Home Add to Favorite Contact Submit  
             29 March, 2024
 

    
Category:  Articles » Health & Fitness » Diabetes

 

The Diabetes Diet

Popularity:
         Views: 1434
2006-07-31 21:00:16     
Article by abc

Although a "miracle" diabetes diet does not exist to cure the disease, if you have type 2 diabetes, there are dietary rules you can follow that will ensure you stay as healthy as possible. When it comes right down to it, proper nutrition is the only “diet” you need to follow. Many people are inexperienced with following a healthy diet, but once you get into the swing of things, eating properly will become part of your lifestyle.

To start off, it’s best to follow the nutrition guidelines in the Food Pyramid, with special attention to carbohydrate intake. Also, diabetics should maintain a regular meal schedule and exercise portion control.

Starches are allowed in a diabetes diet, as long as you control portions and don’t consume too much starchy food. Starches are present in bread, cereal, and starchy vegetables.

Consume five fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. This can easily be accomplished by eating a piece of fruit for a snack several times a day, or by eating vegetables with dinner. Soups, stir-fries, and chili make good hiding places for veggies if you need clever ways to add more good stuff into your meals.

You can still eat sugars and sweets (perhaps surprisingly) with type 2 diabetes, but do so in moderation, which means once or twice a week maximum. One way to eat fewer sweets without neglecting your sweet tooth is to split a dessert in half.

Especially beneficial for diabetics are soluble fibers, so you need to get as many as these into your diet as possible. Luckily, you can find soluble fibers in many foods, including fruits, vegetables, and seeds. Soluble fibers are excellent because they aid in slowing down and reducing the absorption of glucose from the intestines. Legumes (such as cooked kidney beans) have the highest amount of soluble fibers, and also keep blood sugar levels in check. Insoluble fibers, found in bran, whole grains and nuts, are also part of a healthy diet because they work like intestinal scrubbers, by cleaning out the lower gastrointestinal tract.

For many people, contacting a dietician is the best way to put together a good diabetes diet. Everyone is different, so keeping in contact with your physician and nutrition consultant will ensure your diet plan is the optimum one for you. A professional will take into account your lifestyle, medication, weight, other medical issues, and your favorite foods to come up with a plan that will keep you healthy and satisfy your cravings for particular flavors.

A Healthy Weight – and Lifestyle

If you have type 2 diabetes, it’s also very important to maintain a healthy weight . With type 2 diabetes, added body fat actually makes it more difficult for your body to produce and use insulin. Trimming down as little as 10 or 20 pounds has the potential to improve your blood sugar significantly.

Smokers are advised to quit as soon as possible, as smoking can aggravate diabetes and make it more difficult to cope with the disease. Because diabetics often experience circulation problems in the legs and feet, smoking is a dangerous habit to continue - it decreases blood flow even more. Smoking also increases LDL cholesterol and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.

If you keep your blood sugar under control, moderate alcohol consumption is allowed, but avoid drinking on an empty stomach, as this can lead to low blood sugar. To learn how much alcohol you can safely include in your diet, consult your doctor.

Fat and Carbs

You can control the amount of carbs you consume by practicing carbohydrate counting. This involves keeping track of the total number of grams of carbs you need to eat at meals or snacks, depending on your medication and exercise. Usually this method involves the use of a carbohydrate counting book, which you can purchase at a supermarket or bookstore.

Those with type 2 diabetes are at a higher risk for heart problems, so most physicians make a recommendation to limit fat below 30% of your total daily caloric intake – this tends to be done by eating less fat overall and staying away from saturated fat. You should also pay attention to cholesterol levels by eating smaller amounts of meat, and sticking to lean meats, such as poultry and fish.

It will take some time to adjust to your new diabetes diet and healthy lifestyle, especially if you haven’t followed healthy living practices in the past, but the results will be worth the effort. Not only will you be able to better manage your diabetes, but you will also become a much healthier person.

