By Jenny H Jordan
A good diabetes diet is almost identical to that which most doctors would recommend to anyone worried about their general health, especially those concerned about conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. High in fibre and whole grains but low in sugar and trans fats, it is a diet that, combined with proper stress management, can dramatically improve your chances of living a long and healthy life.
There is no need to rush out and invest in lots of special diabetic food. All you need to do is make informed choices from the standard food pyramid when meal planning, based in part on your understanding of the 'glycemic index' of various foods.
All carbohydrates are converted to glucose inside your body, but some make this change far more rapidly than others. The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the carbohydrate in a particular food turns to sugar. This information is important because, as a diabetic, your body is unable to produce enough insulin to balance out a sudden influx of blood glucose. Eating too much of the wrong food during a meal can send your readings sky high in a matter of minutes. Long term, this can cause serious damage to your internal organs.
Carb counting, where you calculate the total amount of carbohydrates in each meal and ensure you do not go over a pre-determined daily limit, can be another useful tool when it comes to controlling your blood glucose, but it is important to remember that not all carbs behave the same way.
While the glycemic index measures the effect that 50 grams of carbohydrate in a particular food has on blood sugar, the picture it presents can sometimes be deceiving.
For example, the carbohydrate in watermelon turns to sugar extremely rapidly and the fruit therefore has a high glycemic index. However, the actual amount of carbohydrate in a typical serving of watermelon is very small so, in reality, eating a slice is unlikely to affect your blood sugar very much at all.
In such cases an additional measure known as the glycemic load can be extremely useful. This takes account of how much of the carb is actually present in a typical serving of a food and ranks them accordingly. Choosing foods that have both a low glycemic load and low glycemic index is the best way to prevent blood sugar levels from getting out of control.
Type 1 diabetics are able to control their blood sugar levels by adjusting the amount of insulin they inject, but they still need to be aware of how rapidly foods will affect them. It too much insulin is taken in response to a food with a low glycemic index, blood glucose levels can fall and you can develop hypoglycaemia.
The best way to check how well your body responds to certain foods is to invest in a home blood glucose testing meter. After using a spring-loaded needle to extract a drop of blood from the tips of one of your fingers, the device can give you an accurate reading of your blood sugar an hour or two after a meal.
Type 2 or adult onset diabetes is closely linked to obesity so as well as suggesting changes to your diet, your doctor will also want to look at your overall level of health and fitness to see if it can be improved. As well as helping your heart to stay strong and making it easier for you to fight off infection and disease, regular exercise also burns more calories, which can help to keep blood sugar levels stable.
Regardless of what type of diabetes you suffer from, it is vitally important that your diet be as varied as possible. This not only ensures that you receive a better balance of vitamins and minerals but also helps to prevent boredom. A diet that is routine and restrictive is hard to stick with and you are far more likely to fall off the wagon and return to your old eating habits.
Whole grain foods are rich in fibre which helps to fill you up more, reducing the urge to snack between meals. Alcohol needs to be treated with extreme care. It can lower blood sugar and if too much is taken along with insulin or diabetic medication, it too can lead to hypoglycaemia.
Meats and fish do not have to be restricted as they contain no carbohydrates and therefore have no effect on blood sugars. You should, however, try to cut down on the amount of fats in your diet, trimming red meat as much as possible and removing the skin from chicken. Although the body needs some of these fats to stay healthy - unlike trans fats which only raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease - the amount needed is quite small.
Sugar-free versions of popular soft drinks can help reduce the overall amount of sugar in your diet but remember that even if a product bears the label 'no added sugar' it could still be high in carbohydrates and cause your blood glucose levels to rise.
The internet is a wonderful place to find all sorts of tips and ticks for managing your disease and existing diabetics are almost always willing to share their experiences of what has worked for them.
The right choices from the food pyramid, along with other changes to your lifestyle and a regular regime of fitness training, can often help alleviate many symptoms of diabetes and dramatically slow down the progress of the disease. Everyone has to eat, so you may as well eat healthily.
