Secondly, people who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are also another reason for how their dietary intake may affect their nutritional health. Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to produce insulin. Without insulin, the body's ability to use glucose as a fuel source is impaired. In general people with type 1 diabetes have the same dietary as the general population. This is such as a varied diet with plenty fruit, vegetables, legumes, bread and cereals, moderate amounts of fish, meat poultry, eggs and dairy products and smaller amount of foods that are high in fat, sugar and alcohol. This is also including foods with low gylcaemic index (GI) is thought to assist with blood glucose control. Glycaemic index is a tool used to rank foods according to their immediate effect on blood glucose concentrations. Furthermore, when diagnosed with diabetes, the average person does alter their diet. Often they are instructed to consume sugar-free and fat-free foods. Unfortunately, for many individuals, sugar-free means using food items with aspartame or sucralose as the sweetener rather than just eliminating sugar-laden foods. Those processed foods that are fat-free typically have increased sodium or chemical sweeteners to “enhance” the flavor. So diabetes does affect our nutrition – often in a negative way. People with diabetes (and the general population) are encouraged to consume a variety of low GI foods each day. Examples of low GI foods include:
• Fruit loaf or fruit muffins
• multigrain bread
• porridge
• untoasted muesli
• crumpets
• pasta
• milk
• low fat fruit yoghurt
• baked beans
(In case study 4, P3) Jenny was suffering from depression which led to eating once a day. She also thought that she ate too much food and that she was gaining weight. The problem with that is that your body will not have essential nutrients to keep it going all day. Jenny’s metabolism slows down because the body thinks that food has become scarce and attempts to conserve the energy available from the food it gets only once a day. She wasn’t getting enough of nutritional food which is important for the body. However, different types of vitamins are necessary for the body to function the human body. For example, the gums and teeth will only stay healthy with sufficient amounts of vitamin C and calcium. The human body also needs amino acids, which help the body build protein. Protein is the center of activity when it comes to a healthy body and efficient metabolism. Humans also need carbohydrates, such as those we get in breads, grains and some other types of food. These transform into energy quickly, essential for continued life and health. The only way to provide the body the right nutrients in the correct amounts is to eat a variety of fresh foods from each of the different groups of food. The healthiest person will follow a certain pattern of eating, with dairy, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and so on. Combined with a few glasses of clean water every day our bodies should be able to transform the nutrients in our food into the chemicals needed for health, growth and body maintenance. If Jenny keeps living the lifestyle she is now, she is more likely to become anorexia. It is therefore very important that she gets enough nutrition in her body and also eat more than one meal a day.
Farhiyo Dehay Unit 21: Nutrition for Health & Social Care M2
