Diabetic Seniors

“You are what you eat, from your head to your feet!” touts children’s computer game, but that sentiment is not just a catchy phrase—it plays an important role in the diabetic diet and hypertension management process. In watching what you eat, one of the most important changes you can make is eating foods low in saturated fats and high in fiber. Also helpful for the diabetic diet and hypertension is the reduction of salt intake. By making these simple changes you can lower your blood pressure as well as reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Shopping for diabetic diet and hypertension friendly foods at first may seem a bit overwhelming. However, once you understand the terminology it is much easier. The maze of food labels can be defined as such-

• Lite, Light- 1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat per serving that regular food
• Fat-free-Less than ½ gram fat per serving
• Low-fat- 3 grams or less fat per serving
• Reduced Fat- At least 25% fewer calories than regular food
• Low saturated fat- 1 gram or less saturated fat per serving; no more than 15% of the calories come from saturated fat
• Cholesterol Free- less than 2 mg of cholesterol per serving
• Low Cholesterol- less than 20 mg of cholesterol and less than 2 grams saturated fat per serving
• Sodium/salt free-less than 5 mg of sodium per serving
• Low sodium- less than 140 mg of sodium per serving
• Unsalted, no salt added- Foods once made with salt but no longer made with salt

Managing Your Diet and Hypertension

A popular phrase on television’s TLC’s (The Learning Channel) Blockbusters program is, “I reject your reality and substitute one of my own.” Unfortunately, the reality in diabetes/hypertension dieting is that a change in lifestyle habits is necessary. Since most of us eat more salt/sodium than the recommended 300 mg or less daily, lowering your salt intake can be difficult. Foods like bacon, pickles, canned soups, peanut butter and salad dressing are all high in salt and should be replaced with diabetic diet and hypertension friendly foods or if necessary, eliminated completely. Here are a few options and suggestions for reduced sodium cooking:

• Read food labels carefully. Know how what you eat will play into your diabetic diet and hypertension food choices.
• Replace your salt shaker with a no sodium seasoning blend
• Most recipes can have the slat reduced by halve
• Choose fresh foods; Avoid pickled, cured, or pre-salted items as these are detrimental to the diabetics diet and hypertension lowering process.
• Try using flavored vinegars, as well as herb and spices to give extra zip to the flavor of the food/dish.
• Reduce your salt gradually to make the switch easier.

The DASH Diet

Some years ago (1997) a study was performed on the connection between diet and hypertension. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet proved effective and is recommended for lowering blood pressure levels. However, you may need to adapt it somewhat to correlate with your personal diabetes needs. A copy of the DASH diet can be obtained by contacting:

NHLBI Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
Or by visiting www.nhlbi.nih.gov

By following the guidelines for the diabetic diet and eating foods that prevent or reduce hypertension, you can have a healthy productive life. It’s your choice! So get up, eat healthy and seize the day there’s a whole word waiting to be enjoyed.

Tags: diabetes and hypertension, diabetic diet, Heart Disease, hypertension