Learn about starchy vegetables that are higher in carbohydrates.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Nutrition, Exercise & Wellness : How to Eat Healthy With Diabetes
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Fruits For Diabetes Nutrition Ideas
Monday, September 6, 2010
Diabetes Basics: Create Your Plate
Monday, August 23, 2010
A Simple Meal Plan For Type 2 Diabetes!
When you learn you have type 2 diabetes you start to realize diet is more than a lifestyle choice ... it is really the key to controlling the course of your condition. When first diagnosed with diabetes many take a deep breathe for different reasons, one of the reasons being the fact they need to work out a way to normalize their blood sugar levels. Another is they need to work out how they are going to adjust to a different eating plan, one that does not include sugar and desserts.
Years ago, as soon as someone was diagnosed with diabetes, they were sent along to see a registered practicing dietitian for help with a new eating plan. This is not the rule any more. Nevertheless your eating plan can "make or break" you when you have type 2 diabetes.
Here is the basis of a simple meal plan that works for most diabetics, and should include:
a protein food
whole grain food
non-starchy vegetables
fruit
small amount of fat
a beverage
This is the equivalent of one meal.
1. Protein food is lean beef, turkey, fish, chicken, eggs, or wild meat. Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese or fat free yogurt can be included.
2. Wholegrain foods include brown rice, rye bread, whole wheat bread, 7-grain bread, oat bran, or quinoa. This category of food could be substituted with a starchy vegetable such as peas, corn or potatoes
3. Non-starchy vegetables could include tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, okra, green beans, broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, peppers, zucchini and radishes.
4. Fruit means one serving only of a medium sized apple, pear, peach or nectarine. Or one cup of berries, watermelon, cherries, grapefruit, or orange. One serving also means two fresh figs or ten grapes.
5. A small amount of fat means one teaspoon butter or virgin olive oil.
6. A beverage is tea or coffee. The type of tea you use can be herbal teas including:
red raspberry, red zinger, green tea, yerba mate, peppermint, chamomile
spearmint, catnip, or ginseng
and many of the good-tasting tea blends available in the market place
Using a simple healthy eating plan such as this, as a basis, is one way to commence your way back to eating in a way to break the cycle of obesity and insulin resistance, and to help you maintain a healthy weight. You don't have to give up tasty meals in order to reverse type 2 diabetes.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
What is the Healthy Diet Plan For Diabetes?
When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, what he or she eat becomes very important. In other words, diabetics must monitor what they eat and have a healthy diet plan. Carbohydrates are the most important part of the food we eat as they directly affect our blood glucose level.
For a diabetic, the key is to balance the daily carbs intake. The question is how do you keep your carbs in balance? It is not always easy to answer this question. But fortunately there is a resource called "Diabetes Food Pyramid" by American Diabetes Association that provides guidelines on healthy diet plan for diabetes.
The Diabetes Food Pyramid provides the most comprehensive and easy to understand guidelines for healthy diabetes diets. It divides the foods into six food groups. The largest food groups are at the bottom of the pyramid and they are also the most healthy foods for diabetes. These foods are breads, grains, beans, and starchy vegetables. So, diabetics are encouraged to eat more servings of food groups at the bottom of the pyramid.
At the top of the pyramid, you will see foods like fats, sweets, and alcohol. These are the foods you should avoid if you have diabetes.
As mentioned, people with diabetes need to keep close track of their carbohydrates intake as they directly affect the blood sugar levels almost immediately after eating. Carbohydrate is made out of complex carbon and hydrogen molecules. As insulin works with the carbs and breaks them down for energy, the right amount of dose needs to be adjusted according to the amount of carbs.
Your doctor can help determine the units of insulin per grams of carbs, but it is your job to maintain the balance of your blood glucose levels by watching your daily carb intake and exercising regularly. Maintaining this balance is what carb counting is all about.
Another way to ensure that you don't consume too much carbs is to eat more servings of foods that are located at the bottom of the Diabetes Food Pyramid. By eating more servings of healthy food groups, you are in turn having less carbs intake. Make sense?
Consistency is key. Establish a healthy diet plan for your individual circumstances and stick to it, making gradual adjustments as needed. In the long term, it will help minimize any complication associated with diabetes.
