Abbott Nutritionals developed the Glucerna diet, which incorporates Glucerna products as part of your daily diet to manage diabetes. Glucerna products and plans are designed specifically for individuals with diabetes. Whether or not you have diabetes, you should consult with your doctor before starting any new diet to make sure that it is that best choice for you.
Diabetes is a chronic condition which occurs when your body is unable to properly control blood sugar levels, and following the Glucerna diet may promote more stable blood sugar levels. The carbohydrates in Glucerna products are low-glycemic carbohydrates, which are less likely to spike your blood sugar. Another important part of the Glucerna diet is to choose the proper calorie level for your individual needs because maintaining or achieving a healthy weight can help you manage your diabetes.
Products
Each meal or snack on the Glucerna diet includes a serving of a Glucerna product. Cereals come in flakes with almonds, raisins or strawberries, and they contain whole grains. Glucerna meal bars are 2 oz. each, and they come in chocolate peanut and chocolate chunk. Examples of Glucerna snack and mini-snack bars are cinnamon bun, oatmeal raisin and caramel nut. Glucerna shakes come in chocolate, vanilla, butter pecan and strawberry, and the smaller snack shakes come in chocolate and vanilla.
Glucerna Nutrition
Glucerna mini-snack bars have 80 calories, snack bars and snack shakes have 140 to 150 calories and shakes and meal bars have 200 to 220 calories each. Cereal has about 110 calories per serving. Fortified Glucerna products contain folic acid, vitamin B-12 and other B vitamin, antioxidant vitamins C and E, iron, calcium and other vitamins and minerals to help you meet your daily requirements. The diet is low in cholesterol-raising saturated fat, and high in cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber.
Sample Day
A sample day on the Glucerna diet might start with a breakfast of whole-wheat toast, reduced-fat margarine and a yogurt parfait with fat-free yogurt, granola, pecans and dried cherries. Your snack would consist of a Glucerna snack shake and a small banana, and lunch would include whole-wheat crackers and a salad with lettuce, low-fat cheese, ham, light dressing and croutons. The afternoon snack would be milk and peanut butter on an English muffin half, and grilled shrimp teriyaki would be your dinner. In the evening, have a Glucerna mini-snack bar along with tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole.
