Diabetes is a condition that prevents the body from properly metabolising blood glucose (sugar) because either the body produces insufficient insulin, the hormone that the body should produce in quantity to metabolise blood glucose, or glucose cells do not react properly to insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels rise excessively, having debilitating effects on the body and quality of life.
This article aims to provide general advice for people with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Whilst healthy nutrition plays an important role in the ongoing management for people with type 1 diabetes, nutrition is not related to the initial disease process.
If a person is diagnosed with diabetes, a proper diet becomes a life-saving essential. If a person is at risk to contract type 2 diabetes, the same dietary control is essential to prevent the disease. Likewise, healthy individuals should maintain a proper, balanced diet in order to avoid the risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes. Read more to find out about healthy food choices and meal planning for people with diabetes.
Table of Contents
- Healthy Food Choices for People with Diabetes
- Carbohydrates: Energy for the Cells
- Fruit and Vegetables
- Protein: Building Material for Cellular Growth, Repair and Replacement
- Oils and Fat: Chemistry and Security in a Cell
- Meal Planning for a Healthy Diabetic Diet
- Diabetes Wise Food Choices
- Create a Consistent Daily Pattern
- Manage the Size of Meal Portions
We know that a healthy diet for anyone consists of a proper selection and quantity of vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and fat. For diabetic patients, while daily consumption of vitamins and minerals is always essential for sustained healthy living, the choices of carbohydrates, proteins and fat become critical. However, it should be mentioned that with regard to vitamins and minerals, whether or not we are concerned with a proper diet for diabetes, but particularly when that is the concern, it is better that vitamins and minerals are derived from foods rather than limited to a daily dietary supplement.
Contrary to popular advertising, which is, after all, intended to sell product, it is typically more difficult for the body to digest a processed capsule bundled with processed vitamins and minerals, which affects the resulting dosage the body would have to consume. The fresh alternative, an apple rather than a capsule, will always be a more appreciated fuel by the body’s metabolic engines. If a dietary supplement is a personal must, have it in addition to the apple.
There is a wide variety of carbohydrate, protein and fat sources to consume. Even for healthy individuals, there are better and worse alternatives. Fortunately, in each of the three categories of carbohydrate, protein and fat alternatives, there are multiple alternatives to choose. These preferences will be outlined with the dietary advantages each type has to offer. The diabetic diet should be able to accommodate an individual variety of taste preferences. After all, some people just prefer grapes to apples.
For diabetics, the shopping list must be edited to assure only the best sources are consumed. While it may be true that any natural source is better than processed alternatives, where a natural choice is possible, the best sources will be preferred to ensure proper blood sugar level control and the best quality of life.
Carbohydrates supply the fuel necessary to do the essential work carried out by protein and fat. They have the widest variety of choices and consist of four different food types: starches, fruits, milk products and non-starch vegetables. Among those four varieties, in every meal, there should be three to four carbohydrate servings for women and four to five carb servings for men.
Starches are good sources of B vitamins, minerals and fibre. The total portion of starches in their varieties suggested should account for no more than one-quarter of the plate in any meal. Grains are starchy foods. Whole grains should always be preferred over excessively processed grains. If a whole grain grinder is available and the grinder does not filter any portion of the grain, and the resulting powdered grain is used immediately, the full dietary benefit will be derived. Foods made fresh from low-sugar, low-salt and low-fat starches are preferred over their sweeter, saltier and fatter alternatives.
The following list of eight starch sources offers a good variety and each serving will provide about 15 grams of carbohydrate:
- whole-grain bread 1 slice
- 1 flour or corn tortilla
- one quarter-slice bagel or bread roll
- corn one-half cup
- mashed potato one-half cup or one-quarter of a large baked potato
- cooked cereal (cream of wheat or oatmeal) one-half cup
- cooked pasta or rice one-half cup, cooked peas, beans or lentils one-half cup
Fruits are good sources of vitamins A and C, minerals and fibre. Whole fruits should be consumed in greater quantity than a juice counterpart. More fibre will be in the diet if the edible skin of fruit is eaten with the fruit.
Fresh fruit is preferred over processed, which usually contains added sugar or sweeteners. Fruit makes the best snack food in between meals and people with diabetes should consume two servings of fruit every day.
The following list contains the best choices and each provides about fifteen grams of carbs:
- one apple, pear, peach or orange
- grapefruit one-half
- one bunch of grapes 15 to 20
- banana one-half
- raisins two tablespoons
- cantaloupe or honeydew one cup
- canned fruit unsweetened one-half cup
- orange, apple, grapefruit or grape juice unsweetened one-half cup
Non-starchy vegetables are good sources of vitamins A and C and fibre. A combination of the sources listed should comprise one-half of the meal plate of every meal because non-starchy vegetables are the healthiest of all the sources of carbohydrates to consume. Actually, the quantity of non-starchy vegetables one may consume is almost unlimited, short of gluttonous consumption. These are the easiest of starches to digest, providing the highest concentration of fibre for keeping the digestive track clean and efficient.
Of the choices listed, preference is given to dark green, yellow and orange vegetables and they are best eaten raw or steamed to obtain the greatest benefit. They are preferred fresh or frozen rather than canned and are best prepared without salt or sauces. Ground pepper makes an adequate enhancement of flavour. Spinach, broccoli, or cauliflower, one cup; carrots, one cup, green, red, orange, yellow pepper, one cup; tomato, one cup, vegetable juice, one-half cup.