Also, remember to check your blood sugar levels often, write down the numbers and amount of carbs you have eaten that day. Good record keeping will give you and your doctor an accurate picture of how effective your diet plan and medication are. That will help keep your diabetes well under controlled.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan - What Kind Of Diet Plan Should Be Followed And How Rigid Is It?
Keeping the right amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats keeps the blood sugar level within the normal range that is necessary in gestational diabetes. One serving of carbohydrate food contains about 12 grams of carbohydrate that is necessary to cure gestational diabetes. Vegetables contain only 5grams of carbohydrates per serving.
I heard that some people with gestational diabetes could control their blood sugar level with diet alone. So, I preferred smaller meals rather than the big three meals for the day, to cure gestational diabetes. I avoided sugar beverages and sugar-laden foods like honey, jams, and jellies. They aggravate symptoms of gestational diabetes.
Pregnancy is the best time to gauge on food that one craves the most. High fiber foods control weight and help in regular bowel movements. Fresh fruits, beans and cereals are such types of foods. I had them when I was hungry between the meals.
Gestational Diabetes Diet Plan:
This menu helped me to fight against gestational diabetes:
1. ½ plate non-starchy vegetables (salad, broccoli)
2. ¼ plate protein (meat, fish)
3. ¼ plate grains (rice, pasta, bread)
4. 8 oz of milk
5. A fruit
" Breakfast: Add one egg on a muffin with melted cheese, light juice with light yogurt.
" Lunch: A sandwich with meat, cheese with two pieces of bread, many fruits and vegetables (carrots, apples)
" Dinner: One cup of pasta or a small potato, one protein (chicken, salad and many vegetables
" Dessert: Ice-cream serving is about 1 serving of carbohydrate
" Snacks: Mixed nuts, fruits, cheese
Even after such meticulous planning to cure gestational diabetes, the doctor one day came up to me and said that I need to begin taking insulin, to help the body against gestational diabetes. I thought that I had failed somehow against gestational diabetes. However, the doctor assured me that diet and exercise work great, but sometimes it may not be enough to cure gestational diabetes.
I always had a daily chart that kept tracks of the number of calories eaten at the time of gestational diabetes. Most pregnant women need to take in about 300 calories a day to gain enough weight. This is important for the overall health of a woman with gestational diabetes.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Diabetes Type 2 - How Can You Help Yourself?
Diabetes type 2 is a medical condition usually developing when a person is over 40 years of age. However, it is a life-long condition and whenever it is discovered it will change your life. It is a condition which lasts forever, caused by the body disability to regulate the amounts of glucose in the blood in the appropriate way. It appears when the individual body does not respond to the natural hormone called insulin, which quite often is a result of another phenomenon - overweight.
Many people are living with this. This type is the more often encountered one in comparison with type 1. The condition is often discovered after a routine medical check for some basic symptoms such as: excessive passing of urine, constant thirst, tiredness, blurred vision or itchy skin around your genitals or regular infections, such as thrush. If you have some of those, it might mean you have diabetes type 2. However, do not panic, because there are so many reasons for the problems to occur.
But how can you help yourself if you already have this condition?
First of all you should start eating healthy. This means a balanced diet of the five food groups (bread, cereals and potatoes; protein; dairy; fruits and vegetables; fat and sugar;). What is important about your diet is to eat with less salt, sugar, fat and more fruits, vegetables and wholegrain starchy foods (the first group). There are no foods which a diabetic person is forbidden to consume, however you should take into consideration that everyone, especially you, should try and eat foods with less sugar. Some fruits are high on fructose, which is the fruit sugar, and the over consumption of them can cause your blood sugar levels to rise quickly.
Second you can exercise. A regular training routine, combined with the right diet and (if prescribed) medicines, will help you take control of the levels of your blood sugar and also your weight. It can improve the use of insulin, muscle strength, blood circulation. Exercising can reduce stress, blood pressure, body fat levels and others.
So, at the end of the day, although it is an illness, diabetes can make your life healthier and more active. You just need not stress and think that it is all over, because many people are living with diabetes type 2 and they have perfectly normal lives. You have to embrace your fate and try to help yourself.