You will often hear people refusing to eat fancy sweet food at a birthday party or some other occasion and they will tell you that “I am diabetic” and you will always wonder how can normal food items play role in someone’s health. In this article, we will tell you the general overview of diabetes, the management of diabetes with proper diet, and making use of food labels as a source of managing diabetes. Let’s know about, what to eat, how much to eat and how to order our food planning for the management of diabetes.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that impacts your blood sugar (glucose). Glucose is an important source of energy for your body. Diabetes results in an excess of sugar in the blood. Too much sugar in the bloodstream can cause serious health issues.
Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are both types of long-term diabetes disease.
Diabetes results in widespread problems in the heart, kidneys, brain, eyes, and other parts of the body. Diabetes can be managed with diet and exercise alone but advanced cases need medication as well.
Your food plan is the best tool for managing diabetes
Deciding what to eat might be difficult, right? There is no need to worry because there is plenty of help available.
To begin, you should consult with a registered dietitian nutritionist to develop an eating plan that works for you.
What is the best diet for diabetes?
“What can I eat?” is one of the most common questions by diabetics.
Let me tell you that everyone’s body reacts differently to different foods and diets, there is no single “magic” diet for diabetes. However, you can use a few simple guidelines to figure out what works best for you in terms of blood sugar management.
The exact percentage of calories you need from carbs, protein, and fat can’t be specified because it changes from individual to individual.
A registered dietitian nutritionist can assist you in determining the best eating plan for you and your treatment goals according to your current health status.
Introducing the Diabetes Plate Method
The Diabetes Plate Method can help you with creating healthy meals that help you manage your blood sugar.
You can make perfect portions of meals with a healthy balance of vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates using this method—without counting, calculating, weighing, or measuring.
What is the Diabetes Plate Method?
The Diabetes Plate Method is the simplest approach to prepare healthy meals that can help in blood sugar management.
To begin, you will need a plate about 9 inches across. Then draw two lines on your plate to divide it into three sections:
1. Make half of your dish filled with Non-starchy vegetables.
Because non-starchy vegetables contain fewer carbohydrates, they do not significantly elevate blood sugar levels. They are also high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, making them an essential component of a balanced diet.
Examples of non-starchy vegetables:
Asparagus, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrots, Cucumber, Mushrooms, Leafy greens such as kale, collards, Okra, Green beans, pea pods, and snow peas, Salad greens such as lettuce, spinach, arugula, endive, and other salad mixes, and Tomatoes.
2. Fill one-quarter of your plate with lean protein foods
Protein-rich foods include fish, chicken, lean cattle, soy products, and cheese etc.
Lean protein foods include chicken, turkey, eggs, fish like salmon, cod, tuna, tilapia, swordfish, shellfish like shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, lobster, lean beef cuts such as chuck, round, sirloin, flank, tenderloin, Lean deli meats, cheese and cottage cheese, beans, lentils, hummus, falafel, Nuts and nut butter.
Remember that some plant-based protein meals (such as beans and legumes) are also heavy in carbs.
3. Fill one-quarter of your plate with carbohydrate foods
Carbohydrate-rich foods include grains, starchy vegetables, beans and legumes, fruit, yogurt, and milk. These foods have the most impact on your blood sugar levels.
Limiting your carbohydrate intake to one-quarter of your plate can help keep blood sugar levels stable after meals.
Carbohydrate foods include brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, popcorn, quinoa, whole grain (bread, pasta, ), acorn squash, butternut squash, green peas, plantains, potato, pumpkin, and sweet potato are examples of starchy vegetables.
Fruits, both fresh and dried, and dairy products like milk, yogurt, and milk substitutes.
4. Choose a low-calorie drink
Water is the greatest option because it has no calories or carbs and has no influence on blood sugar levels. Other drinks with no or few calories include:
- Tea without sugar (hot or iced)
- Coffee without sugar (hot or iced), Club soda/sparkling water, and flavored water with no added sugar.
Carbs, carbs, carbs—what about them?
When it comes to diabetes management, the carbohydrates, or carbs, you consume are very important. They affect your blood sugar, so remember that balance is essential!
Carbohydrates in meals are classified into three types: starches, sugar, and fiber. The word “total carbohydrate” refers to all three of these categories.
- When it comes to carbs, choose nutrient-dense carbs that are high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals while being low in added sugars, sodium, and harmful fats.
- Use Non-starchy vegetables with high fiber content and low carbohydrate content.
- Reduce your intake of highly processed carbohydrate items and added sugar. Sugary drinks like soda, sweet tea, and juice are examples, refined grains like white bread, white rice, and sugary cereal, as well as sweets and snack foods like cake, cookies, candy, and chips.
Making use of food labels as guidance for managing diabetes
Now, you’ve got the basics, let’s dive into nutrients.
Do you use food labels for products that you buy in the store? The food labels on packaging can be a great place to find information about the nutrients in the food you’re purchasing.
These food labels are especially helpful if you use carb counting to plan your meals!
- Start by looking at the serving size. All information on the label is based on the serving size listed. If you eat more, that means you’ll be getting more calories, carbohydrates, etc
- The information on the left side of the label tells you the total of the different nutrients in one serving of the food. Use these numbers to compare labels of similar foods.
- Calorie is a unit of energy—think it as the energy your body consumes and uses for bodily functions. In order to lose weight you should lower your daily caloric intake.
- The total carbohydrate on the label includes all three types of carbohydrates: sugar, starch, and fiber. It’s important to use the total grams when counting carbs or choosing which foods to include.
- Labels must include added sugar to help you know the difference between sugar that occurs naturally in the food and sugar that was added during processing.
- Fiber is the part of plant foods that are not digested–or for some types, only partially digested. Dried beans such as kidney or pinto beans, fruits, vegetables, and whole intact grains are all good sources of fiber. Healthy adults need between 25 and 38 grams of fiber a day on average.
- Sugar alcohols are a type of sugar substitute that have fewer calories per gram than sugars and starches. Sorbitol, xylitol, and mannitol are examples of sugar alcohols. If a food contains sugar alcohols, it would be listed on the label.
- Total Carbohydrate. It’s important to keep in mind that foods that contain sugar and alcohol are not necessarily low in carbohydrates or calories. And, just because a package says “sugar-free” on the outside does not mean that it is calorie or carbohydrate-free. Always check the label for the grams of total carbohydrates and calories.
- Ingredient list can be a helpful tool. Ingredients are listed in order by weight with the first ingredient being the highest amount in the food. Knowing the ingredients is useful in making healthy choices like increasing fiber (look for words like whole grain, whole wheat, etc.) or decreasing sugar (look for words like cane sugar, agave, maple syrup, and honey, etc).
