Diabetes and Nutrition

When people think of diabetes, they usually think of that old rule against eating sweets. But today’s dietary guidelines have no forbidden foods and make controlling your blood sugar much easier. The guidelines are:

• Eat a variety of healthy foods.
• Eat smaller amounts of protein foods and fewer high fat foods. |
• Balance the carbohydrates you eat with insulin.
• Exercise
• Eating the appropriate amounts of healthy food will keep your weight under control and help manage your diabetes. Your body needs foods from the four main food groups every day:
• Fruits and vegetables (oranges, apples, bananas, carrots, and spinach)
• Whole grains, cereals, and bread (wheat, rice, oats, bran, and barley)
• Dairy products (whole or skim milk, cream, and yogurt)
• Meats, fish, poultry, eggs, dried beans, and nuts.

Reducing Protein and Fat in Foods

Protein and fat do not raise blood sugar levels as high or as quickly as carbohydrates do. Furthermore, when protein and fat are eaten at the same time as carbohydrates, blood sugar may not rise as quickly. But most people consume more protein and fat than they actually need for good health.

Foods high in protein include:

• Meat;
• cheese;
• nuts;
• eggs.

Foods that are high in fat include:

• red meat;
• dairy products (whole milk, cream, cheese and ice cream);
• egg yolks;
• butter;
• salad dressings;
• vegetable oils;
• many desserts.

Too many servings of foods high in fat can increase risk of heart disease and cancer, and can cause weight gain. You should limit your intake of foods such as cream sauce, gravy, butter and regular stick margarine, salad dressing, and fried foods.

The key is to replace fat with other ingredients, like herbs and spices, or try to use healthy fats and consume no more than the daily-recommended amounts.

Note: This page contains information that may be helpful for people with diabetes when making certain food choices. Always ask your doctor or dietitian when creating a food plan that is right for you.

Diabetes & Healthy Eating

Eating healthy is the key to managing your diabetes. The Diabetes Food Guide can help you figure out how many servings of grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, protein, and fats you should eat each day. Make sure you limit alcohol. The number of servings you need depends on how many calories are right for you. This is based on your age, sex, size, and activity level.

Grains, beans, and starchy vegetables

Daily servings: About six a day

• Choose whole grains, such as whole wheat or rye bread, brown or bulgur rice, that are high in fiber.
• Choose beans as a good source of fiber.
• Eat low-fat breads, such as bagels, English muffins, pita bread, and corn tortillas.
• For snacks, try pretzels or low-fat crackers.

Vegetables

Daily servings: Three to five

• Include vegetables are low in fat and provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Choose fresh or frozen vegetables without added sauce, fat, or salt.
• Choose more dark green and deep yellow vegetables, like spinach, broccoli, romaine, carrots, chilies, and peppers.

Fruits

Daily servings: Two to four

• Include fruits and fruit juices are low in fat and provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
• Choose whole fruits more often than juices for the fiber.
• Choose citrus fruits, like oranges, grapefruits, or tangerines.
• Choose juices without added sweeteners.

Milk

Daily servings: Two to three

• Choose low-fat or nonfat milk, or yogurt.
• Yogurt has natural sugar. It may also have added sugar or sugar substitutes. Choose the yogurt with sugar substitutes. It has fewer calories.
• Choose low-fat or nonfat milk, and yogurt. These are good sources of calcium.

Meat and other protein

Daily servings: Two to three

• Include poultry, fish, dry beans, meat, eggs, cheese, and nuts are sources of protein.
• Choose fish and skinless poultry more often.
• Broil, bake, or roast, instead of frying.
• Select lean meats and trim off fat.

Fats, sweets, and alcohol

Eat sparingly

• Includes fats and oils, sweets, and alcohol. Fats and oils include salad dressings, cream, butter, or margarine. Sweets include sugars, soft drinks, candies, and sweet desserts. Alcohol includes wine, beer, and liquor.
• Choose sweets less often because they are high in fat and sugar.
• If you choose alcohol, drink it with a meal. Also, ask your doctor about a safe amount for you.
• Eat less saturated (solid) fats, such as butter and cheese.

