Sensible Dieting for Diabetics - What Should you Eat?
After previously calculating how much
you should eat and how much
you should weigh, now lets discuss what to eat. There
are many fashionable diets that come and go, but food fundamentals don't
really change.
We believe you should have a balance of
minerals, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates and other food groups. Getting
the balance right between the food groups, is the key to weight loss and
heathly eating.
A good way to think of the three main food groups is as a
Food Pyramid, with carbohydrate at the bottom, fat next and then protein at the top.
A well balanced diet would contain approximately the following mix:
- Total carbohydrate 55% minimum
- Total fat 30% maximum
- Protein 15% maximum
Also:
- Fiber 30g a day minimum
- Salt 6g a day maximum - never add salt to meals
- Alcohol 30g a day maxmum - have with meals
- Cholesterol 300mg a day maximum
You should aim to have as much of your carbohydrate as possible as 'complex' and fiber rich rather than 'simple sugar' such as found in chocolate or sweets. This can be related to the Glycaemic Index (GI) of carbohydrates and is discussed more later. It is now known that it is very important to good blood glucose control to eat more complex sugars that are slowly released into the blood stream, rather than simple sugars found in sweets and non diet soft drinks that are quickly absorbed and lead to a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.
Non diabetics would also benefit from eating fewer 'simple' ( sometimes called 'refined') sugars, as a quick rise in sugar levels can be tiring and cause behavioural changes in some people. So changing a family diet to have less refined sugars will benefit everyone!
Planning a Meal
When thinking about a meal, remember you should be having twice as much carbohydrate as fat and only about 10% protein. So eat plenty of vegetables, beans/pulses and fresh fruit, less bread, pasta and rice and even less meat, fish, cheese and eggs. Finally, have hardly any oils, added fats and very sweet desserts.
Next we look at counting carbohydrate and why this is crucial
More Resources
[ www.lifeclinic.com ]
[ www.mayoclinic.com ]
[ www.webmd.com ]
[ www.ediets.com/diabetes
]
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Pages in this section...
[ Diet ] [ Ideal Weight ] [ Food ] [ Carbohydrate Content ] [ GI explained ] [ Fats ] [ Protein ] [ Vitamins & Minerals ] [ Losing Weight ] [ Summary ]
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