Diabetes effects more than 25 million Americans and contributed to more than 230,000 deaths in 2007. It occurs when your body is unable to produce or use insulin to deliver glucose to cells. Too much blood glucose can lead to amputation, heart disease and stroke, kidney failure and death. In many cases, diet alone can manage and even treat diabetes. While diabetes requires that you monitor what you eat, there are a variety of meal options available. Through weekly planning, you can eat well without repeating a single meal.
Carbohydrates and Diabetes
The body uses carbohydrates to create glucose used to fuel the body. However, in people with diabetes, the glucose remains in the blood. As a result, they need to monitor the amount of carbs they eat. The American Diabetes Association recommends that you consume 45 g to 60 g of carbs a day, but your doctor will suggest an amount best for your situation. As you plan your meals for the week, read labels and use a list of carbohydrate counts for the food you eat so you can keep within your daily carb allowance.
Healthy Carbs
Carbs have a bad reputation, but in fact, they are healthy, even for diabetics. Amy Campbell, a nutritionist at Joslin Diabetes Center, says that people with diabetes can eat anything they want, as long as they use their carb allowance wisely.
Carbs come in three forms. Starches and sugar are converted to glucose for energy, and need to be monitored in diabetics. Fiber is important for digestive and colon health. Carbs are found in nearly every food group; fruits and vegetables, cereals and grains, legumes and dairy. Carbs can be unhealthy when they are simple sugars as found in refined foods such as cookies and crackers. As you plan for the week, choose the healthy options, as they are high in nutrients and fiber.
Protein
At one time, diabetes professionals believed protein also elevated blood glucose. Recent studies suggest the opposite is true. Because diabetes increases the risk of heart disease, choose low-fat protein food sources such as poultry, seafood, tofu, eggs and non-fat or low-fat dairy. While beef is high in protein, it is also high in saturated fats, which is unhealthy for the heart. If you want to have beef, choose the leanest cuts and limit your meat dishes to one per week.
Meal Design
The American Heart Association makes recommendations for how much of each type of food you should consume at a meal. For breakfast, it suggests that half your meal be a starch such as whole-grain toast or oatmeal. The other half is divided equally between a fruit and protein. It recommends that non-starchy vegetables such as lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cucumber and green peppers take up half your plate for lunch and dinner. The other half is divided equally between a starch and protein. You can include a glass of low-fat milk or other small carb exchange.
Meal Planning
Create a list of foods in each food category -- starches, vegetables, fruit and protein -- from which you can mix and match to make meals over the next seven days. For example, you can have a fruit protein shake with a slice of whole-grain toast one morning, an egg and low-fat cheese sandwich the next morning and oatmeal with fruit the following day. For lunch you can have a sandwich or salad using any combination of allowed vegetables, lean meats and low-fat cheese, with a whole grain roll and a piece of fruit. At dinner, you can eat a traditional dinner of chicken, salad or vegetables and a potato. Or, use the ingredients in a stir fry or in fajitas with whole grain rice or tortillas.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Statistics
- American Diabetes Association: Diabetes Basics
- Joslin Diabetes Center: The Truth About the So-Called "Diabetes Diet"
- Mayoclinic.com: Diabetes Diet: Creating Your Healthy-Eating Plan
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; An Increase in Dietary Protein Improves the Blood Glucose Response in Persons with Type 2 Diabetes; M.C. Gannon, F. Q. Nuttall, A. Saeed, K, Jordan, H. Hoover; October 2003
- American Diabetes Association: Create Your Plate
