Diabetes and Food Choices
Someone once quipped, “I can resist anything but temptation”. As a diabetic, food choices are, at least in theory, rather limited. If you are daily following the food choices for Diabetes, then you are well aware of the myriad of food choices for diabetics. However, if shopping for items that adhere to the diabetic food choices are still a bit of a mystery, here are a few grocery shopping tips for choosing diabetic foods, based on sections of the grocery store.
|
Aisle/Section |
Use |
Great food choices for diabetics |
| Dairy | Low fat items make wonderful snacks and can help with blood sugar management | Low-fat yogurt, low fat cheeses , low fat cottage cheese, and skim milk |
| Fresh fruits and veggies | These items are high in fiber. Low in fat and rich in vitamins and minerals | Apples, blueberries, broccoli, cantaloupes, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, strawberries and tomatoes |
| Meat Poultry, and fish | When eating a protein, the serving size should fill ¼ of a standard dinner plate. Keep intake of items such as beef, cheddar cheese, or American cheese to a minimum as they are high in fat and cholesterol. | Eggs, egg whites, skinless chicken breast, lean deli meats, cod, salmon, scallops, and shrimp. Lean red meats, canned tuna (light and packed in water) |
| Whole Grains and Starches | These items are filled with vitamins, minerals and fiber, and are low in fat and cholesterol | These diabetic food choices include starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn, cereal that is made with whole grain and low in sugar, black, garbanzo, and pinto beans, whole grain breads, low sugar granola bars, rolled oats/oatmeal, and whole wheat pasta. |
Living with Diabetes and food choices that enrich your life may not always be as easy as you would like. Sometimes, mistakes are made, or you eat something that was a lot higher in sugar or fat than you realized. When this happens, don’t beat yourself up. Making mistakes is human. Just refocus, and begin making better food choices for Diabetes. Remember, healthy diabetic food choices will improve your life and make a positive difference in how you feel. Sometimes, media sources offer conflicting and misleading information concerning dietary needs. One of these easily misleading topics is on starches and sugars. Here are a few tips to help you with Diabetes and food choices as related to sugar and fat.
- Carbohydrate rich foods are an important energy source.
- Foods high in carbohydrates will raise the blood sugar level so pay attention to how much and how often you include them in your diabetic food choices.
- Learn to exchange. Remember what matters most is how many carbohydrates you have, not just what kind.
- Use fiber rich foods.
- Work toward eating healthy all the time. You can make a variety of dishes healthier by substituting fats, sweeteners and juices that are beneficial to Diabetes and food choices.
Diabetic food choices are varied, but with a little planning, you can easily select foods that will not work against your Diabetes. You can go grocery shopping without fear or confusion, have more will power to resist temptation, and live a healthy, active lifestyle where Diabetes is something you have, not who you are.
Tags: diabetes and food choices, diabetic food choices, food choices for diabetes
