Tag: Diabetes Diet

Diabetes Protein Diet

For people trying to lose weight, a high protein, low fat, low carb diet is normally something that will work very well to help you slim down and get to a healthier weight. People with diabetes can also lose weight with a diabetes protein diet but because of the nature of their illness must pay close attention to everything they eat.

A diet high in protein, followed for an extended period can put undo stress on the kidneys of the person with diabetes. You should always speak with your doctor and/or dietitian before starting any diet plan.

If your doctor does give you the OK to start a diabetes protein diet then stick with the lean cuts of meat for your protein and include some fish and shrimp in your weekly menu preparation. Shrimp are packed with protein and are very good for you. You can have some red meat but limit it to once or twice a week.

Red meat is loaded with protein as well but also has quite a bit of saturated fat which will increase your cholesterol and increase your risk for heart disease. Just being diabetic puts you at risk for so many complications of the disease you do not need to willingly put yourself at a higher risk for other problems. So, remember to limit the red meat you eat and if you have to have it then make sure that you remove any visible fat as well.

Fish like salmon, tuna, and halibut are all good sources of lean protein not to mention those Omega-3 essential fatty acids that you hear so much about these days. Omega-3’s are beneficial for maintaining good brain function among other things. I have already mentioned shrimp but did you know lobster is another great source of lean protein? Go ahead and treat yourself.

Chicken is also loaded with protein but just make sure to remove any skin and visible fat. Your best bet is to buy some boneless, skinless breasts and keep them in the freezer to make it easy to use them when you need them. You can buy them in bulk to save some money and weigh out 4 ounce portions then individually wrap them before freezing.

Eggs and dairy are other ways to round out how you get your protein for the day. Eggs have lots of protein and also essential nutrients like folate, zinc, and iron. It is not recommended that you eat eggs every single day but if you really feel the need to then separate some of the and make a mostly egg white omelet with two egg whites and one whole egg.
The cholesterol is in the yolk so if you limit the number of yolks you eat then it is all good.

Keep your dairy foods like milk, cheese, and yogurt low fat, or fat free to reduce the amount of saturated fat you take in. Balance your diabetes protein diet with a moderate amount of carbohydrates to help keep your blood sugar levels in a healthy range.

Diabetes Diet Menus

If you have diabetes it means that your body cannot use sugar the way it was meant to be used. A normal person’s pancreas makes insulin that helps their body use sugar that they take in when they eat. If you have diabetes then your pancreas either does not make enough insulin or does not make any at all and so you need help to make sure that the sugar in your blood stream does not get to be too much. One way to do that is to follow diabetic diet menus.

Diabetic diet menus will help keep your blood sugars stable along with the medication your doctor has prescribed whether it be an oral antidiabetic agent or insulin shots.

The first thing you need to do is go over everything with your doctor and make sure you understand what you need to do to keep your body in good working order so you can minimize the adverse effects of diabetes. There are many, so do what you can to take care of your self. Working closely with your doctor you should be able to manage your disease without too much trouble.

Diet is very important and your doctor may refer you to a dietitian to help plan out what you should and should not eat. There are foods that will help maintain relatively steady blood sugars and foods that will make your blood sugar spike. Certain carbohydrates are your enemy. A dietitian will help you sort things out and get you on the right track.

Processed foods and refined sugars can actually make your diabetes worse. This is according to the Harvard School of Public Health. The HSPH recommends you choose healthy, low-glycemic index foods like whole grains, oatmeal, brown rice, nuts, beans and legumes and lots of fruits and vegetables like asparagus, spinach and broccoli, tomatoes, cherries and peaches.

Starchy foods like potatoes, bananas and corn are not recommended. Starchy foods are too readily converted to simple sugars in your body and will spike your blood sugars making it more difficult to regulate them.

It is also recommended that you never skip meals and, if possible, eat five small meals a day with the same number of carbohydrates at each meal. If this is not possible then make sure that you have some healthy snacks available to eat between your three main meals each day.

Making a weekly menu will help you plan all the meals out that you will eat each week. This makes your grocery shopping trip so much easier because you have everything planned already so you can just make your shopping list from your menu plans. You will have everything you need to make the meals you want to eat, no more trying to decide what to eat at the last minute.

Each week you will have your diabetes diet menus posted in the kitchen so you can track what you are eating and see, at a glance, if any changes need to be made.