Making Healthy Food Choices

Knowing what to eat can be confusing. Everywhere you turn, there is news about what is or isn’t good for you. Some basic principles have weathered the fad diets, and have stood the test of time. Here are a few tips on making healthful food choices for you and your entire family.

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from the rainbow of colors available to maximize variety. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products. Try brown rice with your stir fry or whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite pasta sauce.
• Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans) and lentils into your meals.
• Include fish in your meals 2-3 times a week.
• Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that end in "loin" such as pork loin and sirloin. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
• Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
• Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened drinks.
• Choose liquid oils for cooking instead of solid fats that can be high in saturated and trans fats. Remember that fats are high in calories. If you’re trying to lose weight, watch your portion sizes of added fats.
• Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
• Eating too much of even healthful foods can lead to weight gain. Watch your portion sizes.

How To Read Food Label

The food label offers complete, useful and accurate nutrition information to consumers. With food labels, you get the following information:

• nutrition information about almost every food in the grocery store;
• distinctive, easy-to-read formats that enable consumers to more quickly find the information they need to make healthful food choices;
• information on the amount per serving of saturated fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, and other nutrients of major health concern;
• nutrient reference values, expressed as % Daily Values, that help consumers see how a food fits into an overall daily diet;
• uniform definitions for terms that describe a food’s nutrient content–such as "light," "low-fat," and "high-fiber"–to ensure that such terms mean the same for any product on which they appear;
• claims about the relationship between a nutrient or food and a disease or health-related condition, such as calcium and osteoporosis, and fat and cancer. These are helpful for people who are concerned about eating foods that may help keep them healthier longer;
• standardized serving sizes that make nutritional comparisons of similar products easier;
• declaration of total percentage of juice in juice drinks. This enables consumers to know exactly how much juice is in a product.

Begin with the Nutrition Facts panel, usually on the side or back of the package. The Nutrition Facts panel has two parts: The main or top section, which contains product-specific information (serving size, calories, and nutrient information) that varies with each food product; and the bottom part, which contains a footnote. This footnote is only on larger packages and provides general dietary information about important nutrients.

Several features of the Nutrition Panel help people with diabetes manage their diets. First of all, serving sizes now are more uniform among similar products and reflect the amounts people actually eat. The similarity makes it easier to compare the nutritional qualities of related foods. People who use the Exchange Lists should be aware that the serving size on the label may not be the same as that in the Exchange Lists. For example, the label serving size for orange juice is 8 fluid ounces (240 milliliters). In the exchange lists, the serving size is 4 ounces (one-half cup) or 120 mL. So, a person who drinks one cup of orange juice has used two fruit exchanges.

The label also gives grams of total carbohydrate, protein and fat, which can be used for carbohydrate counting. The values listed for total carbohydrates include all carbohydrates, including dietary fiber and sugars listed below it. Not singled out is complex carbohydrates, such as starches. The sugars include naturally present sugars, such as lactose in milk and fructose in fruits, and those added to the food, such as table sugar, corn syrup, and dextrose.

The listing of grams of protein also is helpful for those restricting their protein intake, either to reduce their risk of kidney disease or to manage the kidney disease they have developed.

Elsewhere on the label, consumers may find claims about the food’s nutritional benefits. These claims signal that the food contains desirable levels of certain nutrients. Some claims, such as "low fat," "no saturated fat," and "high fiber," describe nutrient levels. Some of these are particularly interesting to people with diabetes because they highlight foods containing nutrients at beneficial levels.

Other claims, called health claims, show a relationship between a nutrient or food and a disease or health condition. FDA has authorized a number of claims, which are based on significant scientific agreement. Three claims that relate to heart disease are of particular interest to people with diabetes:

• A diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
• A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and grain products that contain fiber, particularly soluble fiber, and are low in saturated fat and cholesterol may help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
• Soluble fiber from whole oats, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Nutrient and health claims can be used only under certain circumstances, such as when the food contains appropriate levels of the stated nutrients.

Making Healthy Food Choices

Knowing what to eat can be confusing. Everywhere you turn, there is news about what is or isn’t good for you. Some basic principles have weathered the fad diets, and have stood the test of time. Here are a few tips on making healthful food choices for you and your entire family.

• Eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Try picking from the rainbow of colors available to maximize variety. Eat non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans with meals.
• Choose whole grain foods over processed grain products. Try brown rice with your stir fry or whole wheat spaghetti with your favorite pasta sauce.
• Include dried beans (like kidney or pinto beans) and lentils into your meals.
• Include fish in your meals 2-3 times a week.
• Choose lean meats like cuts of beef and pork that end in "loin" such as pork loin and sirloin. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.
• Choose non-fat dairy such as skim milk, non-fat yogurt and non-fat cheese.
• Choose water and calorie-free "diet" drinks instead of regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened drinks.
• Choose liquid oils for cooking instead of solid fats that can be high in saturated and trans fats. Remember that fats are high in calories. If you’re trying to lose weight, watch your portion sizes of added fats.
• Cut back on high calorie snack foods and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and full-fat ice cream.
• Eating too much of even healthful foods can lead to weight gain. Watch your portion sizes.

Diabetes: Understanding Carbohydrates

What is carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates provide fuel for the body in the form of glucose. Glucose is a sugar that is the primary means of energy for all of the body’s cells. There are two ways to classify carbohydrates simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are sugars — like glucose, sucrose, lactose and fructose. They are found in refined sugar and in fruits. Complex carbohydrates are the starches, which are the simple sugars bonded together chemically — they are found in beans, nuts, vegetables and whole grains. Complex carbohydrates are considered healthier mostly because they are digested by the body slowly, providing a steady source of energy. They also contain valuable amounts of fiber.

Carbohydrates, rather than fats or proteins, have the most immediate effect on your blood glucose since carbohydrates are broken down directly into sugar early during digestion. It is important to eat the suggested amount of carbohydrate at each meal, along with some protein and fat.

Carbohydrates are mainly found in fruit, milk and yogurt, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables

Carbohydrate Counting

Carbohydrate counting is a method of meal planning that is a simple way to keep track of the amount of total carbohydrate you eat each day. Counting grams of carbohydrate and evenly distributing them at meals will help you control your blood glucose.

With carbohydrate counting, you plan your carbohydrate intake based on what your pre-meal sugar is and your intake or insulin dose can be adjusted. Carbohydrate counting can be used by anyone and not just by people with diabetes that are taking insulin. If you eat more carbohydrates than your insulin supply can handle, your blood glucose level goes up. If you eat too little, your blood glucose level may fall too low. These fluctuations can be managed by knowing how to count your carbohydrate intake.

Carbohydrate counting is most useful for people who take multiple daily injections of insulin, use the insulin pump or who want more flexibility and variety in their food choices. However, it may not be for everyone, and the traditional method of following food exchange lists may be used instead. A registered dietitian can help you figure out a carbohydrate counting plan that meets your specific needs.

How Diabetic Count Calories

If you have been diagnosed as being diabetic, then a healthy regular lifestyle is necessary for you to be able to maintain your blood glucose levels. There should be regular exercise, a sensible weight control program and most importantly, a regular, balanced diet.

As with all diabetic conditions, it is not so much the cutting down of sugar that is important but the maintenance of a balanced, healthy diet. Here are some tips for you to be able to come up with an optimal diet for you if you are a diabetic.

Glucose control

The indication of diabetes is that one’s blood sugar level increases. Therefore, one should be constantly aware of what their blood sugar level is. Several researchers have discovered that people who are diagnosed with Type 1 or 2 diabetes benefit from an improved glycemic control.

Researchers have found that for each percent reduction in the results of A1C blood tests, there is a corresponding 40 percent decrease in risk of developing microvascular diabetic complications which include complications in the diabetic’s kidney, nerve tissue and the eye. One should be able to come up with a healthy diet which mixes in enough low and high glycemic index foods

One should be able to closely monitor the different types of foods that one takes in during the course of the day in order to keep one’s blood glucose levels from ballooning to an excessive degree. To keep one’s blood glucose levels at a stable and health level, one should strive to do the following things.

