There are over two million Kenyans living with diabetes and as the percentage of population with diabetes increases exponentially, there is the additional strain and costs associated with bigger health budgets. But this was not always the case. Many of us were accustomed to diseases like Malaria, Pneumonia, TB, diseases that have afflicted many African people or generations but now we have a new health problem, which is just as serious. Diabetes.
In the past, diabetes was once considered "rich people's" disease when the lines between the poor and the rich ran along the rural and urban populations. In other words, rich people were more likely to be found living in urban centres and almost all of the rural population in Africa was poor. In traditional African societies, where there is no famine, eating habits are normally quite healthy. Most rural populations eat a lot of cereals, vegetables and milk. But as people grow richer and move into middle class, they abandon their healthy rural lifestyle and eating habits and eat foods which are considered urban but also unhealthy. Various rich vegetables that we used to eat in our childhood are no longer available in the urban setting; the diet o an urban Kenyan is likely to include rice, fries, minced meat fried with lots of oil, lots of eggs, hamburger, kebabs, fried chicken drumsticks and so on.
This is a diet that parents in urban centres are also imposing on their children resulting in the increased number of diabetics in our country and in many urban areas in Africa. The irony is that the rural diet of sweet potatoes, cereals, lots of vegetables, milk, meat in moderation that we are shunning is the healthiest lifestyle! The rural population also engage in a lot of physical labour and a lot of walking hence are healthier. That's why there are few cases of diabetes in rural areas while our urban populations is terribly afflicted by diabetes. For example in Kenya, while only about 2.7% of rural population are diabetics, a whopping 14% of the urban population is diabetic!
A good way to raise your children healthily is by giving them daily serving of sweet potatoes, particularly the orange fleshed or the purple fleshed sweet potato variety. Sweet potatoes are a very good for someone on a diabetic diet, playing a role in stabilizing or lowering blood sugar. This is because sweet potatoes are a low-glycemic index (GI) food. The glycemic index measures how quickly certain foods release carbohydrates into the body. High-GI foods cause blood sugar levels to spike, while low-GI foods release glucose slowly into the bloodstream. Compared to high-GI foods, sweet potatoes break down more slowly in the body, producing smaller fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. In addition, sweet potatoes are low in calories.
It is therefore recommended that people with diabetes or insulin resistance consume sweet potatoes regularly to help control blood glucose. This is something many diabetics particularly in Kenya might not be aware of. Sweet potatoes cause much less than the prescription drugs and might free you from the need of constant and inconvenient insulin injections. Sweet potatoes are a prescription from nature.
Like most foods in your diabetic diet, the sweet potatoes should be eaten in moderation. Follow te following tips when eating sweet potatoes to manage your diabetes:
To make an order of sweet potatoes within Nairobi, please drop us an email at kabondofarms[at]yahoo.com |
| Sweet Potatoes are good for your diabetes! |
This is a diet that parents in urban centres are also imposing on their children resulting in the increased number of diabetics in our country and in many urban areas in Africa. The irony is that the rural diet of sweet potatoes, cereals, lots of vegetables, milk, meat in moderation that we are shunning is the healthiest lifestyle! The rural population also engage in a lot of physical labour and a lot of walking hence are healthier. That's why there are few cases of diabetes in rural areas while our urban populations is terribly afflicted by diabetes. For example in Kenya, while only about 2.7% of rural population are diabetics, a whopping 14% of the urban population is diabetic!
A good way to raise your children healthily is by giving them daily serving of sweet potatoes, particularly the orange fleshed or the purple fleshed sweet potato variety. Sweet potatoes are a very good for someone on a diabetic diet, playing a role in stabilizing or lowering blood sugar. This is because sweet potatoes are a low-glycemic index (GI) food. The glycemic index measures how quickly certain foods release carbohydrates into the body. High-GI foods cause blood sugar levels to spike, while low-GI foods release glucose slowly into the bloodstream. Compared to high-GI foods, sweet potatoes break down more slowly in the body, producing smaller fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. In addition, sweet potatoes are low in calories.
It is therefore recommended that people with diabetes or insulin resistance consume sweet potatoes regularly to help control blood glucose. This is something many diabetics particularly in Kenya might not be aware of. Sweet potatoes cause much less than the prescription drugs and might free you from the need of constant and inconvenient insulin injections. Sweet potatoes are a prescription from nature.
Like most foods in your diabetic diet, the sweet potatoes should be eaten in moderation. Follow te following tips when eating sweet potatoes to manage your diabetes:
- For a low to medium glycemic index, eat sweet potatoes cooked with the skins on or raw, such as in a slaw.
- When eating sweet potatoes without the skins, know that they fall into the medium glycemic zone, between 63 and 66, which is still lower than other starchy foods such as instant mashed potatoes and even whole-wheat bread.
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