What is Diet For Diabetes? Diet and physical activity are important parts of a healthy lifestyle when you have diabetes. Among other benefits, a healthy diet and active exercise can help you keep your blood sugar, also known as blood sugar, within your target range. To control your blood sugar, you need to balance what you eat and drink with physical activity and diabetes medications if you take them. What you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat are important to keep your blood sugar within the range recommended by your healthcare team.
Becoming more active and making changes to the way you eat and drink may seem like a challenge at first. You may find it easier to start with small changes and get help from your family, friends, and healthcare team. Eating well and being physically active most days of the week can help
- Keep your blood sugar
- Blood pressure and cholesterol levels within target ranges
- Lose weight or maintain a healthy weight
- Prevent or delay diabetes problems
- Feel good and have more energy
What does Diabetes Diet mean?
The diabetes diet is based on eating three meals a day at regular times. This helps you make better use of the insulin your body produces or receives from medications. A registered dietitian can help you design a diet based on your health goals, tastes, and lifestyle based. He or she can also talk to you about ways to improve your eating habits, such as Choosing portion sizes that suit your height and activity level.
Foods to be included
1. Healthy carbohydrates
During digestion, sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates) are broken down into blood sugar. Focus on healthy carbs like Fruit, Vegetables, Whole grains, Pulses like beans and peas Low-fat and dairy products, such as milk and cheese. Avoid less healthy carbohydrates, such as foods or drinks with added fats, sugar, and sodium. Avoid less healthy carbohydrates, such as foods or drinks with added fats, sugars, and sodium.
2. Fiber-rich foods
Dietary fiber includes any part of plant-based foods that your body cannot digest or absorb. Fiber moderates the way your body digests and helps control blood sugar levels. High-fiber foods include Vegetables, Fruit, Nuts, Pulses such as beans and peas, and whole grain products.
3. Heart-healthy fish
Eat heart-healthy fish at least twice a week. Fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which can help prevent heart disease. Avoid fried fish and fish high in mercury like mackerel. Avoid fried fish and fish high in mercury.
4. Good fats
Foods containing monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may help lower cholesterol levels. These include: Avocados, Nuts, Canola, olive, and peanut oils but don’t overdo it Don’t, because all fats are high in calories.
Foods to Avoid
Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke by accelerating the development of clogged and hardened arteries. Foods containing the following may go against your heart-healthy diet goal.
- Saturated fats. Avoid high-fat dairy and animal proteins like butter, beef, hot dogs, sausage, and bacon. Also, limit coconut and palm kernel oils.
- Trans fats. Avoid trans fats in processed snack foods, baked goods, shortening, and margarine.
- Cholesterol. Sources of cholesterol include high-fat dairy products and high-fat animal proteins, egg yolks, liver, and other offal. Aim for no more than 200 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol per day.
- Sodium. Aim to consume less than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Your doctor may suggest that you try to lower your blood pressure further if you have high blood pressure.
Diabetes Meal Planning
There are several approaches you can take to create a diabetic diet that will help keep your blood sugar within a normal range. With the help of a nutritionist, one or a combination of the following methods may work for you:
-
The Plate Method
Essentially, it focuses on eating more vegetables. Here’s how to prep your plate:
- Fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables like spinach, carrots, and tomatoes.
- Fill a quarter of your Plates with a protein like a tuna, lean pork, or chicken.
- Fill the last quarter with a whole grain like brown rice or a starchy vegetable like peas.
- Add “good” fats such as nuts or avocados in small amounts.
- Add a serving of fruit or dairy and a drink of water or unsweetened tea or coffee.
2. Counting carbohydrates
Because carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, they have the biggest impact on your blood sugar. In order to control your blood sugar, you may need to learn to gauge how many carbohydrates you’re eating so you can adjust your insulin dose accordingly. It’s important to keep track of the number of carbohydrates in each meal or snack.
Carb counting is a meal planning tool for people with diabetes who use insulin, but not every diabetic needs to count carbs. Your healthcare team can help you create a personal nutrition plan that best suits your needs. The amount of carbohydrates in food is measured in grams. To count the grams of carbohydrates you eat, you must
- learn which foods contain carbohydrates
- read the nutrition label or learn to count the number estimate grams of carbohydrates in the foods you eat
- add up the grams of carbohydrates from each food you eat to get the total for each meal and for the day
Most carbohydrates come from starches, fruits, milk, and sweets. Try to limit carbs with added sugars or with refined grains like white bread and white rice. Instead, eat carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low-fat or non-fat milk.
3. Glycemic index
The glycemic index can be a powerful tool for maintaining blood sugar levels. It’s used to measure how much certain foods raise blood sugar levels and classifies them as high, low, or moderate GI foods based on their glycemic index. If you use this method, stick to it foods with a low GI or moderate glycemic index whenever possible and limit your intake of high glycemic index foods.
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