Diabetes

What about artificial sweeteners? Are they only bad because they create a dependence on sweet flavors? Which artificial sweeteners are safe and suitable for people with diabetes? Specifically, I am interested in Erythritol.
Thank you.

The label "bad" for artificial sweeteners is not entirely accurate. They have the clear advantage of containing little to no energy, but on the other hand, like any other sweeteners, they unnecessarily increase or intensify the connection to sweet taste, which can lead to a dependency on sweetness. If you're looking for a suitable sweetener for diabetics, consider sources of inulin (e.g., chicory syrup) as a clear favorite—they are of natural origin, have very low energy content, and simultaneously serve as prebiotics.

Hello,

According to certain sources (e.g., David Perlmutter, MD, Drop Acid - https://www.amazon.com/Drop-Acid-Surprising-Controlling-Extraordinary/dp/0316315397), nutrition for diabetes should focus on reducing uric acid levels to ideally 4 – 4.5mg/dl, which can be quite challenging when reducing carbohydrates. His opinion can be summarized as that inflammation increases uric acid, and particularly fructose, which is directly metabolized into uric acid, and foods with a high content of nucleic acids (such as meat, yeast-based products) are the main culprits for rising uric acid levels. For example, he cites beer (even non-alcoholic, which has a high carbohydrate content and is made with yeast) as an example. He suggests getting home uric acid testing in capillary blood and measuring it on an empty stomach (in our country, for instance, easytouch - https://www.lekarna.cz/vyrobce/easytouch/). Just like with sugar, it’s probably an individual journey for everyone with common principles, where uric acid is a signaling molecule that increases glucose, raises blood pressure, and triggers insulin production, which as a storage hormone aims to store fat in the body. According to him, this is a signal for our ancestors that after eating ripe fruit in the autumn (fructose), it's necessary to raise blood pressure, increase glucose (to supply the brain with sugar so we wouldn’t get eaten by something), and accumulate some fat because winter is coming, and we want to survive it. However, he argues that we signal our bodies all year round that winter is coming, but it never really does (perhaps also because we live in heated apartments).

Would you suggest which principles to adhere to for lowering uric acid levels?

All these principles are incorporated into individual steps in modifying dietary regimes, which you aim to translate into practice through the ZOF application onto the plate. The principle involves understanding that while we have mapped individual metabolic pathways through biochemical reactions, they do not function in living systems the same way as we are accustomed to with software, i.e., on the principle of zeros and ones. We are the result of an evolutionary development that has lasted several hundred million years, and it has programmed the body's systems not only in a complex manner but also in a comprehensive way, with the goal of maintaining a healthy balance, which has a different range of flexibility in each individual. We know that increased fructose intake leads to the formation of uric acid, which is part of a spectrum of indicators signaling pro-inflammatory processes. We have population-defined reference values for sugar intake, including fructose, but adhering to them is not a guarantee of success with metabolic disorders because the organism behaves unexpectedly here. It is not possible to predict optimal nutrient intake values, but on the other hand, we should know how to apply them to the plate while simultaneously acting responsibly by diligently monitoring available metabolic indicators, among which uric acid in diabetes mellitus (DM) certainly belongs. Additionally, it is necessary to consider that metabolism will behave differently in DM1 and DM2. Because DM2 is a problem always accompanied by inflammation, dietary modifications should invariably aim to support anti-inflammatory factors. There are many of these, starting with monitoring the quality of food, the amount of proteins, sugars, trans fatty acids, the ratios of fatty acids led by O3:O6, fiber content, the share of alkaline elements, sufficient vitamins, and a higher intake of antioxidants. The whole "trick" lies in the fact that you will never know in advance which of the mentioned factors had a greater or even crucial influence on suppressing the pro-inflammatory environment and establishing potential metabolic balance. It thus pays to respect the entire spectrum of rules, with fructose intake control being just a needle in a haystack. In the process of body care with DM, it is necessary first to understand these holistic behavioral rules of biological systems (which involves coming to terms with the fact that they are such), subsequently start translating them onto the plate, and ultimately possess sufficient patience while waiting for results, which will moreover differ in scope for each individual.