The words Diabetes Diet usually conjure up images of bland tasteless meals. Meals that one is forced to consume because one is suffering from the dreaded disease. However, if planned properly, it would just mean a slight change in eating habits. Where one replaces large meals with small meals consumed 4 -6 times a day. The variety of foodstuffs to choose from also means that you can add a lot of variety to what you eat.
A diabetes diet is designed to fulfil three basic requirements. To maintain ideal weight, in some cases lose weight, provide the body with its nutritional requirements and reduce blood sugar levels.
While planning your diet, consulting a dietician can be quite helpful as your height, weight, age, sex, physical activity and type of diabetes need to be taken into account. Changes might also need to be made according to the medication you are consuming.
One of the crucial elements of a diabetes diet is timing. One needs to eat at regular mealtimes, meals that are rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories.
Exchange
One of the techniques that dieticians use is exchange. A list of foods and their portions are made, which can be exchanged for each other.
This could help you maintain the right levels of nutrition and health while adding variety to your palate.
Control Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates form the most essential ingredient of a diabetic’s diet. Make sure that you consume the same amount of carbohydrates, at the same time, every day. This way the body learns to deal with your daily carbohydrate intake.
Choose Healthy Carbohydrates
While choosing carbohydrates for your meals, choose the healthy substitutes. Some sources of carbohydrates are:
1. Fruits
2. Vegetables
3. Low fat dairy products
4. Whole grains
5. Legumes
Balance
What you need to do is eat a balanced diet, 45 to 65% of the calories you consume should come from carbohydrates, 15 to 20% from protein, and 20 to 35% from fats.
Eat A Lot Of Fibre
Dietary fibre not only decreases the risk of heart diseases but also helps reduce blood sugar levels.
Some good sources of fibre are:
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Whole Wheat Flour
• Wheat Bran
• Nuts
• Legumes
Reduce The Intake Of Fat
Try to avoid solid fats like butter and margarine. Instead substitute with low fat stuff like, low-fat yoghurt or sugar free fruit spread.
Reduce Cholesterol
This is of course good advice for everyone, not just those with diabetes. Make sure that you do not consume more than 200 mg of cholesterol every day.
Foods To Be Avoided
Some foods are best banished from your diet. These are sugar, honey, sweets, chocolates and candies.
Restricted Foods
It is best to reduce the consumption of certain food stuffs. They are potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, alcohol, bananas, mangoes, dry fruits, cakes and pastries.
Beneficial Foods
Some food items are beneficial and can be consumed freely. Green leafy vegetables, cucumbers, tomatoes, radish or beverages like, tea and coffee as long as they are consumed without sugar.
Equally important is the time you are consuming a particular food. For example, you are advised not to eat carbohydrates 2 hours before going to sleep. Similarly your diet also needs to be woven around your diabetes medication, especially if you are on insulin. The aim of the diabetes diet then would be to help you get the maximum benefit from your insulin injections.