Print article      Bookmark this page
Related Articles 
Diabetes Exercises (Popularity: ): How does exercise help diabetes?Exercise is a great way to help control weight and it also lowers the blood sugar level. It also lowers a person's risk of heart disease - a condition that is very common in people who have diabetes. Exercise can also help you feel better about yourself and increase your overall health.What kind of exercises to be done?There are no specific exercises for one to do. ...
Is Hypoglycemia Just Diabeties In Reverse? (Popularity: ): Hypoglycemia is a medical term referring to a pathologic state produced by a lower than normal amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The term hypoglycemia literally means "low blood sugar".Hypoglycemia can produce a variety of symptoms and effects but the principal problems arise from an inadequate supply of glucose as fuel to the brain, resulting in impairment of function. Derangements of function can range from vaguely "feeling bad" to ...
Psychological Strategies to Overcome Diabetes Depression (Popularity: ): 1. Take Notice of Your ThoughtsBecoming aware of your thinking styles and the thoughts that you regularly have are an important part of managing the frustrations caused by living with diabetes. Start to become more mindful of the thoughts you are having before, during and after you notice yourself feeling dissatisfaction or stress. Thoughts can be very fleeting and learning to notice them rather than respond to them automatically is ...
Eli Lilly Suppressed Information That Its Drug Zyprexa Was Linked To Obesity And Diabetes (Popularity: ): Drug companies will never learn their lesson. The front page of today's New York Times( Sun., December17th, 2006) disclosed that Eli Lilly suppressed information that its drug Zyprexa was linked to obesity and diabetes.Apparently, Eli Lilly kept important information from doctors about its drug Zyprexa causing weight gain, links to obesity and risk factors for diabetes. Consumers need to learn the lesson of "Follow the Money". Zyprexa is by far ...
Eli Lilly Suppressed Information That Its Drug Zyprexa Was Linked To Obesity And Diabetes (Popularity: ): Drug companies will never learn their lesson. The front page of today's New York Times( Sun., December17th, 2006) disclosed that Eli Lilly suppressed information that its drug Zyprexa was linked to obesity and diabetes.Apparently, Eli Lilly kept important information from doctors about its drug Zyprexa causing weight gain, links to obesity and risk factors for diabetes. Consumers need to learn the lesson of "Follow the Money". Zyprexa is by far ...


Related Business 
Diabetic Supplies Online (Popularity: ): TypeFreeDiabetes.com is the premier source for your diabetic needs on-line. At TypeFreeDiabetes.com, you can enjoy a balanced diabetic lifestyle by learning about - how to control blood sugar, lower body fat, diet to prevent diabetes, reduce diabetes medications and reverse diabetes complications.
Diabetic Supplies Onlin (Popularity: ): TypeFreeDiabetes.com is the premier source for your diabetic needs on-line. At TypeFreeDiabetes.com, you can enjoy a balanced diabetic lifestyle by learning about - how to control blood sugar, lower body fat, diet to prevent diabetes, reduce diabetes medications and reverse diabetes complications.
Diabetes Management (Popularity: ): BrightSky Portal is a total diabetes solution provider for diabetes supplies, diabetes care, diabetes health management services, it is a comprehensive, integrated, patient-centered diabetes management that will remove frustration from diabetes care.
Low GI Diet Breakthrough (Popularity: ): A blog that highlights why the Low GI Diet is the ultimate solution to losing weight and controlling diabetes.
The Diet Detective (Popularity: ): Contains several nutrition related links including information about diabetes, cardiac, sports nutrition, recipes, and diet supplementation.
Manage Type 2 Diabetes (Popularity: ): GLUMETZA is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. For full boxed warning and safety information please visit the official site.
Information About Diabetes (Popularity: ): Information on diabetes, diabetic medication and diet
Diabetic Information (Popularity: ): Diabetic? What is Diabetes Mellitus? What are diabetic symptoms? How can I treat my Diabetes? Diabetic diet tips, sample diabetic menu.
Website For Teen Diabetes (Popularity: ): Written by someone with teen diabetes, for people with teen diabetes. A lot of you teens out there are sharing the same problem. Some of you have friends who might have just been diagnosed with type 1 juvenile diabetes, also known as Juvenile diabetes or teen diabetes.
Diet Advice UK (Popularity: ): UK focused diet website detailing the popular diet plans and diet tablets for UK consumers. Diet plans such as the Tesco Diet compared to WeightWatchers as well as comparions of herbal diet