People with diabetes have elevated blood sugar levels resulting from an inability to make enough or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone responsible for getting sugar from the bloodstream into the cell. Treatment for diabetes involves diet, exercise and medication. A good diabetes diet plan should be easy for you to follow and include a variety of healthy foods you enjoy eating.
Carbohydrate Counting Diet
Foods with carbohydrate, including starches, fruits, milk and yogurt, increase blood sugar. The carbohydrate counting diet teaches you how to manage your blood sugar by controlling the amount of carbohydrate in your diet. On the diet, you are allowed to eat a certain number of grams of carbohydrate at each meal depending on your calorie and blood sugar needs. Typically, people start at 45 to 60 g per meal, according to the American Diabetes Association. To be successful at carbohydrate counting, it is important to have a good understanding of standard serving sizes of the carbohydrate-containing foods and to be able to read food labels. Vegetables also act as a source of carbohydrate in the diet, but the amount is small and not usually counted towards your total meal intake. Meats and fats do not contain carbohydrate but should be included with each meal for balance.
Diabetes Exchange Diet
The diabetes exchange diet is a calorie-controlled, low-fat diabetes diet plan. It is a more structured meal plan than the carbohydrate counting diet. It works by controlling not only carbohydrate intake but fat and protein as well. Foods on the diabetes exchange diet are divided up into groups based on similar nutrient compositions. A doctor or dietitian helps you determine how many servings, or exchanges, of food you can eat from each food group each day based on your calorie needs and blood sugar goals. When meal planning, you can exchange food items within groups. For example, a small apple can be exchanged for a 4 oz. banana or a 1/2 cup serving of unsweetened canned fruit.
Create Your Plate
"Create Your Plate" is a good diabetic diet plan because it teaches you how to control portions and make healthy food choices without having to measure or count. It is a simple plan anyone can follow. The Create Your Plate diabetes diet plan divides your dinner plate into three sections to help you control your intake. To start, divide your plate in half, and then divide one half in half again. For calorie control, the largest section of your plate is reserved for non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. The other two sections are for your lean protein, such as chicken or fish, and high-fiber starch, such as sweet potatoes or brown rice. Add a tossed salad and a cup of skim milk or a container of nonfat, sugar-free yogurt to complete your meal.
