Last Updated on April 26, 2021 by Dr Sharon Baisil MD
Diabetes is a disorder in which blood glucose levels increase abnormally because the body of a person is unable to produce sufficient insulin hormone to complete the body.
- The urges of urination and the body get thirsty increases during diabetes, and people reduce some weight though they are not trying to reduce weight.
- Diabetes destructs the peripheral nerve system, i.e., nerves, and results in the body with senses.
- Diabetes destroys the system of blood vessels, i.e., aorta, arteries, and veins; the risk of heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, chronic diseases of the kidney, and loss of vision increases.
People with diabetes disorder have to include a healthy diet in their daily lifestyle, which includes minimum content of carbohydrates, saturated fat, and food which processes.
People should do exercise daily and generally take medicine to decrease blood sugar levels and provide sufficient insulin to the body.
So basically, diabetes is a disorder in which the blood sugar level increases.
Doctors often use the full name of the disorder, i.e., diabetes mellitus, to differentiate between diabetes and diabetes insipidus.
Diabetes insipidus is a generally a rare disorder which does not affect the amount of sugar in the blòod but, just like diabetes mellitus, as well as diabetes insipidus result in maximum urination.
Blood sugar
The carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are the significant components of nutrition necessary for the body. Sugars are also a type of carbohydrates component along with the complex form of carbohydrates like starch and fiber.
There are many categories of carbohydrates in the form of sugar. Some types of sugar are simple, which can dissolve quickly, and other forms are complex, which require time to dissolve.
For example:
Sucrose, a formation of two components of simple sugar known as glucose and fructose,
Lactose is commonly known as milk sugar, which is a formation of two components, i.e., glucose and a type of simple sugar known as galactose.
The carbohydrate component present in starches, like in bread, rice, pasta, and Maggi and other similar foods, is a complex form or a long chain of monomers (which means simple sugar molecules) and form complex molecules like starch.
The complex forms of carbohydrates such as sucrose, starch, lactose, and some other complex forms of sugar are broken down into simple forms of sugar monomers such as simple sugars with the help of digestive enzymes present in the digestive system before the absorption of simple sugars in the body.
When the body of a person consumes simple forms of sugar, it generally turns them all into the simplest form known as glucose, which is an essential resource of the energy for the body.
Glucose the simplest form of the sugar which transports itself from the bloodstreams, i.e., arteries, veins, and cells of our body absorbs. The body can create glucose through fats and proteins as well, but blood “sugar” in reality means blood glucose.
Insulin
Insulin, a hormone produced from the pancreas, help to metabolize the foods and also regulates the glucose amount in the bloodstream in our body.
Glucose present in the bloodstream can influence the pancreas to release insulin.
The insulin hormone helps to move glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of our body. Once the glucose enters the cells, the cell organelles convert the glucose into the energy that our body uses instantly or store it in the form of glycogen or fat until the body requires later use.
How insulin works in our body
The levels of sugar in our blood usually vary in the entire day. They increase after having a diet and get back to the normal levels, i.e., pre-meal diet within 2 hours approximately after consuming. When the sugar levels in the blood of our body get back to the pre-meal levels, insulin production minimizes.
The difference in blood sugar levels generally lies between a thin range of about 70 mg/dL to 109 mg/dL, of the blood in healthy people.
If people eat a significant amount of food that contains large amounts of carbohydrates nutrients, the levels of blood sugar in the body of a person may increase more. People of age about 65 years old or above may have a little bit of higher levels of blood sugar, especially after having a meal.
If the pancreas does not release sufficient amounts of insulin, or if the cells of our body become insulin resistant, blood glucose levels are elevated, resulting in diabetes.
Types of Diabetes mellitus:
Prediabetes-
It is a condition in which blood sugar levels are maximum rather than normal values but not maximum enough to achieve a tag of diabetes.
People usually have Prediabetes if there are any fluctuations in fasting blood sugar level that lies between 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL or if the postprandial level ranges between 140 mg/dL and 200 mg/dL.
In Prediabetes, there is a considerable risk of having a diabetes disorder and increasing the risk factors of heart disease. Reducing the weight of the body about 10% from changes in the daily diet and doing exercise regularly, which is important results in reducing the risk factors which cause in the future disorder known as diabetes.
Type-1 Diabetes:-
It is also known as juvenile-onset diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes. The body’s immune system attacks the cells of the pancreas, which produces insulin, and mostly 90 percent of the cells are permanently destroyed. Due to this reason, the pancreas produces limited amounts of insulin, or either it does not even produce adequate insulin.
