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Diabetes and healthy eating
Healthy eating, combined with regular physical activity and weight control, is important to manage diabetes.
People with diabetes should eat mainly high fibre carbohydrate foods such as wholegrain breads and cereals and vegetables and fruit. They should also reduce their intake of fat, especially saturated fat. Limiting the serving size of your meals is often required to maintain a healthy body weight. It’s also a good idea to see a dietitian who can help develop a healthy eating plan.
Healthy eating helps a person with diabetes to:
Maintain general good health
Control blood glucose levels
Achieve normal blood lipid (fat) levels
Maintain a healthy blood pressure
Maintain a healthy body weight
Prevent the complications of diabetes.
No special diets required
Healthy eating for people with diabetes is no different than for everyone else. People with diabetes do not need to prepare separate meals or buy special foods, so relax and enjoy healthy eating with the rest of your family.
Physical activity
Along with healthy eating, physical activity is important. Be as active as possible. Try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days, and make the most of other opportunities to be active.
Basic eating guidelines
Follow this simple healthy eating plan if you have diabetes:
Eat regular meals throughout the day. You need to have breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Limit the serving size of your meals and snacks. Too much food will lead to an increase in body weight.
Choose a food containing some carbohydrate at each meal – for example, one cup of pasta, rice or cereal, two slices of bread or a medium potato.
For most people the total carbohydrate content of a meal needs to be between 30 to 50 grams.
Between meals, limit the carbohydrate content of a snack to 20 grams. For example one piece of fruit, a small tub of yoghurt, a small slice of cake or one biscuit.
Make sure breads, biscuits and cereals contain at least 3 grams of fibre per 100 grams.
Select a variety of healthy foods from the different food groups. Include cereals, fruit and vegetables, low fat dairy products and lean meat.
Fill up on low kilojoule foods such as salad vegetables.
Avoid saturated fats that are found in animal foods like full fat milk, ice creams, butter and cheese as well as palm oil and coconut products, processed meat and snacks and takeaway foods.
Consume small amounts of unsaturated fats like olive, canola or sunflower oil, mono or polyunsaturated margarines, oily fish, avocado and seeds and nuts.
Baked items like cakes and biscuits should be eaten only occasionally and in small serves, even when they are low in fat.
Avoid lollies, chocolates and sweet soft drinks.
Don’t add salt when you cook or at the table, and reduce the use of high salt foods.
Limit alcohol to four standard drinks per day for men and two standard drinks per day for women. Have at least two alcohol free days per week.
Counting the carbohydrate in your eating plan
The amount of carbohydrate in meals has a great impact on blood glucose levels. By eating regular meals and spreading carbohydrate foods evenly throughout the day, you can maintain energy levels without causing large rises in blood glucose levels.
Most people are advised to have some carbohydrate at each meal. This could include having either a cup of rice, noodles or cereal, two slices of bread, a bread roll or a medium potato. A table with the carbohydrate content of most foods is available from the Diabetes Australia website.
If you take insulin or diabetes medication, you may also need to eat snacks between meals. Check with your diabetes educator or dietitian.
Glycaemic index
Some foods release glucose into the bloodstream more quickly than others. Foods that produce a slower rise in blood glucose levels are described as having a low glycaemic index (GI).
Healthy foods that have a low GI include cereals and breads high in fibre, spaghetti, fruit and legumes and dairy products. Rice and potato have a higher GI but are still healthy choices that can be eaten in moderation.
Some packaged foods promoted as ‘low GI’ may be high in fat and energy - for example ice cream. Always check the list of ingredients and the energy (calorie or kilojoule) content of packaged foods.
The GI values of foods are only an average taken from ten healthy people, who can show large variations. Therefore people with diabetes are advised to test their blood glucose levels to determine the effect of various foods on their own blood glucose levels.
Sugar and a healthy eating plan
People with diabetes who follow a healthy eating plan can include some sugar in their diet. However the sugar should be eaten in nutritious foods, such as breakfast cereals or low fat dairy products, rather than in sweets or soft drinks.
You can use artificial sweeteners to replace some sugar if it helps to reduce your total energy intake and control weight.
Eat less fat – especially saturated fat
All fats are high in energy (kilojoules). Eating too much fat can lead to weight gain, unstable blood glucose levels and higher blood fat levels.
The type of fat you eat is also important. People with diabetes have a greater risk of developing heart disease so try to eat less saturated fat.
Foods high in saturated fat include meat fat, full fat dairy foods, cream, solid cooking fats (such as butter, lard, copha and ghee), oils such as palm and coconut, and products that contain these fats (for example fried foods, some cakes and biscuits and convenience foods).
When you do eat fats, choose mainly:
Polyunsaturated fats and oils – found in polyunsaturated margarines (check the label); sunflower, safflower, soybean, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed and sesame oils; oily fish such as herring, mackerel, sardine, salmon and tuna; nuts and seeds.
Monounsaturated fats and oils – such as canola or olive oil margarines; canola and olive oil; avocados, nuts and seeds.
Eat moderate amounts of protein
The body uses protein for growth and repair. Protein foods often contain fat.
Most people only require one to two small serves of meat or other protein foods each day. The best protein foods to choose are those that are low in fat, such as:
Half a cup of peas, beans and lentils.
90 to 120 grams of fish and seafood, lean meat and poultry without the skin.
Three daily serves of low fat or skim milk dairy foods such as 250 mls of milk, 40 grams of cheese and 200 grams of yoghurt.
Sample meal plan
Choose foods you like and which satisfy you, and include carbohydrate foods in each meal or snack to help manage blood glucose levels. You can eat your main meal at lunch or dinner.
Breakfast
Choose from:
One cup of high fibre breakfast cereal with low fat milk and one piece of fruit; or,
Two slices of bread or toast – preferably wholegrain, wholemeal or high fibre white – with thinly spread margarine, peanut butter, jam, Vegemite, baked beans, grilled tomato or sardines. Plus 100 mls of fruit juice.
Light meal
Soup (preferably one with vegetables and legumes).
One sandwich made with bread, one roll or six dry biscuits – preferably wholegrain or wholemeal – with thinly spread margarine or avocado.
Lots of salad vegetables.
90 to 120 grams of lean meat, skinless poultry or seafood; or two eggs; or 40 grams of fat reduced cheese; or a half a cup of legumes (such as beans or lentils).
One piece of fruit.
Water, tea or coffee.
Main meal
One cup of cooked rice or pasta or one medium potato.
Lots of other vegetables.
90 to 120 grams of lean meat, skinless poultry, seafood; or half a cup of legumes (such as beans or lentils).
One fruit or one small tub of yoghurt.
Water, tea or coffee.
Talk to a dietitian
People with diabetes should discuss their food habits with a dietitian, so that appropriate dietary recommendations can be tailored to each individual.
2006-09-27 02:59:09
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answer #1
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answered by javajoe 4
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