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We Know: All About Diabetic Diets
How can a proper diet help someone with diabetes?
The proper diet is critical to diabetes treatment. It can help to:
- Achieve and maintain desirable weight. Many people with diabetes can control their blood glucose by losing weight and keeping it off.
- Maintain normal blood glucose levels.
- Prevent heart and blood vessel diseases, which tend to occur in people with diabetes.
What are the basic guidelines of a diabetic diet?
The guidelines for diabetes diet planning include the following:
- Many experts, including the American Diabetes Association, recommend that 50 to 60 percent of daily calories come from carbohydrates, 12 to 20 percent from protein, and no more than 30 percent from fat.
- Spacing meals throughout the day, instead of eating heavy meals once or twice a day, can help a person avoid extremely high or low blood glucose levels.
- With few exceptions, the best way to lose weight is gradually: one or two pounds a week. Strict diets should not be undertaken without the supervision of a doctor.
- People with diabetes have twice the risk of developing heart disease as those without diabetes, and high blood cholesterol levels raise the risk of heart disease. Losing weight and reducing intake of saturated fats and cholesterol, in favor of unsaturated and monounsaturated fats, can help lower blood cholesterol.
Where can I go to get help with developing a diabetic diet?
Someone with diabetes can get assistance in the following ways:
- A doctor can recommend a local nutritionist or dietitian.
- The local American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and American Dietetic Association can provide names of qualified dietitians or nutritionists and information about diet planning.
- Local diabetes centers at large medical clinics, hospitals, or medical universities usually have dietitians and nutritionists on staff.
Will my doctor or dietitian know everything about a diabetes diet?
They will probably know as much information about diabetes diets as are currently available. Continuing research may lead to new approaches to diabetes diets. Research is currently under way to learn whether foods with sugar raise blood glucose higher than foods with starch, as well as whether or not cooked foods raise blood glucose higher than raw, unpeeled foods. Ask your doctor or nutritionist about advancements in diabetes studies, regularly.
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