Adult Onset Diabetes Diet

A good adult onset diabetes diet consists of a low carb, low-fat eating plan loaded with foods that have a low glycemic index. As a diabetic you need to eat healthy foods that will not cause your blood sugar to go up too high. If this does happens you will hear it referred to as a blood sugar spike and if it happens too often you may need to have your doctor adjust your insulin or your oral medication dosages.

Keeping your blood sugar on an even keel really is not that hard. Eating the right amount of food, with the right kinds of carbs balanced with protein and fats and eating each meal at as close to the same times everyday that you can is what is most important. The more consistent you are the more consistent your blood sugars will be.

If you are an overweight diabetic then using a low-glycemic index diet may even help you shed some extra pounds as well. Who knows, if you are a type II diabetic your diabetes may improve or even disappear altogether if you slim down. Give an adult onset diabetes diet a shot, what have you got to lose?

Carbs with a low-glycemic index are those made from whole grain. You can find whole grain in cereals, breads, whole wheat pasta, and brown rice. Try to stay away from refined carbs like white sugar and rice, they really have no significant nutritional value unless they are fortified which only means someone put back a portion of what they took out during processing in the first place.

Eat all natural foods and the fresher the better. Fruits and vegetables are a great way to get good carbs into your diet. Fruit has natural sugar in it and can bring your blood sugar up quite rapidly so always eat your fruit with some protein like peanut butter or yogurt to keep your blood sugar within range.

If you ever have an occasion when your blood sugar goes too low, called hypoglycemia, you need to get something in your system as quickly as you can. Most people drink some orange juice and, depending on how low their blood sugar is, mix in a little sugar.

I will go you one better though. If you can manage it at the time, eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich. Wash it down with some orange juice to give yourself an extra little boost but know that the honey will raise your blood sugar level quickly and then the peanut butter will help stabilize it so it does not act like a yo-yo.

Every one is different and while some people can still function quite well even when their blood sugar falls to 40 mg/dL others will have major symptoms when their blood sugar reaches 70 mg/dL.

Following an adult onset diabetes diet is the best way for you to keep your blood sugars from spiking and/or going too low. Be good to yourself and eat healthy to stay healthy.

Ada Diabetes Diet

The ADA diabetes diet, called the Carb Consistent Diet, was once referred to as the Standard ADA Diet. It is now called the Carb Consistent Diet because it allows you to keep your carb intake evenly distributed throughout your day so your blood sugar does not spike too high or go too low therefore keeping your diabetes under control.

Although there are many variations of the Carb Consistent Diet, the ADA diabetes diet we will be concentrating on is the 1800 calorie diet.

As a diabetic you know that everything you eat affects your blood sugar. Keeping your carb intake steady throughout your day is important. Whether you eat three meals a day or you eat more often you should try to eat the same number of carbs at each meal.

The 1800 calorie diet allows you 180 grams of carbs in a day so if you eat three times a day then you can have 60 grams of carbs at each meal. If you eat five times a day then you need to do the math and divide 180 by 5 and then figure up your meals at only 36 grams of carbs at each meal.

Smaller meals may be the better way to go also if you need to lose a few pounds. Losing weight on the 1800 calorie diet may not be the easiest thing to do and you might consider switching to the 1500 or 1200 calorie diet to lose the weight you want to lose.

Plan on eating 3-5 servings of fruit everyday. What this means is, you should be eating a piece of fruit with every meal. The ADA will tell you that a serving of fruit is a small orange, pear, kiwi, or apple, or two tablespoons of dehydrated fruit like apricots, prunes, cranberries, or cherries.

You should also be sure to add 3-5 servings of vegetables in your meal plan for the day. Once again, this means a vegetable at every meal. Mix it up have a small salad for lunch and eat your broccoli at dinner. Cut up some celery sticks, carrot sticks, and radishes, or a cucumber. Serving sizes of all of these vegetables are not huge, just about a half a cup, so do not think you will be eating mounds of vegetables every day because you won’t be.

Whole grains will help you feel fuller longer. Make sure to get a good 5-6 servings each day. Stay away from starchy foods like potatoes, white bread, and white rice, they will make your blood sugars spike unnecessarily. Stick with brown rice and things like lentils and beans to get your whole grain and fiber. Make breads one of the things you eat the least of.

With lean protein sources and low fat or non-fat dairy products rounding out your ADA diabetes diet you should be well on your way to really getting a handle on controlling your blood sugars so you can continue to live a happy, healthy life.