If you have diabetes, it is important to follow a specialized diet plan. Making healthy food choices can help you better manage your diabetes and help improve your overall health. A diet plan can help you regulate your blood sugar levels and, if needed, lose weight. Keep in mind that you should consult your physician before beginning any new diet plan.
Blood Glucose
Following a diabetes diet can help you regulate your blood sugar levels. The foods you eat have a vital impact on your blood sugar. Choosing the right foods can help you stabilize your blood sugar levels and better manage your diabetes. The healthiest foods for people with diabetes have low-glycemic indexes. Foods with a low glycemic index are less likely to cause blood sugar spikes. Many diabetes-friendly foods are high in fiber. Eating fiber-rich foods may also help stabilize your blood sugar levels and keep them within a healthy range. This is because fiber may slow down your body's absorption of sugars into your bloodstream.
Weight
Adhering to a diabetes diet can help you manage your weight as a typical diabetes diet requires that you practice portion control. Portion control is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, consuming excess calories by overeating is one of the leading causes of weight gain and obesity. If you have diabetes, controlling your weight may prove important to managing your condition. According to the American Diabetes Association, losing just 5 to 10 percent of your overall body weight may help lower your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. And since people with diabetes are at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, it is particularly important to control these figures.
Cholesterol
Because diabetes puts you at added risk of heart disease, you should take dietary measures to manage your cholesterol. MayoClinic.com recommends you include no more than 200 to 300 mg of cholesterol in your daily diet, no more than 16 g to 22 of saturated fat, no more than 2 g of trans fat and no more than 44 g to 78 g of total fat. Aim for the lower figures if you've already suffered a heart attack or stroke or if, in addition to diabetes, one or more of these risk factors applies to you: older than 50, male, smoke, overweight, high blood pressure or family history of heart disease.
Diet Basics
A healthy diabetes diet includes a combination of healthy carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In addition, it is important to eat properly portioned meals and snacks regularly throughout the day, in order to help stabilize your blood sugar levels. According to the American Diabetes Association, for breakfast, healthy starches should make up 1/2 of your meal, fruit should be 1/4 of your meal and protein should be 1/4 of your meal. For lunch and dinner, 1/2 of your meal should include non-starchy vegetables, 1/4 should come from starchy vegetables and the remaining 1/4 from protein. Diabetes superfoods include beans, dark-green leafy vegetables, berries, whole grain foods, salmon, tomatoes, and fat-free milk.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Glycemic Index and Diabetes
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Diabetes Superfoods
- MayoClinic.com: Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Dietary Fiber: Essential For A Healthy Diet, 2009
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Food and Portion Size
- MayoClinic.com: Obesity -- Causes, Oct. 9, 2010
- American Diabetes Association: Food and Fitness -- Setting Realistic Weight Loss Goals
