Type 2 Diabetes - Not All Potatoes Are Created Equal

As a Type 2 diabetic watching your blood sugar levels, one food you've likely cut out from your diabetic eating plan is the potato. Potatoes rank high on the GI scale and as such, will cause your blood sugar levels to soar in no time at all and, within three hours you will find yourself hungry again. Clearly, not ideal for anyone who's hoping to watch their body weight and blood sugar levels.

But, regular russet/white potatoes are not the only potatoes out there. There are two other varieties - sweet potatoes and yams to be considered. These offer great benefits and can be included in anyone's diet.

Let's take a closer look at these two so you can see why they're a smart move to include them in your eating program...

1. Calorie Content. First let's consider the calorie content. Sweet potatoes are slightly lower in total calorie content as they'll contain just 86 calories per 100 grams while yams will come in at 118 calories per 100 grams. Either way, both are still relatively low in calories and can be included in just about any eating plan.

2. Nutritional Content. When we look closer at the total nutritional content, we see both are reasonably equal here as well. Both will provide about the same amount of protein, with...

    the sweet variety coming in at 1.6 grams per 100 grams, while
    yams have 1.5 grams per 100 grams.

Fats are also almost equal with sweet potatoes being fat-free and yams containing just 0.2 grams of fat per serving.

On the fiber side of things...

    yams do win out here coming in with 4.1 grams of fiber per 100 grams, while
    sweet potatoes contain just 3.

One notable difference that may make many of you consider yams more than sweet potatoes however, is the sugar content...

    yams have just 0.5 grams of sugar per 100 gram serving, while
    sweet potatoes contain 4.2 grams of sugar per 100 gram serving.

All in all, this sugar is coupled with dietary fiber however, and the sweet potato has been known to help stabilize blood sugar levels, not spike them, so not too much of a concern here.

3. Vitamins And Minerals. Finally, when looking at the vitamins and minerals each variety offers, sweet potatoes will contain far more vitamin A than yams, coming in at 283% of your total daily requirements while yams contain just 2%.

On the flip side of the coin, yams are much higher in vitamin C, providing 28% of your total daily needs while yams only provide 4%.

For the other nutrients they contain, calcium, iron, vitamin B6, and magnesium, both varieties come in about equal.

So, whichever variety you choose, make sure you aren't overlooking these two varieties. If you love to eat potatoes, these make great substitutes.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.

For nearly 25 years Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body. Go to http://DrugFreeType2Diabetes.com to learn about some of those secrets.

The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9006521

Ships From And Sold By ClickBank