If you're diabetic, you may find that meal planning is one of the most frustrating challenges you face on a daily basis. The lists of what to eat and what not to eat can seem so confusing, it becomes a struggle to figure out what to do. Fortunately, there are some ways to plan a diabetes-friendly diet that are easy to understand and simple to follow.
Definition
Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that wreak havoc with how your body uses blood sugar, also known as blood glucose. In all cases of diabetes, there will be too much glucose in your blood. Chronic diabetes includes two types, type 1, which is present from childhood, and type 2, which occurs later in life and is typically caused by environmental factors such as obesity. There are also other transient forms of diabetes, such as pre-diabetes and a gestational diabetes that some pregnant women have.
Significance
If your diabetes is left untreated or not treated properly, it can lead to a host of disabling and life-threatening complications such as cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage and blindness, foot damage with possible amputation, skin and mouth conditions and bone and joint problems. Part of an effective treatment plan is to consume a healthy diet.
Types of Diets
There are different ways to control diabetes through diet, but three of the easiest and most effective are the divided plate method, the low-glycemic method and the food advisor method. With a divided plate scenario, you imagine your dinner plate divided into three sections, one larger filled with non-starchy vegetables, and two smaller sections filled with starchy foods and protein. If you use the low-glycemic method, you'll choose foods from a low-glycemic index, which rates foods on a scale of 1 to 100 based on their level of carbohydrates and how fast they get into your bloodstream. The food advisor method is a plan developed by the American Diabetes Association that allows you to search through an index based on various nutrition criteria and calories in planning your meals.
Considerations
According to the National Institutes of Health, the target blood glucose range before meals is between 70 to 130, and less than 180 one to two hours after the start of a meal, called the two-hour postprandial blood sugar. Calorie-wise, you should aim for 1,200 to 1,600 a day if you're a small to medium-sized woman;1,600 to 2,000 if you're a large woman needing to lose weight or a small to medium-sized man; and 2,000 to 2,400 if you're a large man or for men or women who exercise a lot.
Warning
If your blood glucose levels are low, it can make you feel weak, confused, irritable and tired. If your levels dip below 70, you should immediately consume small quantities of juice, soda, or candy and check your levels again in 15 minutes.
