Anyone who has ever tried to follow specific diet guidelines to lose weight, lower blood pressure or to correct some other medical anomaly knows how important it is to follow a plan. For diabetics, it is even more important--what they eat or don't eat--can have dramatic results on their overall health status and well-being.
Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet is important for diabetics in order to keep their blood glucose levels within normal ranges. If the glucose level dips too low, they can become nervous, anxious, get the "shakes" and even lose consciousness. If the glucose levels increase too high, they may risk damaging their bodies. For diabetics, managing their diet is key to living a long, symptom-free and productive life.
Counting Carbohydrates
Diabetics usually have two challenges--managing their weight and their blood glucose levels. Being overweight can lead to insulin insensitivity, raising glucose levels. At the same time, eating foods that are high in carbohydrates can cause glucose levels to rise even higher.
One of the most important elements in managing the diabetic diet is to count carbohydrates. The American Diabetes Association recommends that you begin meal planning by allowing 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal. Carbohydrates include "starchy" foods like bread, pasta, rice and cereal. Other good sources of carbohydrates are fruits and fruit juice, dried beans, potatoes and corn. Try to avoid empty calorie foods, such as snack foods, sodas, cakes, cookies, chips and candy.
In the beginning, it will be difficult to estimate how many grams of carbohydrates are in foods, but if you focus on some of your favorites, it will make it easy to get started. For instance, there are approximately 15 grams of carbohydrates in one small piece of fresh fruit, 1/3 cup pasta, two small cookies, 1 cup of soup or half of an English muffin. As you get more experienced, you'll be able to estimate the carbohydrate content of other foods.
The Glycemic Index
Another popular approach to managing blood glucose for diabetics is using the Glycemic Index, or GI, of foods. All foods containing carbohydrates can be assigned an arbitrary GI number based on how quickly they raise the blood glucose level. Foods with high GI numbers, rapidly raise the blood glucose. Foods with low GI numbers raise glucose levels more slowly and evenly. For instance, foods with high glycemic indices include plain bagels (72), rice cakes (80) and Gatorade (78). Foods with a medium GI are apricots (57), orange juice (46) and oatmeal (48). Foods with a low GI include brown lentils (30), cherries (22) and chocolate milk (35).
Diabetic Meal Planning
In addition to the Glycemic Index, diabetics can plan their meals using the "create your plate" and "diabetic food pyramid" techniques. The "create your plate" method is a simple way to plan your meals by dividing your dinner plate into three sections. Begin by drawing an imaginary line across the center of your plate. Divide one of the sides into two more, smaller sections. Fill the largest section of the plate with "non-starchy" vegetables like spinach, cabbage, lettuce or green beans. Fill one of the smaller sections with "starchy foods" like whole grain bread, rice, pasta or cooked corn. Fill the last section with chicken, tuna, salmon, eggs or a lean cut of meat.
The diabetic food pyramid is another popular way to plan meals by dividing them into six groups: grains and beans on the bottom, followed by fruits and vegetables, followed by milk and meat (or meat substitutes), and fats, oils and sweets on the top. You eat the largest proportion of your total daily calories from the bottom group and the smallest proportion from the middle and top groups.
Learning How to Eat Outside the Home
Even after you have mastered the basic concepts of diabetic meal planning, eating out in restaurants can be a challenge. Many restaurants emphasize large proportions of food that is fat-laden with choices outside of your meal plan. So, what should you do?
A number of high quality restaurants feature "heart healthy" menus or low-fat substitutions to the basic offerings on the menu. Ask for butter, margarine and salad dressings on the side instead of added to the meal by the kitchen. Even if the proportions are larger, try to eat the same size serving as you would at home and put the rest in a doggie bag.
Substitute salads or a fruit cup for high-fat appetizers. Ask for low-calorie substitutions, even if they are not on the menu. And finally, slow down. Try to take longer to savor your out of home experience by eating more slowly and taking longer to chew the food.
Learning How to Read Food Labels
After you have learned all of the previous steps to diabetic food planning, you're not through yet. One of the most important things to learn, especially when shopping in the grocery store, is how to read food labels.
Food labels are required by law on many common items and contain information on the total number of servings, calories per serving, total fat (as well as types of fat), sodium, carbohydrate, fiber and other ingredients. Use the information on the label in addition to monitoring the Glycemic Index and portion size to create interesting and healthy diabetic meals.
