As a diabetic, your health care provider and dietitian may have a few goals concerning your fat intake. Fatty acids affect the metabolism of your blood sugar in part by influencing insulin signaling. Controlling your calories is important for weight management. Limiting your dietary fat to a certain extent can even reduce your risk of developing diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. In addition, the types of fat you consume is of concern as some types may increase your risk for heart disease and others may actually lower it.
The Myth of the Diabetic Diet
Up until the 1990s, diabetics were warned to eliminate certain foods, especially sugary foods, from their diets. Those strict warnings no longer hold true. Diabetics can enjoy most of the same foods as everyone else, within the guidelines offered by their health care providers and dietitians. A good part of those guidelines focuses on calorie content, equalizing carbohydrate intake throughout the day and eating the right amount and right kinds of fat.
Fat Intake Recommendations
In general, your total fat intake should make up roughly 30 percent of your calories, according to the 2008 Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for Diabetes position statement by the American Diabetes Association. This is within the same range of 20 to 35 percent given to the general public. Although too much fat can drive insulin resistance, fat is still an important nutrient that plays an important role in your body. In addition, dietary fat is associated with a lower glycemic response and lower fasting insulin, as indicated by an October 2006 study published in the "Journal of Nutrition."
Weight Control and Fat
Fat contains 9 calories per gram, making foods with lots of fat high in total calories. For this reason, lowering fat intake is often a proxy by which you can lower your calorie intake and control your weight. By losing weight, a person with diabetes can improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, as well as control risks for heart disease. According to the American Diabetes Association, lowering the fat content in your diet alone isn't enough. You must also lower your total calories and get exercise regularly, in addition to seeing your health care provider as needed.
Unhealthy Fats
You do need to monitor your intake of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol. Saturated fat from your diet is linked with high LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, which can lead to the development of heart disease. No more than 7 percent of your fat calories should come from saturated fat sources, which include foods like full-fat dairy such as cheese and ice cream, high-fat meats like bacon, ribs and franks, skin from poultry, butter and lard. Trans fat is even worse for heart health because it increases bad cholesterol levels and lowers the good. You'll find trans fats in processed foods listed as a "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oil. Stick margarines, shortening and fast food items like French fries also contain trans fat. You have no nutritional need for trans fat; the American Diabetes Association advises you to avoid it as much as possible. Although it doesn't have as direct an effect as dietary saturated fat, your cholesterol intake can influence your blood cholesterol. You should consume less than 200 mg daily. However, if you have heart disease or multiple risk factors for heart disease, your doctor may recommend even lower fat and cholesterol intakes.
Healthy Fat
You should begin replacing some of the saturated and trans fats in your current diet with more foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, and this includes omega-3 fatty acids. Monounsaturated fats like avocados, nuts, olive and canola oils, peanut butter and sesame seeds help lower your bad cholesterol, as well as benefit your insulin levels and blood sugar control. Polyunsaturated fats like corn and safflower oils, walnuts and pumpkin seeds also improves your cholesterol profile and may even lower your risk of developing diabetes in the first place. Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated found in fish like albacore tuna, sardines, herring, salmon, soybean foods, flaxseed and walnuts. MayoClinic.com states that omega-3s can help lower your risk of coronary artery disease and heartbeat irregularities, as well as helping to lower your blood pressure.
References
- "Progress in Lipid Research"; Dietary fats and prevention of type 2 diabetes; Ulf Risérus et al.; January 2009
- "Diabetes Care"; Nutrition Recommendations and Interventions for Diabetes: A position statement of the American Diabetes Association; January 2008
- Joslin Diabetes Center: The Truth about the So-Called "Diabetes Diet"
- Colorado State University Extension; Diet and Diabetes; J. Anderson et al.; 2010
- "Journal of Nutrition"; The Effects of Fat and Protein on Glycemic Responses in Nondiabetic Humans Vary with Waist Circumference, Fasting Plasma Insulin, and Dietary Fiber Intake; Elham Moghaddam et al.; October 2006
- American Diabetes Association: Fat and Diabetes