According to statistics, approximately 5 percent to 10 percent of all people of diabetes disease have type 1 disorder.
Most of the people whose age is about 30 acquire type 1 diabetes; however, it can happen in life after some time if they have symptoms.
Research says that a factor present in the surrounding environment, probably an infection through a virus or a reason due to nutrition insufficiency in childhood or during early adulthood can lead to influence the body’s immune system to damage the cells of the pancreas which produces insulin.
People who have a genetic history of diabetes are more sensitive to acquiring type 1 diabetes, and also they are sensitive to the factors present in the surrounding environment.
Type-2 diabetes:-
Another name for type 2 diabetes is adult-onset diabetes due to a specific reason that people whose age in are middle like neither too old nor too young acquires this disease.
In this type 2 diabetes, the cells of the pancreas frequently produce insulin hormone. Several times, it produces in large quantities compared to normal times when it produces normal amounts of insulin hormone; specifically, it happens in the early stages of the diabetes disease. Although the body generates resistance to the resultant effects of insulin, there is no adequate insulin to complete the body’s needs.
If type 2 diabetes increases, the ability of cells of the pancreas in the body, which produces insulin hormone will decrease.
Type 2 diabetes was few and far between in children and the teens, but it has become more ordinary in this day and age due to environmental factors. However, it usually happens of people above age 30 years, and it becomes common when the age of people increases.
About 30 percent of the people who are older than the age of 65 are likely to have non-insulin-dependent diabetes. People who have a family history of type 2 diabetes have more risk of acquiring non-insulin-dependent diabetes.
Gestational diabetes:-
It usually occurs when women are pregnant.
It may occur in people with excessive formation of growth hormone- acromegaly and happens as well in people with some hormone-secreting tumors.
In many cases, type 2 diabetes is short-term until the baby born.
Although if you have this type of diabetes, you probably have a chance to recognize it in later life too.
Chronic pancreatitis, inflammation in the pancreas or other disorders that directly destroys the pancreas, may result in diabetes.
Chicken-It has many features like it tastes excellent and delicious, it’s versatile, economically affordable, and most importantly, an easy-to-cook dish.
We can batter the chicken and fry and apply a sugar gaze, or it can taste delicious if it is swimming in a sugary sauce. But it is bad news that people with diabetes disease have to limit their consumption of carbohydrates and sugar intakes.
Chicken is a great choice for people with diabetes disease because chicken is a high source of protein and very low in fat content.
If we cook chicken in a healthy form, chicken can achieve an award of a healthy ingredient for the people with diabetes disorder. Therefore they can include chicken in their daily diet plan.
Benefits of Chicken in Diabetes
Chicken has not only a great taste but has many benefits to offer regarding health. Some of the benefits are the following:-
- It is full of essential nutrients like proteins, healthy cholesterol, and healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, etc. Which our body needs for the production of energy in our body.
- Chicken is an excellent source for the amino acid known as tryptophan. For people with diabetes, make sure to bake, roast, or boil the chicken and not fry; otherwise, it will result in high blood sugar levels by increasing bad cholesterol.
- Protein supply:
Chicken contains high protein nutrient content, which has an essential function in sustaining the muscles of our body. It helps to increase the muscle strength of our body.
- Chicken helps to reduce the extra fat from the body.
- Healthy bones
Chicken contains calcium and phosphorus. These minerals help in keeping healthy bones stable. It also reduces the risk of arthritis.
- Chicken helps to increase the immunity of our body and gives strength to fight against infections and diseases.
In conclusion, the answer to the question ‘can we eat chicken if we have diabetes?’ is “Yes” because it has many benefits that help keep our body healthy, such as boost immunity. Chicken is rich in protein and low in fat and is rich in minerals like iron, calcium, and phosphorus and vitamins like vitamins B, A, and D. Most importantly, it has a low value of the glycemic index, so it will never raise the blood sugar levels in our body.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3821052/
- https://journals.lww.com/pancreasjournal/Abstract/2011/04000/Diabetes_and_Pancreatic_Cancer__Chicken_or_Egg_.2.aspx
- https://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/Citation/2007/05000/Depression_in_Diabetes__The_Chicken_or_the_Egg_.1.aspx
- https://www.jci.org/articles/view/27758
- https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/25/4/645.short
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08870446.2012.716438
- https://europepmc.org/article/med/2266090