• Eat at approximately the same times times each day
• Eat the same amount of food each day
• Engage in physical exercise at around the same time each day
• Take one’s medicine at similar times of each day
• Choose foods which are from the starches, vegetables, fruit, meat and its substitutes as well as dairy products such as milk and yogurt.
• Avoid as much as possible the types of sweets and fats in your diet

Another technique that can help is to practice counting the total number of grams of carbohydrates that you take in each meal or planned snack time. This should be done while considering one’s level of activity or inactivity as well as the medication that one takes. Doing this exercise will enable you to meet the carbohydrate needs of a diabetic and will ensure that you do not go beyond your allowable limit.

You can try to find a calorie counting book which can be available at a supermarket or bookstore. If you want to proceed with calorie counting in a more serious manner, you may be able to seek professional help from a nutritionist in order to help you count calories more effectively and accurately.

These are just some of the tips that one can follow if he or she wants to be able to manage calories more effectively. It is important that this becomes a habit of all diabetics in order to avoid overstocking up on carbohydrates, which by in itself is a very dangerous habit for diabetics to cultivate. The bottom line is, if you are a diabetic, the more conscious you are about what you eat, the better.

Managing Diabetes with Supplements

The idea of treating diabetes with other supplements is not a new thing and it certainly is not out of the question since most of these particular supplements are able to lower one’s blood glucose level.

Here are more supplements that you can look into if you are a diabetic who has considered taking extra supplements for your condition. However, be wary about the different side effects and remember to check with your physician if it is advisable for you to take these. Here are some of the most common supplements for the management of diabetes.

Garlic

This is also known by its scientific name of allium sativum. It is the same type of garlic that is used to put more flavor in food. It can be processed as a dietary supplement which is not uncommon since in other cultures, this herb is widely used for strict medicinal purposes.

The chemical allicin in garlic is the one that gives it a pungent taste and odor. There have been claims for this herb that for those countries who consume garlic in large quantities, the rates of specific diseases in those countries are surprisingly low. However, with regard to the herb having a significant impact on type 2 diabetes, it still remains to be seen.

There are hypotheses that would like to claim that garlic does have a beneficial impact to people who have type 2 diabetes but as far as solid scientific evidence is concerned, it is still up in the air. Like most medicinal supplements, when consumed along with other medicines that treat specific diseases, garlic decreases their effectiveness.

There are also certain birth control pills such as cyclosporine which may be affected when dietary supplements of garlic is consumed. Other negative effects are allergic reaction, skin rashes, diarrhea and upset stomach.

Magnesium

Magnesium is present in green leafy vegetables as well as seeds and whole grains. This mineral is used to maintain important functions in the body which include making proteins, maintenance of muscles, bones, nerves and handling glucose. People with diabetes normally have low levels of magnesium which leads to the connotation that a diabetic who is experiencing such should take dietary supplements of magnesium. However, the link between this mineral and diabetes is still very vague.

The studies that have been conducted regarding diabetes and magnesium have actually found out that there are some uses for magnesium in patients who have diabetes. It may help diabetics combat insulin resistance. However, controlled studies should still be conducted in order to fully conclude the apparent benefits of taking magnesium as a supplement for diabetics.

The discovered side effects of taking magnesium supplements are muscle weakness, breathing difficulty, low blood pressure, irregular beating of the heart, loss of appetite, nausea and diarrhea. These are uncomfortable side effects so the beneficial effect of taking this mineral is still yet to be understood. As with all supplements, one should consult with an expert and a doctor in order ensure that one’s condition might not become worse.

Fighting Diabetes with Supplements

If a person has diabetes, the traditional means of addressing the disease is regular exercise coupled with a conscious maintenance of one’s diet.

However, it is also possible that supplements may benefit a diabetic even more and give the person a better quality of life in the long run. There are those supplements for diabetics which will give substantial advantages but as with all good things, there will be sacrifices made-more specifically one’s comfort.

