3 Common Misconceptions of Type 2 Diabetes

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When diagnosed with diabetes, you may get told to eat fewer carbs, lose weight, and maybe even start intermittent fasting. In this blog post, we are going to debunk common misconceptions related to type 2 diabetes. 

 

#1 “You should not eat after 7 pm.”

 

If you eat an early dinner, say 4-5 pm, you should to eat a snack later in the evening. This is because, without this evening snack, you may experience something called the Dawn Effect that raises your sugars in the early morning. This happens because you did not consume enough carbohydrates before bed, and your body must make up for this by telling the liver to convert glycogen into glucose.

 

#2 “You need to consume fewer carbohydrates”

 

You do not have to eat fewer carbohydrates if you do not want to. WHAT?! Absolutely. If you balance your meals with protein, fat, and fiber, you do not need to dramatically decrease your carbohydrate consumption. When you balance your meals, the blood sugar spike you experience is less elevated than if you did not have a balanced meal. You can always eat the foods you enjoy and love with Type 2 Diabetes, do NOT let anybody tell you differently.

 

#3 “You cannot eat dessert anymore because it will elevate your blood sugars.”

 

I don’t know about you, but a life without desserts for me is a sad life. There are multiple ways you can still eat the desserts you enjoy. You can either make them balanced by adding fiber such as berries, protein, and fat such as peanuts or nut butter, to your desserts to prevent them from spiking your sugars as much. Also, eat dessert around dinner time! By doing this, you have other food in your stomach, still digesting. Therefore, the simple sugars from the sweet treat you have will not absorb as fast. You can also have low-carbohydrate desserts IF you enjoy them. My number one food rule is the only foods that are restricted from your diet are the foods you dislike or foods that cause an allergic reaction or an intolerance reaction.


Stay tuned for my next blog post if you enjoy low carbohydrate sweet treats, stay tuned! I will be sharing my top 3 favorites!


-BG

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