Over 10 percent of women over age 20 have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, and most of them have Type 2 diabetes. Most women with Type 2 diabetes do not need insulin injections to control their blood sugar, but use diet, exercise and oral medication. When it comes to diet, you do not need to avoid certain food groups or eat special foods; instead, you should follow a balanced, healthy diet that includes a variety of foods from all of the food groups.
Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid
The diabetes food guide pyramid is a simple eating plan for diabetes that teaches you the basics of healthy eating. It is similar to the old U.S. Department of Agriculture's food guide pyramid and encourages you to eat more foods from the bottom of the pyramid, such as starches, fruits and vegetables, and fewer foods from the top of the pyramid, like fats and sweets. It is a calorie-controlled meal plan, and in addition to helping you achieve good blood sugar control, the diabetes food guide pyramid can also help you get to a healthy weight. A doctor or dietitian can help you determine your calorie needs for weight and blood sugar control.
Diabetes Exchange Diet
The diabetes exchange diet is a more structured diabetic meal planning tool that encourages a balanced portion-controlled diet to help with blood sugar control. It divides foods up into basic food groups, including starches, fruits, milk, meat and meat substitutes, non-starchy vegetables and fats, based on similarities in calorie, carbohydrate, protein and fat content. Based on your calorie needs, you are allowed to eat a certain number of servings, or exchanges, from each of the food groups each day. The exchange diet is a more personalized diet and can be adjusted to fit your specific nutrient needs. For example, women need more calcium for bone health and may need more servings of milk than recommended on the diabetes food guide pyramid plan. A doctor or dietitian can help you determine your calorie and exchange needs. When meal planning, the foods within each group can be exchanged for one another. For example, at lunch you can exchange 1 small piece of fresh fruit for 1/2 cup of unsweetened canned fruit.
Carbohydrate Counting Diet
The carbohydrate counting diet is the most flexible of the diets for diabetes. Carbohydrate containing foods, such as starch, milk and fruits, have the greatest affect on blood sugar. Instead of controlling food in each food group for blood sugar control, the carbohydrate counting diet only controls the foods that affect blood sugar. When meal planning, you can have a certain amount of carbohydrates at each meal depending on your calorie needs and blood sugar goals. A doctor or dietitian can help you determine your needs, but the American Diabetes Association says you can start at 45 to 60 g of carbohydrate at each meal. You can use basic serving sizes and food labels to help you calculate grams of carbohydrate consumed. Vegetables contain only small amounts of carbohydrate and do not need to be counted. Meats and fats do not contain any carbohydrate. For balanced meals, be sure to include a serving of vegetable, meat and fat when following the carbohydrate counting diet.
