Type 2 Diabetes - Will Yogurt Spike Your Blood Sugar Level?

Yogurt is a world-renowned healthy food but you have to know what to look for to get the best yogurt for a diabetic diet. That's because some producers add so much fat and sugar their yogurt is really not healthy at all. As you may already know, yogurt is an excellent protein source and it has many nutrients which are especially needed by diabetics.

A cup of yogurt can often be a healthy substitute for dessert, replacing foods like ice cream which has a higher fat and sugar content. Diabetics in particular need to get low-fat forms of yogurt. If you don't want to increase your carbohydrates too much, you can get yogurt sweetened with sugar substitutes. This can lower the calories often to a total of 70 to 100.

Yogurt Has Good Bacteria:

Yogurt has lactobacteria, which although it might not sound like it, is actually good for you. The most well-known is acidophilis, which not only cleans out your colon, but stops the creation of bile acids which cause cancer. The live cultures in yogurt also boost the immune system.

The calcium content of yogurt is high and it contains other vitamins and minerals needed by diabetics... vitamins B-6, B-12, and manganese. If you are lactose intolerant, you don't have to worry about the sugars in yogurt because they are usually digestible. Some yogurts have just the right enzymes to help with digestion.

Big Source of Protein:

Yogurt packs a lot of protein in a small container. In fact, it has twenty-percent more protein than a normal milk serving. The protein is also more digestible. Because of this yogurt is one of the foods that is on the American Diabetic Association's heart healthy list. If you have high cholesterol, eating yogurt may even lower it. That is exactly what it did in a number research studies. This is good news for people with type 2 diabetes, because they are so much more at risk for heart disease.

Choosing the Best Yogurt For You:

There are so many choices for yogurt in the dairy aisle that you could literally stand there for half a day reading labels. The things to be most cautious about are carbohydrate and fat content. The absolute healthiest yogurt to eat is plain yogurt which you can take home and top with fresh fruit. Honestly, you have to be pretty hard core to eat plain yogurt.

The next best choice in yogurt is non-fat and then low-fat. Sometimes it is hard to find a non-fat, artificially sweetened yogurt at some stores. Most large supermarkets have it but not so much at the smaller stores. Low-fat is more available and comes with sugar or sugar substitutes.

Try to avoid yogurts with whole milk as they have more saturated fat. However, like any food, you get away with eating it one once in a while as a creamy treat.

Yogurts with sprinkles, nuts, little pieces of chocolate and the like are not good to add to your diabetic diet, even though you might like to think so. These, just like candy, are sure to send up an immediate spike in your blood sugar. Yogurt with fruit is usually the best choice... and not chocolate or caramel yogurt. By just using common sense, sticking to what you really know about which foods help to raise your blood sugar level, means you should have no trouble adding yogurt and frozen yogurt to your diabetic diet.

Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?

To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions... its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.

Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes.
http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com/blog
Copyright. (c) 2010 Beverleigh H Piepers RN. All Rights Reserved

Related : Best Shoes Teacher Training Yoga Central Market Lamar