Diabetes Diet Recommendations

Controlling your nutrition is one of the most important aspects of managing Type 2 diabetes. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes you need to develop a meal plan in conjunction with a dietitian or doctor to meet individual lifestyle and disease-management needs. Diabetes diet recommendations try to focus on balance and maintaining blood sugar control.

Carbohydrates – Since the body metabolizes all carbohydrates to glucose, it is important to monitor the amount of carbohydrates consumed. A healthy diabetes diet plan should be designed so carbohydrate consumption is consistent from day to day and works toward maintaining your body weight.

Sugar – A common misconception about diabetes is that all forms of sugar must be avoided. Sugar can be added to your diabetes diet plan as long as the total carbohydrate consumption for that meal is consistent with your meal plan. Please understand that while sugar alone will not increase blood glucose levels, high sugar in conjunction with high carbohydrates will you’re your blood glucose levels rise.

Protein – People who have been diagnosed with diabetes do not necessarily require specific levels of control for protein. It is important to avoid saturated fats simply because diabetics face an increased risk of heart disease at earlier phases of their life. The best way for diabetics to reduce saturated fat in their diet is to avoid foods with animal fat, such as meats and some cheeses.

Portion Control – For diabetics controlling their blood glucose levels is directly related to the quantity of food they consume; therefore, maintaining appropriate portions is vital to stabilizing glucose levels. According to studies done at the the Joslin Diabetes Center, the best way to maintain appropriate quantities is to measure your food in accordance with the portion sizes on food labels.

Timing – Blood glucose levels generally vary throughout the day. Therefore, it is important to make sure you eat your meals at the same time every day in order to smooth out glucose levels and provide energy supply to tissues. The best idea is to have several small meals throughout the day as long as the volume of food and caloric intake does not increase.