Having diabetes requires a focus on eating healthy and keeping your blood sugar within normal limits between 70 and 110 mm/dl, the American Diabetes Association reports. Exercise and weight loss remain important factors in maintaining your overall good health. Hospitals, in general, recommend different diets to control your diabetes, such as the 1,800-calorie American diabetic diet.
Medical Diets
In a hospital setting, the doctors recommend a diet to help control your blood sugar and keep it normal. Depending upon the severity of other health factors, such as heart and kidney disease, your diabetic diet in the hospital setting focuses on maintaining your overall good health.
Nutritionist
When in the hospital, your doctor provides you with a diet counselor, registered dietitian or nutritionist who assists in planning your meals. Your meals should focus on lowering carbohydrates in your diet and watching caloric intake. Lowering your intake of fats and salt also can help lower your blood sugar.
1,800-Calorie Diet
Hospital doctors and nutritionists regularly prescribe the 1,800-calorie American diabetic diet nationwide. Many doctors and nutritionists believe in the lowering of sucrose in your diet and cutting calories. This hospital diet approved by the American Diabetic Association provides easy guidelines for keeping your blood sugar within normal standards. One example of this type of dietary meal would include a baked potato, 1/2 cup of vegetables, a piece of fruit and 1 protein adding up to the 1,800 calories. The hospital would split the calories between three meals and snacks.
Diet Food Exchanges
Diabetic food exchanges are offered as a way to control diabetes in some hospital settings. With the diabetic food exchange diet, sugar is acceptable as long as you control the amounts. For example, you could exchange a part of a candy bar for a fruit at mealtime.
The Diabetic Diet
The standard diabetic hospital diet used for diabetes type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes, requires the use of a sliding scale insulin component, as well as following a no-concentrated-sweet diet in the hospital. This no-concentrated-sweet diet is offered to some patients as an alternative to other exchange diets and the 1,800 calorie hospital diet, the American Diabetes Association states. This kind of diet ranges between 1,500 and 1,700 calories and features normal, healthy foods. No sugared products are allowed including table sugar.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Diabetes; Sept. 17, 2010
- American Diabetes Association; Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes---2010; October 1, 2009
- DiabetesWellBeing.com: 1800 Calorie Diabetic Diet
- American Diabetes Association:Carbohydrate Counting: A Return to Basics
- MayoClinic.com; Diabetes Diet: Create Your Healthy-Eating Plan; Sept. 17, 2010
- My Food Pyramid: Steps to a Healthier You
