The disease often overtakes a person at the most inopportune moment. The diagnosis is established, and here are the habits, lifestyle, foundations: everything collapses like a house of cards. A person is forced to rebuild his life for the sake of an illness in order to find a way to coexist with him.
One of these insidious diseases is diabetes.
In recent years, this endocrine pathology is spreading more widely and gradually becoming younger.
A patient with diabetes of both types is forced to significantly adjust his diet, refusing many products.
Rebuilding lifestyles and habits is not so simple.
The question arises: Does diabetes mean that the patient should reduce his diet to a meager dozen or two foods?
In fact, not everything is so scary. Many unknowingly limit themselves to excessively harsh.
What does a person with diabetes not know?
Diabetes Overview
Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease that develops due to a decrease in pancreatic insulin production. As a result, the blood glucose (sugar) level rises, and the patient develops significant disorders from the water-salt, lipid, carbohydrate metabolism, etc. In science, it is customary to subdivide diabetes into two types.
Type 1 diabetes develops as a result of organic causes: the destruction of pancreatic cells. The organ loses its ability to produce insulin. Such diabetes is more difficult to treat.
Type 2 diabetes occurs in overweight patients. The condition, as a rule, normalizes after putting the weight in order.
Strawberries for diabetes: can it be eaten?
In recent years, both among ordinary people and among specialists, there has been a tendency to “defame” certain foods. Dairy products and honey came under attack. Strawberries are no exception. From the TV screens, pseudo-doctors in white coats are strewed with medical terms and painful pictures of how harmful it is to use strawberries in diabetes mellitus are drawn and how it can end.
In fact, this is nothing more than myths. Based on research by American and Polish scientists, the opposite can be said. Strawberries are not only contraindicated in diabetes, on the contrary, daily consumption of this red berry can reduce the risk of developing an attack, as well as provide the body with everything necessary. What is so special about strawberries and why is it so beneficial for diabetes?
Bright red fruits, contrary to common misconception, are by no means useless. Strawberries are a real storehouse of essential substances. To understand why strawberries are indispensable for diabetes, we should briefly recall the likely complications of this formidable ailment.
• Disorders of the cardiovascular system. With diabetes, the heart muscle weakens. Often heart failure develops.
• Retinal damage. Because of diabetic retinopathy in diabetics, there is always a risk of complete and irreplaceable loss of vision.
• Development of kidney failure.
• Lesions of the central nervous system, vessels of the lower extremities.
In addition, according to research, a history of diabetes increases the risk of cancer.
Oddly enough, eating strawberries daily can prevent unwanted complications.
Based on the described complications, we can understand why strawberries are so useful for diabetes:
• Red fruits contain a huge amount of potassium and magnesium. These elements are necessary for the normal functioning of the heart muscle.
• Due to the high content of folic acid, the growth rate of pathological retinal vessels decreases (diabetic retinopathy).
• Strawberries contain antioxidants. These substances prevent the oxidation of cell membranes and fight free radicals, preventing cancer.
• Vitamin C boosts immunity.
• Polyphenols (special compounds) prevent the absorption of sugar through the gastrointestinal tract.
Strawberries for diabetes: how much can you eat per day
For unknown reasons, neither the doctors themselves nor the numerous health portals can give the patient a clear answer: how many strawberries can be eaten per day. However, everything is pretty simple here.
As you know, the worst enemy of a diabetic is carbohydrates (sometimes called carbohydrates). High carbohydrate foods can cause a sharp jump in blood glucose. In order to determine a safe amount of strawberries, it is enough to adhere to a simple formula.
Strawberries contain, on average, 10.8-11 grams of carbohydrates per one full glass of medium-sized fruit. Also in this berry contains about 2.9-3 grams of protein. In Western medical practice, the formula for calculating the total amount of carbohydrates is to subtract the protein from the total content of carbohydrates. As a result, it turns out that in one glass of berries contains about 8 grams of carbohydrates.
There is a concept of the limiting amount of carbohydrates in certain products. This is such a value, exceeding which increases the risk of developing an attack. For fruits, this value is 15 grams of carbohydrates.
This means that a patient can consume about 1.8-2 glasses of berries per day without a threat to health and with maximum benefit. Based on the American system of measures and weights, this amount is equivalent to 360-400 grams of berries.
Some medical studies go even further and call the exact number of berries: 37-38 pieces per day. This is a medium-sized fruit. Such an exact value is calculated based on the results of clinical studies.
Strawberries for diabetes: how to eat with maximum benefit
As such, the rules for eating strawberries do not exist. However, it is still worth considering some recommendations.
• All described 400 grams of berries are best consumed fractionally as snacks. For any diabetic, the optimal diet includes 6-8 meals. Based on the characteristics of a personal diet and regimen, berries are best eaten throughout the day.
• Strawberries for diabetes do not have to be eaten as a snack. You can add berries to desserts, etc. Useful for diabetics is the use of strawberries with low-fat yogurt or kefir (about 120 ml per 60 grams of berries).
• It is best to eat fresh fruits. So they retain a maximum of useful properties. But you can also make jam if you wish: it is a mistake to assume that a diabetic is doomed to eat fresh and nasty food for the rest of his life. The only difference between jam for diabetics and regular strawberry jam is in the absence of sugar in the composition.
• You should not abuse. Within the normal range, the patient can eat this ripe juicy berry without fear.
Strawberries for diabetes: jam
The most important condition - Strawberry jam should be sugar free. For cooking, you will need strawberries (in the calculation of 7 liters of berries for making 3 liters of jam). Do not do without containers: a three-liter jar and a deep pan or a small bucket.
Fresh strawberries must be poured into a prepared three-liter jar in layers. Layer - 5-7 cm. After filling, ram the berries and fill in a new layer. Continue this way until the container is filled to the brim. In a large pot or bucket, place wet gauze (put on the bottom). Put a jar of berries on gauze.
Place the resulting structure on a slow fire. On the measure of cooking, the layers of berries will “settle” bi to decrease in volume. Each time, fresh berries should be added to the brim. Thus, you need to act until the fruits cease to fit. At this stage, you need to cover the jar with a cloth and cook for another 60 minutes.
At the end of the jar, close and leave to cool for 2-3 hours.
This jam is safe for diabetics and slightly inferior to the usual taste. In no case should you add sweeteners such as sorbitol. Their safety is greatly exaggerated.
Strawberries for diabetes can be an excellent substitute for sweets and brighten up the difficult living conditions of the patient. The use of this berry as food is not only permissible, but also necessary: it is a storehouse of useful substances indispensable for the fragile body of a patient with diabetes of any type. Abuse, of course, is not worth it. The rest is bon appetit.
