Diabetic Nutrition

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, your doctor has probably mentioned that you should pay careful attention to nutrition and diet as part of your treatment program. Nutrition experts say that there is no one diet for diabetes, but people with diabetes should follow the nutrition guidelines in the Food Pyramid, while paying special attention to carbohydrate intake. People with diabetes should also eat about the same amount of food at the same time each day to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Diabetic nutrition is a confusing subject for people who have recently been diagnosed with diabetes as well as their families. It can be confusing to determine what you should be eating and what, if anything, you should be avoiding.

Diabetics and Sugar

The first thing most people think of when they consider diabetic nutrition is that they will never be able to eat sugar again. That’s a big misconception about the diabetic diet. The truth is lots of natural foods, such as corn and beans, contain sugar, and they aren’t off limits.

Refined sugar is a little different, but it isn’t totally banned from the diabetic diet, as long as moderation is exercised. Eating too much sugar at once can cause a spike in blood sugar while leaving you full, but empty of nutrients and likely to gain weight, none of which will help your health problems in the long run.

Protein Power

Carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the body and can cause a spike in blood sugar as surely as sugars can, When eating a lot of carbohydrates, it is important to eat protein as well. The protein slows down the absorption of the carbs and keeps your blood sugar on a more even level.

As with anyone else, it is an important part of diabetic nutrition to choose lean proteins such as chicken, tofu and eggs. The standard diabetic diet calls for four to six ounces of protein a day, spread throughout the day. That isn’t a lot, but it is enough to keep your body healthy.

Cutting the Fat

It’s also a good idea to cut down on saturated fats and eliminate trans fats from your diet, especially if you are trying to lose weight. This is good advice for everyone, but it especially makes sense in terms of diabetic nutrition, because losing weight is a great way to reduce your symptoms and perhaps eventually eliminate your health problems.