Milk products provide protein, calcium and vitamins A and D. No-fat and low-fat milk or yoghurt is preferred and milk or yoghurt should not be sweetened. Three servings of a milk product should be consumed daily. Any one choice listed provides about twelve grams of carbs. Milk, non-fat or low-fat, or buttermilk, low-fat, one cup each; milk powder, fat-free, one-third cup (dry); evaporated milk, fat-free, one-half cup; soymilk, unsweetened, one cup; yoghurt, low-fat, plain flavour, three-quarter cup; frozen yoghurt, low-fat, one-third cup.
Proteins are advisable sources of iron, zinc and B vitamins. They provide the body with the building block nutrients necessary to build, repair and replenish cells and tissue. To attempt these essential life functions with insufficient protein consumption will be defeated by added consumption of other food types. Of the protein-laden foods, fish and poultry are easier to digest than red meat. There should be a higher concentration of fish than poultry or red meat, but an appropriate balance of these and other protein sources listed is advised for people with diabetes.
Diabetes demands a lean diet. Lean cuts of meat are better than fatty flesh. Always trim excess fat and remove poultry skin. The preferred cooking methods to retain the greatest benefit without adding fat are roasting, grilling or baking. There are a few, but limited choices of protein sources that are not fish, poultry or meat. Dedicated vegetarians may have difficulty meeting the protein requirements necessary to control diabetes. Each of the servings listed will provide about 7 grams of protein and should consist of about one-quarter of the serving plate of each meal.
Fish, poultry, lean beef, cooked as noted above, one ounce; cheese, low-fat, one ounce; egg, one whole or two egg whites, cottage cheese, low-fat, one-quarter cup; peanut butter, one tablespoon; tofu or other soy product, one-half cup.
Oil and fat are not sources of any of the typical dietary requirements of vitamins, minerals, protein or fibre. Fat is a singular essential of its own. It may be the bogeyman in any diet, particularly for a diabetic regimen because while it does add flavour, its metabolic importance cannot be overlooked, but it must be consumed in carefully managed quantities for any healthy diet; diabetic or not. Fat makes the body run efficiently by facilitating cellular chemical reactions and providing a shield for cells from outside attack. Both of these vital functions are managed with very little fat intake.
Excessive consumption just complicates the efforts of a diabetic diet because one of the prominent causes and warning signals of a diabetic condition is excessive eating and obesity. Of all the available fats, it is advisable to limit intake to unsaturated fats and of those, mono-unsaturated fats are preferred. Each serving of fat will provide about 5 grams of fat. For easy comparison, consider that one teaspoon of butter or margarine equals 5 grams of fat. Saturated fat and trans-fats should be severely limited or avoided altogether. For people with diabetes the need will be accommodated by unsaturated fat, alone.
The best sources of mono-unsaturated fat are olive, peanut or canola oil, one teaspoon; corn or sunflower oil, one teaspoon, olives, cashews, almonds, about 6; peanuts, 10 to 20, depending on size; avocado, two tablespoons; butter or margarine, one teaspoon; mayonnaise, low-fat, one tablespoon, bacon, one slice; cream or half-and-half, two tablespoons. Excessive consumption of potato chips, French fries, any fried foods or animal fat, just like excessive consumption of sugar, will derail the efforts of all the above because these saturated and trans-fats encourage a diabetic condition to worsen. Avoid them.
By following the food recommendations listed above, healthy and completed meals that cover the bases of major food types is easy to plan and execute. Considering the above options, making wise food choices, creating a consistent daily pattern and managing the size of meal portions will make for a healthy lifestyle while managing diabetes.
If there are non-diabetics in the household, they can be assured they are still eating a healthy diet because these food choices are really a balanced regimen for anyone, not just diabetics. A balanced meal including representative foods from each of the major food types of carbohydrates, proteins and fats is advisable for anyone wanting to maintain health and vitality for life. This will help ensure your diabetes is well managed and that your blood sugar levels are more stable.
Have more whole grains and make grain products from scratch at home if possible rather than purchase processed foods. Include a wider variety of vegetables and fruit. Here again, the ability to provide these sources out of a family garden when the gap between harvest and serving is short, eating the vegetables raw or steamed, and eating whole fruit more than drinking juice will derive the greatest benefit from these essential food sources by retaining all or most of their nutrients.
Make heart-healthy choices of protein sources like fish, poultry and beans. Select low-fat dairy products. Limit fat intake to unsaturated oil and fat. Limit salt intake; use ground pepper alone as an alternative seasoning.
ENT Clinic have created holistic dietary guidelines, that with our dietitians consultation, can be used to create a customised dietary plan for managing diabetes. This will ensure that you will enjoy eating a healthy balanced diet that meets your body’s needs!
Planning and serving regularly scheduled, nutrient-inclusive meals with gaps in between rather than an disorganized schedule of snacking, even with healthy foods, all day long, or worse, eating only occasionally with large and uneven gaps in between eating, will yield more energy and well-being and succeed in managing diabetes. If the day is long but insignificant sessions of eating, the body is in a constant mode of metabolising the food without adequate rest periods in between eating. This is hard on the system. Likewise, if there are long periods between eating and the quantity and quality is random, blood sugar levels are going to spike and plummet. Neither situation is healthy. Eat at scheduled times every day. Eat the proper distribution of food types with each meal.
The fad of super-sizing meals at restaurants in order to sell value is shorting the real value: a healthy but discriminating meal while avoiding excess. It is well known that even drinking too much water has an undesirable result: drowning. There can be too much of even the best things. Eat the portions suggested for each meal. It is acceptable to push away from the table before the belt touches the table.
We will ensure that your dietary requirements are met, and create a meal plan that will be manageable and enjoyable for all the family, even for fussy eaters or those with allergies or diabetes. Make an appointment with one of our experienced dietitians. Remember healthy habits can start today!
We see children and adults for advice with all areas of nutrition.