Diabetes is a chronic illness characterized by elevated blood sugars. When left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to serious problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, blindness and nerve damage. Treatment usually involves diet changes, which can be very overwhelming for some people. There are easy-to-understand diabetic diets that can help you get good blood sugar control to keep you healthy.
Create Your Plate
Create Your Plate is a diabetic meal planning tool designed to help you control portion sizes for both blood sugar and weight control. Create Your Plate is very easy-to-understand and does not require any special food or tools. Instead, it uses your dinner plate as a guide for portion control. To begin, you divide your plate in half and then divide one half in half again to create three separate sections. Use these three sections as a guide for food amounts. Fill the largest section with low-calorie nonstarchy vegetables such as green beans or carrots. Fill one of the smaller sections with whole-grain starches such as corn, peas or whole wheat pasta. Fill the other small section with a portion of lean meat such as poultry or fish. Round out the meal by adding an 8 oz. glass of skim milk and a piece of fresh fruit.
Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid
The diabetes food guide pyramid is a familiar easy-to-understand visual food guide for people with diabetes based on the old U.S. Department of Agriculture's food guide pyramid. It divides foods up into groups based on similar nutrient contents. To control blood sugar and weight, you are allowed to eat a set number of servings from each food group based on your calorie needs. A doctor or dietitian can help you determine how many calories you need each day. In addition to acting as a simple food guide, the pyramid also helps you make healthier food choices by placing an emphasis on foods found at the bottom of the pyramid, including starches, fruits and milks, and limiting your intake of foods at the top of the pyramid including fats and sweets.
Carbohydrate Counting Diet
Carbohydrate containing foods cause blood sugars to rise. Instead of tracking all foods, the carbohydrate counting diet only tracks your carbohydrate intake to help control blood sugar. Foods containing carbohydrates include all starches, sweets, fruits, milk and yogurt. A doctor or dietitian can help you determine how many carbohydrate grams or servings you should have at each meal. Generally, people start at 45 to 60 g, or 3 to 4 servings, according to the American Diabetes Association. Standard food serving sizes and food labels can help you count and track your carbohydrate intake. Meats, fats and vegetables contain very little carbohydrates, and therefore do not need to be counted, but should be included in each meal for balance.