A good diabetes diet is almost identical to that which most doctors would recommend to anyone worried about their general health, especially those concerned about conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. High in fibre and whole grains but low in sugar and trans fats, it is a diet that, combined with proper stress management, can dramatically improve your chances of living a long and healthy life.
There is no need to rush out and invest in lots of special diabetic food. All you need to do is make informed choices from the standard food pyramid when meal planning, based in part on your understanding of the 'glycemic index' of various foods.
All carbohydrates are converted to glucose inside your body, but some make this change far more rapidly than others. The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the carbohydrate in a particular food turns to sugar. This information is important because, as a diabetic, your body is unable to produce enough insulin to balance out a sudden influx of blood glucose. Eating too much of the wrong food during a meal can send your readings sky high in a matter of minutes. Long term, this can cause serious damage to your internal organs.
Carb counting, where you calculate the total amount of carbohydrates in each meal and ensure you do not go over a pre-determined daily limit, can be another useful tool when it comes to controlling your blood glucose, but it is important to remember that not all carbs behave the same way.
While the glycemic index measures the effect that 50 grams of carbohydrate in a particular food has on blood sugar, the picture it presents can sometimes be deceiving.
For example, the carbohydrate in watermelon turns to sugar extremely rapidly and the fruit therefore has a high glycemic index. However, the actual amount of carbohydrate in a typical serving of watermelon is very small so, in reality, eating a slice is unlikely to affect your blood sugar very much at all.
In such cases an additional measure known as the glycemic load can be extremely useful. This takes account of how much of the carb is actually present in a typical serving of a food and ranks them accordingly. Choosing foods that have both a low glycemic load and low glycemic index is the best way to prevent blood sugar levels from getting out of control.
Type 1 diabetics are able to control their blood sugar levels by adjusting the amount of insulin they inject, but they still need to be aware of how rapidly foods will affect them. It too much insulin is taken in response to a food with a low glycemic index, blood glucose levels can fall and you can develop hypoglycaemia.
The best way to check how well your body responds to certain foods is to invest in a home blood glucose testing meter. After using a spring-loaded needle to extract a drop of blood from the tips of one of your fingers, the device can give you an accurate reading of your blood sugar an hour or two after a meal.
Type 2 or adult onset diabetes is closely linked to obesity so as well as suggesting changes to your diet, your doctor will also want to look at your overall level of health and fitness to see if it can be improved. As well as helping your heart to stay strong and making it easier for you to fight off infection and disease, regular exercise also burns more calories, which can help to keep blood sugar levels stable.
Regardless of what type of diabetes you suffer from, it is vitally important that your diet be as varied as possible. This not only ensures that you receive a better balance of vitamins and minerals but also helps to prevent boredom. A diet that is routine and restrictive is hard to stick with and you are far more likely to fall off the wagon and return to your old eating habits.
Whole grain foods are rich in fibre which helps to fill you up more, reducing the urge to snack between meals. Alcohol needs to be treated with extreme care. It can lower blood sugar and if too much is taken along with insulin or diabetic medication, it too can lead to hypoglycaemia.
Meats and fish do not have to be restricted as they contain no carbohydrates and therefore have no effect on blood sugars. You should, however, try to cut down on the amount of fats in your diet, trimming red meat as much as possible and removing the skin from chicken. Although the body needs some of these fats to stay healthy - unlike trans fats which only raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease - the amount needed is quite small.
Sugar-free versions of popular soft drinks can help reduce the overall amount of sugar in your diet but remember that even if a product bears the label 'no added sugar' it could still be high in carbohydrates and cause your blood glucose levels to rise.
The internet is a wonderful place to find all sorts of tips and ticks for managing your disease and existing diabetics are almost always willing to share their experiences of what has worked for them.
The right choices from the food pyramid, along with other changes to your lifestyle and a regular regime of fitness training, can often help alleviate many symptoms of diabetes and dramatically slow down the progress of the disease. Everyone has to eat, so you may as well eat healthily.
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