A diet for Type 2 diabetes, also called medical nutrition therapy, can help you maintain control over your blood sugar. This type of diet is less concerned with restricting certain foods or losing weight and more concerned with getting a healthy balance of different types of foods and lots of vital nutrients. Working with a doctor and dietitian to create a diabetic meal plan helps ensure that your diet will work to help control your diabetes mellitus.
Importance
If you have Type 2 diabetes, your body has trouble keeping blood glucose levels steady. The disease causes the body to not respond properly to insulin produced by the pancreas. If left uncontrolled, Type 2 diabetes can lead to hyperglycemia, a dangerous rise in blood sugar levels. Over time, uncontrolled diabetes may cause nerve damage, kidney failure and heart problems.
Goals
The main goal of a Type 2 diabetes diet is to control blood glucose levels on a day-to-day basis. A secondary goal may be to lose weight. Excess weight can worsen diabetes symptoms and increase the risk of complications. Even moderate weight loss of 10 lbs. can significantly improve Type 2 diabetes symptoms, notes MedlinePlus.
Specific Foods
Healthy foods that make up the core of a Type 2 diabetes diet include whole-grain carbohydrates, lean protein, vegetables, fruits and healthy monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats. Choosing good carbohydrates is especially important because carbs have a strong effect on blood sugar levels. It's a good idea to avoid saturated fats, trans fats and foods high in sugar or sodium.
Diet Plans
You can follow one of several diet plans for Type 2 diabetes. Some diabetics count carbohydrates, eating a specific amount every meal or every day. The exact allowance of carbohydrates is determined by a dietitian and based on your body composition and any insulin or diabetes medication you take.
An exchange diet plan uses food groupings to help you decide what to eat. In this type of diet plan, you are allowed a specific number of servings of specific food groups at each meal and choose your foods from a list.
A plan based on the glycemic index is another option. The glycemic index lists foods based on how much they raise blood sugar levels, so choosing foods with a low glycemic number can keep blood sugar levels low.
Considerations
For some people, dietary changes are enough to manage Type 2 diabetes, but others may need additional help. Increasing physical activity to 30 minutes or more per day can increase weight loss and also impact blood sugar levels directly. If diabetes is not controllable through lifestyle changes, you may have to get insulin injections or take diabetes medication.
