Healthy eating is a big part of diabetes management, along with regular physical activity and sometimes prescribed medications. According to the Metabolism Society, diabetes can be defined as an intolerance to carbohydrates, whether it is due to a deficiency of insulin secretion by the pancreas in type 1 diabetes or a resistance to the action of insulin in type 2 diabetes. This is why your diabetes meal plan needs to include just the right amount of carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar levels within the target range of 70 to 130 mg/dL before eating and below 180 mg/dL two hours after a meal.
Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar Levels
Most Americans eat large amounts of carbohydrates at each meal, often totaling up to 300 to 400 g of carbohydrates a day. Carbohydrate is the principal nutrient responsible for raising your blood sugar levels after a meal, and diabetics are generally advised to limit their carbohydrate consumption to between 45 and 60 g per meal and between 15 and 30 g per snack. Every diabetic has a personal carbohydrate tolerance, but if your diet contains too much carbohydrate in comparison to what your body is able to deal with, the result will be high blood sugar levels and an increased risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
The Right Carbohydrate Intake
Although some diabetics may be able to tolerate more carbohydrates than others, all diabetics can benefit from a carbohydrate-restricted meal plan. A long-term 44-month follow-up Swedish study published in the May 2008 issue of "Nutrition & Metabolism" showed that obese diabetic patients following a low-carb plan, providing less than 20 percent of calories as carbohydrates, experienced significant improvements in their A1C levels, or overall blood sugar control, and a lower body weight. Twenty percent of your calories from carbohydrates would correspond to 80 to 100 g of carbohydrates a day based on a 1,600 to 2,000-calorie diet. Monitoring your blood sugar levels throughout the day and after the meal is the best indication of whether your carbohydrate intake matches your body's tolerance to carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate Foods
Grains, legumes, starchy vegetables, fruits, some dairy and sugar constitute the main sources of carbohydrates in the American diet. To keep your daily carbohydrate intake within 80 to 100 g per day, you will need to aim for around 25 to 35 g of carbohydrates per meal. Look at food labels or look up the carbohydrate content of different foods in a food composition table to track your daily carbohydrate intake. For example, each of the following servings provides about 15 g of carbohydrates: a small piece of fruit, a slice of bread, 1/3 cup of cooked pasta or rice, 1/2 of a medium sweet potato, 1/4 of a large baked potato, 1/2 cup beans, 2/3 cup of plain yogurt, 2 small cookies or 1 tablespoon jam or syrup. You can mix and match small servings of carbohydrate-containing foods in your diabetes meal plan, provided that you stay within the 25 to 35 g range.
Protein and Fats
Your meal plan should be completed with adequate amounts of protein and fat at each of your meals. Protein and fat will provide you with the energy you need and contribute to making you feel satiated without compromising your blood sugar levels and diabetes control. Good protein choices include eggs, cheese, fish, seafood, poultry, meat, tofu, nuts and nut butter. You can get healthy fats by adding olive oil, avocado, nuts and nut butter at each of your meals.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Carbohydrate Counting
- Joslin Diabetes Center: Carbohydrate Counting 101
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Case for Low Carbohydrate Diets in Diabetes Management; Surender K. Arora, et al.; July 2005
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Type 2 Diabetes: Stable Improvement of Bodyweight and Glycemic Control During 44 Months Follow-Up; Jörgen V. Nielsen, et al.; May 2008
- Metabolism Society: Diabetes
- American Diabetes Association: Tight Control
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