The American Diabetes Association, or ADA, recommended diet is a meal plan which will help you to control your diabetes. The diet is well-balanced and provides you with all the adequate nutrients that your body needs to function on a daily basis.
Who Should Follow the Diet
The ADA recommended diet is specifically crafted for individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes because the recommendations state that following this diet will help to control blood sugar and prevent hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, or low and high blood sugar. This diet is extremely well-balanced and nutritionally complete; thus according to the MayoClinic.com, following these nutritional guidelines can also benefit people with prediabetes.
Function
The ADA recommended diet functions by controlling the effects that dietary intake has on blood sugar. When too much carbohydrate is eaten at one time, your blood sugar will become elevated, and chronic high blood sugar can cause a myriad of complications. The ADA recommended diet limits your carbohydrates to roughly 45g to 75g per meal, thereby giving you energy without causing hyperglycemia..
Carbohydrate
Foods and beverages that contain carbohydrates play a key role in the ADA recommended diet simply because they are the ones that will impact your blood sugar. The four main carbohydrate-containing food groups are starch, fruit, milk and yogurt, and other carbohydrate-containing foods. Each ADA serving of these foods contains 15g of carbohydrates, and for the most part, you should try to limit yourself to only one, or sometimes two, servings from each group at each meal.
Considerations
When selecting the carbohydrates for your ADA recommended diet, try to choose the ones with the most nutritional value. For example, instead of choosing white bread or flour tortillas, opt for the more nutritious whole wheat bread and corn tortillas. Fruits are an excellent source of fiber and antioxidants, but the processed fruits lose some nutritional value. Choose fresh fruits like blueberries, strawberries, and pomegranate instead of canned fruit or fruit juice. Dairy is important to help provide protein in the diet, but select the low fat or fat free dairy because those have lower amounts of saturated fat.
Breakfast Example
The ADA recommended diet always contains breakfast because this meal is essential to good blood sugar control. A breakfast with 60g of carbohydrate could include 1/2 cup of uncooked whole grain oatmeal prepared with water and artificial sweetener, 1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries with 1/2 oz. of almond slivers, one small container of light yogurt, and 1/2 cup of scrambled egg whites.
References
- "Diabetes Care"; Evidence-Based Nutrition Principles and Recommendations for the Treatment and Prevention of Diabetes and Related Complications; American Diabetes Association; January 2002
- MayoClinic.com: Prediabetes, Treatment and Drugs
- American Diabetes Association: Create Your Plate
- American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Forecast: Questioning Fat and Carbs