Taking one’s multivitamins seem to be too much work for some people. How would a diabetic expect to even remember taking the different recommended supplements that may help him or her with diabetes. Here are a few of those supplements:

Alpha-Lipolic Acid

This is basically found in foods such as liver, potatoes, spinach and broccoli. This is also commonly known as lipolic acid or thiotic acid. It is an antioxidant which means that it combats the cell damage that comes from free radicals which is a by-product of oxidative stress.

Since high levels of blood glucose is just one cause of oxidative stress, Alpha-Lipolic Acid (ALA) is able to counteract oxidative stress and thus normalize high blood glucose levels in a person.

Although, the principle of ALA works on paper, there is yet a big room for improvement with regard to significant scientific evidence that will support a regular dosage of ALA in diabetics. The side effects is that ALA might lower one’s blood sugar level to dangerous levels.

Another side effect is that ALA could potentially lower the blood levels of various minerals such as iron and it could dampen the effectiveness of some anti-cancer drugs. Headaches, upset stomach and skin rashes might also happen.

Chromium

This is found in meats, animal fats, fish coffee, brewer’s yeast, whole-wheat and brown sugar. The marketed form of it is in the form of chromium nicotinate, chromium picolinate and chromium chloride. Although the effect of chromium might essentially lower one’s blood sugar, it is possible that chromium might overdo it.

A study that confirms the benefits of taking chromium is yet to be done. The milder side effects are mood swings, weight gain, sleep problems while other side effects might include diarrhea, bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract and vomiting. Clearly, taking this mineral must only be done under direct supervision of a doctor.

Coenzyme Q10

This is also known as ubiquinone or ubiquinol. It aids cells in the production of energy and is an antioxidant. Its effectiveness in high blood glucose levels in diabetes cases is not yet proven. Therefore it is possible that it may have uses for other conditions such as heart disease in diabetics.

Again, further studies should still be conducted in order to have a solid conclusion about the drug. Side effects of the drug are found when it interacts with other medicines which includes warfarin which is a blood thinner and medicines for cancer chemotherapy and high blood pressure. More side effects of this drug is loss of appetite, heartburn and vomiting.

Can Diet Soda Make You Gain Weight

For some people weight loss is simply not possible. And most of them might actually be right. It may be almost inconceivable granted that people are not careful with what they eat or drink. The majority of those people who cannot lose weight are those people who are either blissfully ignorant about the ill-effects of the food they eat or those who simply do not have enough willpower in them to actually eat the right way. One of the culprits to the obesity and the majority of the overweight people today is "sugar water" or sodas.

The term strikes at the heart of an ignorant binge addict. It is even much more horrifying when people ascribe to it the term "liquid candy". Nutritionists, dietitians as well as parents never had a soft spot for sodas as they completely destroy the nutrition that children and teenagers need to follow. Because of this, the reputation of sodas nowadays is definitely plummeting. There have also been several proposals to run them out of the schools.

There is a louder call to erase sodas out of the lives of people simply because the need to eat better has become a substantial interest to the American people. These drinks are a very significant source of added sugars. The different studies have concluded that sodas essentially make people heftier and compromise their nutrition.

Dr. Camargo who is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School has suggested that if a person wants to cut back on the calories and lose a fair amount of weight, they should start with the calories. Doing this will not only improve one’s weight but will also trim down the excess sugar that a person with diabetes takes in everyday. This is very significant to people who will have diabetes because gaining weight and obesity is closely linked to the consumption of sodas.

A study conducted be several scientists at a hospital in Boston was able to track 548 children for a total of 19 months. The study which was composed of a fair mix of ethnicities discovered that those children who increased their consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks during the study’s course had slightly higher body mass indexes. These children had a higher tendency to become more obese in the future even after determining those children’s lifestyles such as their level of physical activity.

Clearly the study has already given enough evidence that "liquid sugar" is definitely a bad move for those people who plan to stay healthy and even a worse thing to add and even continue in one’s diet if you are already suffering from diabetes. It will only aggravate the situation and simply accelerate the different complications that accompany this dreaded disease.

Knowing all of this, the choice is left to the consumer. Will you continue to slowly but surely destroy your health by taking these empty calories and increase your chances of becoming obese or will you do the right thing, avoid developing diabetes as much as you can and eliminate these from your diet.