Planning your meals can require a little bit more time and effort with diabetes, but it can make a big difference between controlled and uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels that are constantly elevated due to inadequate food choices, lack of exercise, overweight and obesity may result in the development of serious long-term complications, such as heart disease, renal failure, stroke, amputation and blindness. Choosing the right foods in the right amount can help you keep your blood sugar between 70 and 130 mg/dL before eating and below 180 mg/dL two hours after eating, which will help you stay healthy and complication-free.
Carbohydrates and Diabetes
With diabetes, carbohydrate is the most important nutrient to control because it is the one that influence your blood sugar levels directly and to the greatest extent. Carbohydrates are found in many foods such as grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, fruits, dairy products and sugar-containing foods. To keep your blood sugar levels within the desirable range, the American Diabetes Association recommends limiting your carb intake to between 45 and 60 g per meal, as a starting point. However, some people with diabetes benefit from further lowering their carbohydrate intake down to between 10 and 15 g of carbohydrate per meal, as explained in a review article in the July 2005 issue of "Nutrition & Metabolism."
Carbohydrate Counting
One of the best tool to plan your meals is to track your carbohydrate intake. Look at the food labels, get a food composition table or look up the nutrition facts online. Keeping general serving sizes in mind can help you estimate how much carbohydrate you are consuming. For example, there are 15 g of carbs in a slice of bread, 1/3 cup of cooked rice or pasta, 1/4 of a large baked potato, a small piece of fruit, half of a bun, 1/2 cup of beans, 2 small cookies, 2/3 cup of plain yogurt or 1 tbsp. of jam, sugar or syrup. Remember that non-starchy vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, fats and oils do not contain carbohydrates. For example, a turkey sandwich with mayo and a small apple contain 45 g of carbohydrates, which come from the bread and the apple.
Plate Method
A simpler way to keep your carbohydrate intake constant is to use the plate method. This method does not involve any counting and is great for newly diagnosed diabetics and when eating out. The plate method consists of filling half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, red bell pepper or tomatoes. One-quarter of your plate should be occupied by a source of protein, such as poultry, fish, seafood, meat or tofu and the remaining one-quarter could be a limited amount of carbohydrates. This method provides around 45 to 60 g of carbohydrates. If you wish to keep your carbohydrate intake lower, fill two-thirds of your plate with non-starchy vegetables and the remaining one-third with protein-rich foods, which would provide you with less than 10 g of carbohydrates for the whole meal.
Monitoring Your Diabetes
Whether you choose to count your carbohydrates or use the plate method, both tools are really helpful to keep your carbohydrate intake constant. However, you should also monitor your blood sugar levels regularly. By testing your blood sugars two hours after eating, it will allow you to determine whether the amount of carbs you include at your meals is appropriate for you or not. If your blood sugar levels stay below 180 mg/dL, you can continue with the same carb intake. However, if your blood sugar levels peak higher than 180 mg/dL, consider reducing your carb intake.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Carbohydrate Counting
- American Diabetes Association: Create Your Plate
- "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
- American Diabetes Association: Tight Diabetes Control
