Turns out there’s a specific type of food or juice that can help improve blood sugar control and manage diabetes. Here’s how to include carrots in your type 2 diabetes diet plan.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that can lead to serious complications if not properly controlled. In addition to medication, making dietary changes such as following a healthy eating plan that is naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories, as well as maintaining a healthy weight by staying physically active, can help you control blood sugar and reduce the risk of serious health consequences associated with diabetes. But, turns out there’s a specific type of food or juice that can help improve blood sugar control and manage diabetes.
You get type 2 diabetes when your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin to maintain normal blood glucose levels or resists the effects of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that keeps your blood sugar level from going too high or too low. We already know that eating low glycemic index, or GI, foods like carrots, can help manage blood sugar levels.
Carrots for type 2 diabetes: How it works
According to a report in the Express, scientists have found that carrots are packed with potent health-boosting antioxidants which appear to prevent type 2 diabetes. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine in California reported that for people with a genetic predisposition to diabetes, beta-carotene in carrots may lower the risk for type 2 diabetes. Your body can convert beta carotene into a close cousin of vitamin A. While the role of vitamin A in diabetes is not understood well, researchers at the Lund University Diabetes Centre in Sweden suggested that the vitamin may improve the insulin-producing beta-cells.
The Stanford University’s scientists also found that gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E in the diet which is found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
As per the study published in the journal Human Genetics, the researchers found clear links between high blood levels of beta carotene and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes in people carrying a double dose of a specific variation (in the gene SLC30A4) – which is known to increase the risk of the condition. However, the variations combined with high blood levels of gamma tocopherol were linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
How to include carrots in your diabetes diet plan
If you have diabetes and are looking for a natural way to help manage your condition, adding carrots or carrot juice, despite its sweet flavour, to your daily diet can be helpful. According to the Glycemic Index Foundation and the University of Sydney, carrot juice (250ml serving) has a GI of 43 – foods that have a low GI of 55 or less are unlikely to cause a large spike in your blood sugar levels. This means carrot juice won’t spike the blood sugar levels although it may still contain sugar and carbohydrates.
Disclaimer: All information, data and material has been sourced from multiple authors and is for general information and educational purposes only and are not intended to replace the advice of your treating doctor.
The views and nutritional advice expressed are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.
