NEW ORLEANS — Americans expect to spend $3.1 billion on Halloween candy. That's a lot of money and a lot of sugar.
And with that comes a lot of health problems, especially for some people in Southeast Louisiana.
Southeast Louisiana ranks high nationally in the number of people with diabetes, doctors say. A high number don't even know they are at risk with prediabetes.
That translates into more heart attacks, strokes, nerve damage, and amputations.
Now it appears a simple diet change can protect you.
Eat just one full-size candy bar, and you've had more than 40 carbs alone. It's long been recommended that Type 2 diabetics on medication, stick to a low-carb diet, But now new research done in New Orleans, shows what a big difference a low-carb diet can make for some with a hidden health condition.
“In terms of people who have prediabetes, we think that if they were able to stay on this type of diet, and it was maintained longer term, that it may reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes,” Tulane epidemiologist, Dr. Kirsten Dorans said.
She studied people with mild diabetes, not on medication, and people with prediabetes. Most of them don't even know that they are on the borderline for Type 2 diabetes. And she found that lowering carbs to 40 grams a day in the first three months, then 60 grams for the next three months, had a measurable difference in blood sugar levels.
“At six months, the people that were in the low carb group, they had a lower hemoglobin A1C which is a marker of long-term blood sugar,” Dr. Dorans said.
And the low-carb group lost on average 13 pounds more.
“For some, I think it was pretty easy and straightforward, and for others, it was more challenging, but it can be hard because there's so much great food in New Orleans,” she said about sticking to the diet.
So, what foods are high in simple carbs like candy? Pasta, beignets, cookies, bread, starches like white potatoes, rice, grapes, raisins, king cake, and alcohol, to name a few. Low in complex carbs, and good for you, are all the green vegetables, and fruits like berries. And she says, don't buy into the brown myth.
“Even like brown rice, still pretty high in carbs. So, we had them try to limit that as much as possible,” Dr. Dorans said.
And here's a tip, when you do have a simple carb, eat some protein with it. That will slow down the fast spike in blood sugar.
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