. al., 2009).

There are several studies done to analyze whether low carbohydrate diets are indeed effective. Low carbohydrate diets are believed to promote weight loss and improve blood cholesterol levels. It also claims to improve blood pressure. But what is more effective than a low carbohydrate diet is a low carbohydrate diet based on vegetable resources than animal based sources (Fung, et. al., 2010). It was proven that vegetable based low carbohydrates diet is associated with lower cardiovascular diseases.

This is attributed to the type of protein and fat intake of the individual. Another point to be considered is that high protein, low carbohydrate diets enhance weight loss and improve glycaemic control (Larsen, et. al., 2011). It is actually better than the traditional high carbohydrate low fat diets. The reason behind is that protein suppresses the appetite, increases thermogenesis and preserves the lean body mass during weight loss (Larsen, et. al., 2011). This type of blood sugar diet can be beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes because it helps in the glycaemic and insulin control.

The degree of energy reduction and not the diet composition actually helps improve glycaemic control, and this view is worthy of further studies. Although the recent studies still cannot confirm the long-term effects of the said kind of diet, it is still worth a try. When it comes to blood sugar diet for those with Type 2 diabetes, anything is worth a try, even if there are studies that suggest that the high protein diet is no better than the high carbohydrates diet. But there are also studies proving that there is no real advantage of low carbohydrate diets compared to other types of diets, especially the high carbohydrate diets.

According to the study of Demol, et. al. (2008) low carbohydrate diets have no significant advantage over high-carbohydrate low-fat diets in terms of weight loss, decrease BMI and decreased fat percentage. What is important to note, however, is that low carbohydrates diet “decreases basal serum insulin, enhance loss of water, enhance dissolution of glycogen reservoirs, increase total energy expenditure owing to augmentation and enhance feeling of satiety” (Demol, et. al., 2008). This indicates that the low carbohydrates diet has nothing to do with weight loss but it influences metabolism of the body as indicated by its effect on the different chemicals within the body, such as insulin, water and glycogen.

This shows that the low carbohydrates diet, alone, does nothing to improve one’s blood sugar. What is important in one’s diet is that it is balanced, a rich combination of the different vitamins and minerals that our body needs. This indicates that a more tailored or individualized approach in creating a diet is better than trying out what is in the market (Walker & Reamy, 2009). By determining your body’s needs, you can then create a diet plan that can reap significant results. But the concern about the patient-oriented outcomes is that it is limited by the need for long-term follow-up and by noncompliance.

But if you think about it, if the individual is truly sincere about himself, and he really wants to become healthy, he will be compliant and he will choose to do what can make him feel better and healthier. Works Cited Demol, S., et. al. (2008). “Low-carbohydrate (low & high fat) versus high-carbohydrate low-fat diets in the treatment of obesity in adolescents.” Acta Pediatrica. (2009). 98:346 – 351. Fleur, S., et. al. (2011). “A free-choice high-fat high-sugar diet induces glucose intolerance and insulin unresponsiveness to a glucose load not explained by obesity.

” International Journal of Obesity. (2011). 35:595-604. Francis, H. & Stevenson, R. (2011). “Higher reported saturated fat and refined sugar intake is associated with reduced hippocampal-dependent memory and sensitivity to interoceptive signals.” American Psychological Association. 2011. 125 (6):943-955. Fung, T., et. al. (2010). “Low-carbohydrate diets and all-cause and cause-specific mortality.” Annals of internal medicine. (2010). 153:289-298. Joosen, A., et. al. (2008). “Urinary sucrose and fructose as biomarkers of sugar consumption: comparison of normal weight and obese volunteers.

” International journal of obesity. (2008). 32:1736-1740. Kuhlow, D., et. al. (2009). “Opposing effects of dietary sugar and saturated fat on cardiovascular risk factors and glucose metabolism in mitochondrially impaired mice.” Eur J Nutr. (2010). 49:417-427. Larsen, R., et. al. (2010). “The effect of high-protein, low-carbohydrates diets in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: a 12 month randomized controlled trial.” Diabetologia. (2011). 54:731-740. Walker, C. & Reamy, B. “Diets for cardiovascular disease prevention: What is the evidence?

” American academy of family physicians. (2009). 79(7):571-578.