People who have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes can lead a normal life and eat a normal, healthy diet. They do, however, need to do a little more planning than people without diabetes. Rather than making some foods entirely off limits, it is important for people with diabetes to maintain a consistent blood sugar by eating regularly scheduled, evenly proportioned meals with a balanced number of carbohydrates. Bread, including rye and pumpernickel, can be part of those meals.
Intake Planning
If you are diagnosed with diabetes, the American Dietetic Association recommends that you meet regularly with a dietitian to help you with meal planning, weight control and glucose and insulin control. The dietitian will help you determine the appropriate number of calories you need to maintain a healthy weight; you base your carbohydrate, protein and fat needs on that calorie number. Carbohydrates should be 45 percent to 65 percent of caloric intake, protein should be 15 percent to 20 percent and fat should be 15 percent to 25 percent of caloric intake.
Carbohydrate Counting
You should distribute carbohydrates evenly distributed among all of your meals. To calculate the total number of carbohydrates you can eat each day, multiply your caloric goals by 45 percent to 65 percent. For example, a 2,000-calorie diet would call for 900 to 1,300 calories from carbohydrates. Because each gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories, divide the number of calories from carbohydrates by 4. For a 2,000-calorie diet, you need between 225 and 325 g of carbohydrates.
Counting Rye and Pumpernickel Bread
Because rye and pumpernickel breads are considered a carbohydrate food, they are counted in the "starch" group of the diabetic exchange lists for meal planning. A serving of starch contains about 15 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of protein, 2 g of fiber and around 80 calories. Although slices differ in size, one slice of bread is usually equivalent to one serving of starch. As an alternative to the exchange lists, you can count the exact number of carbohydrate, protein and fat grams in each food. So 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates divided evenly among three meals and two snacks is 45 to 65 g of carbohydrate, or about 3 to 4 starch exchanges at each meal.
Benefits of Rye and Pumpernickel
The diabetic exchange lists are a guideline to help make meal planning easy, so foods are generalized into large groups with the same basic characteristics. The lists do not necessarily take into account that some foods are more beneficial than others. In particular, whole-grain carbohydrate sources elicit a lower glycemic response than refined grains such as white bread. A 1986 study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" compared the glycemic responses of various grains. Whole-grain rye bread had only 89 percent of the glycemic response of white bread. Whole grain pumpernickel had only 78 percent the response of white bread. Both rye and pumpernickel scored better than even whole-grain wheat bread, which had 96 percent the glycemic response of white bread. The lower glycemic load presented by rye and pumpernickel breads suggests that eating it in the place of white or wheat bread can support a better glucose balance in people with diabetes.
References
- "Nutrition and Diagnosis-Related Care: Sixth Edition"; Sylvia Escott-Stump; 2008
- University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; The Exchange List System for Diabetic Meal Planning; Rosemary Rodibaugh
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Low Glycemic Responses to Traditionally Processed Wheat and Rye Products: Bulgur and Pumpernickel Bread; David J.A. Jenkins, et al; April 1986
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; High-fiber Rye Bread and Insulin Secretion and Sensitivity in Postmenopausal Women; Katri Juntunen, et al.; February 2003
- "Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice"; Rye products in the diabetic diet*: Postprandial Glucose and Hormonal Responses in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetic Patients as Compared to Starch Availability in Vitro and Experiments in Rats; B. Hagander, et al.; April 1987
