Diabetic Diet Guidelines
It is simply amazing how much diet guidelines for diabetics have evolved and changed over the years. Before 1921, when insulin was first discovered, most patients were simply put on starvation diets. But as knowledge of the disease and the role of glucose in metabolism has improved, so have diabetic diet guidelines.
Today, there is no one diet for people with diabetes. Diabetes dietary guidelines from the American Diabetes Association simply recommend that carbohydrate and fat intake should be based on nutritional assessment and treatment goals for each individual, with 10 percent to 20 percent of calories from protein and less than 10 percent from saturated fats.
The good news is that the diet guidelines for diabetics are really the same kind of healthy eating that is best for everyone. In particular, diabetes diet guidelines focus on:
- Eating whole foods that are high in fiber and are nutrient-dense. This includes virtually all plant foods, most dairy products, lean meat and poultry, and fish.
- Keeping highly processed foods to a minimum. These are often full of refined flour and sugar.
- Eating about the same amount of food at the same time each day. This keeps blood sugar levels stable.
Diabetic diet guidelines also address the fact that people with diabetes are at higher risk for heart problems. Diabetes diet guidelines recommended limiting fat to less than 30 percent of total daily calories and watching cholesterol by choosing smaller portions of lean meats, poultry and fish, and low or non-fat dairy products.
Diabetic Diet Guidelines and Sweets
Do diabetes dietary guidelines mean you have to give up sugar, fat and carbohydrates forever? No! The trick is to understand how the body breaks down different types of foods at different rates.
Different foods have different effects on blood glucose, Carbohydrates (whether from a potato or the sugar in your coffee) can be digested in as little as three minutes. By contrast, protein from a lunchtime hamburger can takes three to six hours, and fat can take eight or more hours. But people with diabetes don’t always have to forgo desserts and sweets. They just have to be sure to eat only moderate amounts no more than once or twice a week.
“What If I Need To Lose Weight?”
Of course, diabetes dietary guidelines also address diabetics who need to lose some weight. These dietary changes typically involve both calorie and carbohydrate control as well as appropriate exercise. In particular, weight control is important for people who have type 2 diabetes. Here, extra body fat makes it hard for type 2 diabetics to make and use their own insulin. If you are overweight, losing just 10 to 20 pounds may improve your blood sugar control so much that you can stop taking or reduce your medication.
A registered dietitian, preferably one who is also a certified diabetes educator (CDE) or is experienced in diabetes care, is an essential resource for learning more about individualized diabetic diet guidelines. To find a dietitian near you, call the American Dietetic Association’s National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics at 1-800-366-1655 or visit their Web site at www.eatright.org/find.html. You can log on to www.eatright.org and use the ZIP code search to find a dietitian in your area.
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