Diabetes is growing at alarming rates in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. To manage their condition, diabetics need to eat a nutritious diet while keeping portion sizes in check. Diabetics must concern themselves with carbohydrates, but they must particularly monitor fatty food intake, as this can affect their insulin and blood sugar levels in the most detrimental ways. Because of their higher risk for heart disease, diabetics need to reduce the amount of certain fats they eat. The good news is that some fats offer protection from heart-related complications, and diabetics can and should eat more of those.
Diabetes in the United States
Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. It's also a major cause of new cases of blindness, amputations and kidney failures. Close to 19 million people have a diabetes diagnosis, but about seven million have the disease and don't yet know. Public health officials call diabetes a national epidemic, and the CDC estimates that at current trends, one in every three American adults will have diabetes by 2050.
Diabetes Eating Regimen
What's healthy for most people is also healthy for people who have diabetes. If you have diabetes, however, you need to control your carbohydrate intake by keeping levels consistent at each meal. This is to keep your blood sugar levels stable. Fats also need to be controlled because they have an effect on your cholesterol level. Too, says Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center, "eating a fatty meal can slow down digestion and make it harder for your insulin to work, causing a possible high blood glucose level hours after your meal." However, there are important distinctions in the kinds of fats you need to avoid as a diabetic and the kinds you want to eat more for their protective effects.
Heart Disease Risk Control
Diabetics have a higher risk of heart-related complications than people without diabetes. Unhealthy fats, like saturated and trans fats, can increase the level of LDL, or bad, cholesterol in your blood. LDL cholesterol, in turn, can build and cause blockages in your arteries, increasing your risk for a heart attack. The American Diabetes Association points to foods like high-fat dairy, high-fat meats, lard, butter, fatback, creamy sauces and gravies, chocolate, palm and coconut oil and skin from poultry as examples of foods diabetics should reduce because of their saturated fat content. Along with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the association says that because of their multiple risk factors for heart disease, diabetics should keep their saturated fat consumption below 7 percent of their total calories each day. Remember, 1 g of fat contains 9 calories. For most adults, the association says, this translates roughly to 15 mg of saturated fat daily. Consult your health care provider and dietitian for your specific intake requirements.
Don't Eliminate All Fats
Diabetics should increase their consumption of some fats, namely mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Harvard's Joslin Diabetes Center says monounsaturated fats can help lower your level of LDL cholesterol. A study in the December 2003 "Diabetes Care" journal noted that eating low levels of healthy fats in relation to saturated fat strongly predicted future cardiovascular disease events in men. A January 2009 study reported in "Progress in Lipid Research" suggested that complete replacement of saturated and trans fats with mono- and polyunsaturated fats might even prevent diabetes. Foods with high monounsaturated fat include canola, peanut and olive oils, avocados, olives and nuts. Polyunsaturated fats increase good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. Look to safflower, cottonseed, corn, flaxseed, sunflower, grape seed, walnut and soybean oils for good sources of these fats. In addition, you've probably been hearing more about omega-3s recently. They are essential fatty acids that Joslin says are good for diabetics because they protect the walls of your blood vessels and reduce inflammation, factors that can protect you from heart disease. A good source of omega-3s is found in fatty fish like tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and halibut. The center recommends you eat such fish two to three times per week.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Fat and Diabetes
- Joslin Diabetes Center: Identifying and Integrating Healthy Fats into Your Diet
- Joslin Diabetes Center: 5 Common Myths for People with Diabetes Debunked
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: What I Need to Know about Eating and Diabetes
- "Progress in Lipid Research"; Dietary Fats and the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes; Ulf Risérus, et al.; January 2009
- "Diabetes Care"; Dietary Fat Predicts Coronary Heart Disease Events in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes; Minna Soinio, et al.; March 2003
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