A low-carb diet can be a safe and effective way to improve your diabetes management and lose weight. This was demonstrated in a follow-up study with Type 2 diabetic participants following a low-carb diet for 44 months. Participants consumed 80 to 90 g a day -- considerably lower compared to a standard American diet -- which provides more than 300 to 400 g a day. Results were published in May 2008 in "Nutrition & Metabolism." If you follow a low-carb diet to better manage your diabetes, you will need to increase your fat intake to have enough energy and feel satiated throughout the day.
Olive Oil
Olive oil is a healthy fat to add to your diet. It contains 119 calories and 13.5 g of fat per tablespoon and is free of carbohydrates. Most of the fat in olive oil, or about 9.9 g per tablespoon, are monounsaturated, which promotes heart health by keeping your LDL cholesterol down. Use regular olive oil for cooking your meat or vegetables. Extra-virgin olive oil contains extra vitamin E and polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, which can be destroyed by heat so it is best to use it to prepare vinaigrettes or to drizzle over your vegetables.
Nuts and Nut Butter
Nuts are a great source of healthy unsaturated fats. If you choose raw or dry-roasted nuts and avoid sugar-coated ones, they have a very low carbohydrate content, but are rich in dietary fiber. A handful of nuts, whether it is almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pistachios or hazelnuts, make a healthy snack or are a great addition to a salad. Nut butters, such as peanut butter, almond butter or any other variety of nut butter, can be used to prepare sauces, dressings, to add flavor to cottage cheese or plain yogurt or to spread on a celery stick at snack time.
Avocado
Avocado is high in fat, but low in carbs. Half an avocado provides about 8.6 g of total carbohydrates, but 6.7 g of these carbohydrates are dietary fiber, which do not greatly influence your blood sugar levels. Adding slices of avocado to a salad or to the top of a steak will add healthy monounsaturated fats and help you staying within your carbohydrate budget. You can also prepare guacamole in which to dip vegetables or pieces of chicken or add avocado to a low-carb smoothie to increase its fat content and obtain a creamier consistency.
Protein-rich Foods
Sources of animal protein usually also provide significant amounts of fat. Animal fats tend to have a higher saturated fat content, but findings from a meta-analysis published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in January 2010 indicates that saturated fats may not be a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Your low-carb, high-fat diabetes meal plan should include animal sources of protein to add fat and protein to your meal without the unwanted carbs. Each of your meals should include a serving of protein from cheese, eggs, fish, seafood, meat or poultry.
References
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Type 2 Diabetes: Stable Improvement of Bodyweight and Glycemic Control During 44 Months Follow-Up; Jörgen V Nielsen and Eva A. Joensson; May 2008
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Case for Low Carbohydrate Diets in Diabetes Management; Surender K. Arora, et al.; July 2005
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Nutrient Data Laboratory
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat With Cardiovascular Disease; Patty W Siri-Tarino et al; January 2010
