Balanced Diet For Diabetics

When you are a diabetic, every choice you make about eating matters. Managing your diabetes means you must have control over your blood glucose at all times. Making the wrong choice can cause an unsafe rise or drop in your glucose. Chronic hyper- or hypoglycemia is unsafe and can lead to diabetes-related complications like neuropathy or heart disease. Planning your meals and understanding what you should eat is the first step in gaining control over your condition.

Carbohydrates

Being a diabetic means trying to manage and balance your carbohydrates. Carbohydrates directly affect your blood glucose, so they are an important part of a balanced diet. You should try to limit your intake of carbs to 15 g per meal. Carbohydrates come from three main sources of foods: starches, sugars and fiber. Starches include vegetables, legumes and grains. Sugars include those that occur naturally in foods like fruit and milk; they are also added to many packaged and processed foods -- even in foods you wouldn't think contain sugar like bread. Fiber is found only in plant-based foods and includes the portion of the plant that your body can break down but cannot absorb. Eating a diet high in fiber can actually improve your health by controlling your blood glucose and reducing your cholesterol levels. When you eat carbohydrates, the best thing to do is to stick with natural sources. Plants and fruits provide a number of vitamins and minerals tucked away into a low energy dense package that is usually reasonable in carb content and high in fiber. If you are going to eat a pre-packaged food always read the labels and be aware of how many carbs you are consuming at each sitting.

Fats

There are two main types of fats: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are the artery clogging fats that are unhealthy to eat in excess. Managing your fat intake by emphasizing unsaturated fats can actually help lower your cholesterol and improve your health. However, fats are high in calories, so you should be cautious about how much you are eating. Try to limit your intake of saturated fats to less than 7 percent of your total calories and total fat to 30 percent or less of your total calories. Choose your fats wisely; healthy unsaturated fats are found in vegetable and olive oils, nuts and seeds.

Fruits and Vegetables

As a diabetic, you should try to emphasize healthy foods in your daily meal plans. Choosing healthy foods can help not only your diabetes, but also your cardiovascular health. According to the American Diabetes Association, a diabetic should increase his intake of calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium and antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Fruits and vegetables are a good way to obtain these essential nutrients in your diet. Try to incorporate some heart-healthy foods, like leafy green vegetables, citrus fruit and tomatoes, in your meal plan everyday.

Sample Meal Plan

Planning what you are going to have breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks is a smart way for diabetics to eat. Not only can you save time and money by meal planning, you can also be sure you are eating a well-balanced diet that will keep your blood glucose under control. A typical meal plan might include a scrambled egg white with low fat cheese and half an English muffin topped with low fat peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch, you could have a green salad topped with 4 oz. of grilled chicken, low fat dressing and a small whole wheat roll. For dinner, you might have baked fish on top of 1 serving of whole grain brown rice with a side of steamed vegetables. As a snack, you may consider a small apple or pear or a low fat yogurt.