A lack of protein leads to excessive intake of carbohydrates and sugar, which increases the risk of diabetes. In fact, it was found that diabetic patients had lower protein intake than the general population. A patient is checking blood sugar levels using a blood glucose meter. [사진 출처 = 게티이미지뱅크]If you often feel hungry even following eating three meals a day and keep thinking regarding snacks such as bread, candy, and chocolate, you need to question whether your diet is lacking in protein. Also, joint and muscle pain, worse than before, thinner hair, and dry skin may also be signs of protein deficiency.
The problem is that a lack of protein leads to excessive intake of carbohydrates and sugars, which increases the risk of diabetes. In fact, it was found that diabetic patients had lower protein intake than the general population. In addition, even if you are already suffering from diabetes, if you lack protein, you are more likely to develop complications such as cardiovascular disease, so you need to be careful.
Protein is not simply supplemented by eating a lot. This is because there is a limit to the amount of protein that the body can use at one time, and the protein that can be digested and absorbed by each person is different. So, what kind of protein you eat and how you eat it is important.
Korean meals are generally high in carbohydrates. However, carbohydrates take a shorter time to digest than proteins and fats. Therefore, eating a protein-deficient meal can make you hungry quickly. Also, a diet lacking in protein does not give you enough satisfaction, which makes you crave junk food or fatty foods. So, if you follow this diet for a long time, you may end up eating more sweets and snacks. Accordingly, it is easy to become overweight or obese by consuming too much sugar, which makes it easier to get diabetes.
In fact, according to the ‘Diabetes Fact Sheet’ published by the Korean Diabetes Association using data from the 2016-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the carbohydrate intake rate of diabetic patients was 68.3%, which was much higher than that of the general public (64.7%), but the protein intake rate was 14.5%. was lower than the general population (15.2%).
In particular, 7 out of 10 elderly diabetic patients were found to have insufficient protein intake.
Protein intake is important for diabetes prevention, but protein intake is also important for diabetic patients. According to the research results of a joint research team at Ohio State University and Abbott, a global health care company in the United States, announced in 2021, if the protein intake of diabetic patients is insufficient, physical activity is limited, such as difficulty completing basic exercise was found to be high.
In addition, as a result of an analysis of 899 elderly diabetic patients from 2016 to 2018 at a domestic university hospital, it was found that if the elderly diabetic patient had insufficient protein intake, the risk of cardiovascular disease, a typical diabetic complication, increased significantly. In diabetic patients, protein intake can affect weight loss, blood sugar control, and blood pressure lowering.
In particular, among diabetic patients, patients suffering from diabetic kidney disease should pay more attention to protein intake, since protein is excreted in the urine. In this case, it is recommended to eat vegetable protein among proteins.
As such, it is good to consume protein to prevent diabetes and, in the case of diabetic patients, to prevent complications. In general, it is known that it is good to consume 1 to 1.2 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight per day for adults. If you weigh 60 kg, you should consume 60 g of protein per day.
However, it is not easy to eat protein at every meal in the busy modern society. In order to supplement protein a little more easily, taking a protein supplement is also a way. There are various types of protein products on the market, and it is important to choose the protein product that is right for you.
If you often consume animal protein through meat or have difficulty digesting milk, it is better to choose plant protein such as legumes. Recently, among plant proteins, products made with ‘pea protein’ are attracting attention. ‘Pea protein’ is not exposed to the risk of genetically modified agricultural products (GMO), has a high content of essential amino acids, and is rich in dietary fiber, vitamin K and vitamin C. In particular, since it does not contain lactose, it can be consumed by people who have difficulty in consuming protein due to lactose intolerance.
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