The Diabetes DTour Diet, sometimes referred to mistakenly as the Detour Diet, is a specialized diet for diabetics. The diet's purpose is to lower your blood sugar levels and fight belly fat through meal planning, lifestyle management and motivation. The Diabetes DTour Diet is based on four nutrients, or the "Fat-Fighting 4," which are incorporated into the diet program's meal options to help regulate sugar levels and burn off fat. Three of the four nutrients act as both fat burners and sugar level regulators.
Calcium
According to Barbara Quinn, author of the Diabetes DTour Diet and past president of the American Diabetes Association, calcium helps the body burn fat and controls calcitriol, a steroidal hormone that can promote fat production in the body. The DTour Diet stresses that your sources of calcium should be fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Food rich in calcium and low in fat include spinach, broccoli and white beans. The diet program offers meal options that include such calcium-rich foods to promote weight loss.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for helping your body absorb calcium and in reducing cell inflammation, which can result in raised sugar levels. Not getting enough vitamin D into your system can significantly raise the risk of diabetes, according to "Daily Nation." Whole grains and low-fat or skimmed milk are good sources of vitamin D, as well as certain cheeses and oily fish. The DTour Diet uses lowfat, vitamin D-rich foods in its meal and beverage options, further limiting calories to promote weight loss.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Fish, plant and nut oils are the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, and are the third of the "Fat-Fighting 4." Diabetics benefit from omega-3s in that they help lower triglycerides and apoproteins in your system, while raising HDL, the "good" type of cholesterol that promotes heart health. Omega-3s also have properties that slow down digestion rates, promoting weight loss. When your body experiences slow digestion rates, it signals satiety to the brain for longer periods of time, which can help you reduce the amount of food you consume throughout the day.
Fiber
Fiber is part of the DTour Diet because it promotes both goals of the program -- weight loss and diabetes control. First, certain hormones in the body are triggered by fiber and act as appetite suppressants, which promotes weight loss. Second, diabetics benefit from both soluble and insoluble fibers. The former slows down carbohydrate and sugar uptake in the intestines after it turns into a gel, while the latter moves through the intestines at a rate fast enough to limit the amount of carbohydrates the body can absorb. Both of these processes help regulate blood sugar levels.
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