Diabetic diet: create a healthy eating plan
The most common if you have diabetes or prediabetes, is that your doctor recommends consulting with a nutritionist to develop a healthy eating plan. The plan will help you control blood glucose (sugar), weight and risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure and high blood fat.
Diabetic diets involve eating the healthiest foods, in moderate quantities and complying with regular meal schedules. In fact, diabetes diets are the best eating plan for almost everyone. (We recommend you read: Two healthy recipes to sweeten the day)
The diabetic diet recommended by Mayo Clinic experts is a healthy eating plan that, by nature, contains many nutrients, low fat and calories. The key points are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Here you will find help to start, from meal planning to exchange lists and carbohydrate counting.
Diet Details
The diet is based on three meals a day, with regular schedules. This allows the body to better use the insulin it produces or recovers from a given medication.
When excessive amounts of calories and fat are consumed, the body reacts and generates an unwanted increase in blood glucose. If the blood glucose level is not kept at bay, serious problems can arise, such as dangerously high blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) and long-term complications, such as nerve, kidney and heart damage.
For most people with type 2 diabetes, losing weight also facilitates blood glucose control and offers other health benefits. If you need to lose weight, the diabetic diet offers you a nutritious and well-organized way to reach that goal safely.
In addition, a nutritionist can help you build the diet according to your health goals, tastes and lifestyle. That professional can advise you on how you can improve your eating habits, for example, with portions appropriate to your body size and activity level.
Recommended foods
Stop worrying about calories and sugars, try these nutritious and delicious foods:
• Healthy carbohydrates. During digestion, sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates) break down into blood glucose. Focus on healthier carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans, chickpeas, peas and lentils) and low-fat dairy products.
• Foods with high fiber content. Food fiber comprises all parts of plants that the body cannot digest or absorb as food. Fiber regulates the body's digestion and helps control blood glucose levels. High-fiber foods include vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole wheat flour and bran.
• Heart healthy fish. Eat fish at least twice a week. Fish can be a good alternative to high fat meats. For example, cod, tuna and halibut have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than red meat and poultry. Fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines and anchovy are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which improve heart health because they reduce the fats present in the blood and known as triglycerides.
• "Good" fats. Foods that contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help reduce cholesterol levels, including avocados, almonds, nuts, olives and canola, olive and peanut oils. However, do not overdo it, since all fats have high caloric content.
Foods to avoid
Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke because it accelerates blockage and hardening of the arteries. The following foods may prevent you from achieving your goal of following a heart-healthy diet.
• Saturated fats. High-fat dairy products and animal proteins, such as beef, hot dogs, sausage and bacon, contain saturated fats.
• Trans fat. These types of fats are found in processed snacks, baked goods from industrial bakery, butter and stick margarine. Avoid consuming them.
• Cholesterol. Cholesterol sources include high-fat dairy products and high-fat animal proteins, egg yolks, liver and other viscera. Try not to consume more than 200 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol a day.
• Sodium. Try to consume less than 2300 mg of sodium a day, although if you also have hypertension, you should try to consume less than 1500 mg of sodium per day.
Create a meal plan
It is important to know your body, because each organism is different, however, creating diets that help keep blood glucose within normal limits can be very useful for a diabetic. With the help of a dietitian and the combination of one of the following methods, you can create a meal plan that works for your needs:
• The plate method. The American Diabetes Association offers a simple seven-step method for preparing meals, which basically focuses on eating more vegetables. When preparing your dish, fill half of it with non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots and tomatoes. Fill another quarter of the plate with protein, such as tuna or lean pork. Fill the last quarter of the plate with a food based on whole grains or starch. Add a serving of fruit or a dairy product and a glass of water or a cup of unsweetened tea or coffee.
• Carbohydrate account. Carbohydrates are converted to glucose and, therefore, have an impact on blood glucose. To control blood glucose, consume approximately the same amount of carbohydrates every day, at regular intervals, especially if you use insulin or some other diabetes medication.
A dietitian can teach you how to measure portions and understand the nutritional information on labels so you can pay close attention to portion sizes and carbohydrate content. If you use insulin, that professional can also help you count the amount of carbohydrates in each meal and adjust the dose of insulin accordingly. (We recommend you read: How to read food labels?)
• The exchange list system. A dietitian may recommend you make meal exchange lists to help you plan your meals. The lists are organized by categories, such as carbohydrates, sources of protein and fat.
All categories are composed of individual portions. Each serving of food has approximately the same amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat and calories as the other individual portions of other foods in the same category and exert the same effect on blood glucose. Thus, for example, you can eat half of a large corn cob or 1/3 cup of cooked pasta that, respectively, corresponds to a serving of starches.
• Glycemic index. Some diabetics use the glycemic index to select foods, especially carbohydrates. This method classifies foods that contain carbohydrates according to their effect on blood glucose. Ask your dietitian if this method would be good for you.
When planning meals, consider your size and activity level. The following menu is designed for people who need between 1200 and 1600 calories daily.
• Breakfast. Whole wheat bread (1 medium slice) with 2 teaspoons of jam, ½ cup of ground wheat cereals with a cup of 1 percent semi-skimmed milk, a piece of fruit, coffee.
• Lunch. Salmon, 1½ teaspoon vegetable oil, a small baked potato, ½ cup carrots, salad (1½ cups spinach, 1/2 tomato, 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1½ teaspoon red wine vinegar), unsweetened iced tea
• Dinner. Cheese and vegetable Arabic bread, a medium apple with 2 tablespoons of almond butter, water.
• Snack. 2½ cups of popcorn or an orange with 1/2 cup of semi-skimmed cottage cheese at 1 percent.
Adopting a healthy eating plan is the best way to control blood glucose and prevent diabetes complications. If you need to lose weight, you can modify the plan to reach your specific goals.
In addition to controlling diabetes, this type of diet also offers other benefits. Because the diabetes diet recommends eating generous amounts of fruits, vegetables and fiber, it is very possible that you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. On the other hand, consuming products with low fat content can reduce the future risk of having low bone mass.
