Author: Thamin Abdul

In grade school everyone was taught the food pyramid and the different food groups that make it up. It is recommended for a balanced and healthy diet to vary your diet and follow the food serving suggestions from the pyramid. As adults, people rarely pay as much heed to it if any at all. But once you have been diagnosed with diabetes it is time to take a refresher course on the different food groups.

There is a food pyramid that is available specifically for diabetics known as the Diabetes Food Pyramid. It is divided into six food groups just like the standard version. The way the two pyramids differ is that the diabetic version lists foods together that have the same or similar carbohydrate content instead of the regular version that does it by food groups alone. This lay out makes it easier for diabetics to make food choices based on information that can have a negative impact on blood glucose levels.

Some of the differences you will notice are that cheese is placed in the meat group instead of the dairy group as a protein and the serving size will be equivalent to other proteins in the same group. You will find starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn in the bread and grains section because they act in a similar manner by raising blood sugars.

Another difference is the actual serving sizes, especially in the bread and grains group. A diabetic has to monitor the carbohydrate intake at each meal and it has been found that smaller portion sizes are a good way to manage this.

You can get a copy of the Diabetic Food Pyramid from your dietician, doctor, or diabetes educator. It is a good reference material to have on hand when you are planning your meals.

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The glycemic index diet is one that many diabetics find useful. The diet is based on assigning foods a ranking that indicates that food’s effect on blood sugar levels. This can be a valuable tool for diabetics, especially ones that have been newly diagnosed as it can take some of the guess work out of meal planning and what foods to eat.

The glycemic index (GI) diet indicates foods that have a low GI value meaning they will take a longer time to have an affect on blood sugars and ones that have a higher value – they will act quicker to raise blood sugars. A diabetic is still going to have to use another means to decide what foods to eat though – such as the food pyramid or an exchange list as not all items on the GI diet are as healthy as they could be. Meaning a food that has a low index does not mean it is a better choice for you than some foods that are on the higher end of the scale.

Using the GI diet as your sole source of meal planning is not recommended not only because the values are not indicative of the healthiest choice but also because not all foods are listed. If you are basing your diet on this method and want to add other foods that do not have GI rating you are not going to be able to properly plan. Until more information is researched on the diet or it is made more comprehensive it should be used with an approved diet for diabetics such as the exchange diet or the carbohydrate counting diet.

If you want more information on how to incorporate the GI diet with your current meal plan, consult with your dietician or a diabetes educator.

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The exchange diet is a method of eating that provide diabetic with a set of guidelines necessary to eat healthy. A dietician will help prepare and educate you on the exchange diet – the food groups and what substitutions you can make.

On the exchange diet all foods are divided into six food groups:

• Breads and other Starches
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Dairy Foods
• Meat and Meat Substitutes
• Fats

Your dietician will provide you with the number of servings you should have from each group daily and at individual meal or snack times. Within each of the categories there are many food options. Each food has a specific serving size that equals one serving, in cases such as fruits and vegetables you probably will not have to measure your foods but for meats and other groups a food scale and measuring cup is recommended.

The exchange part of the diet refers to being able to swap a food in one food group for another in the same group as long as you adhere to the serving suggestion. For instance ½ cup of cooked pasta can be exchanged for 2 rice cakes in one meal. The list your dietician gives you will be pretty complete but there are bound to be items not listed. In that case, you can call your dietician for advice or keep a list of items that you need to know the proper serving size for.

At the beginning the exchange diet may seem like a lot of work, but as time goes on and you become accustomed to the serving sizes of your favorite foods it will become less so. Proper eating habits are crucial to managing diabetes and the exchange diet is a way to eat a healthy balanced diet full of variety.

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There are going to be times when you have finished your meal or snack and you are hungry again long before your next meal is scheduled or right before bed. Depending on how much time you have to go before you are supposed to eat again and what your blood sugar levels are at you may want to move your meal time up or indulge in some free food.

If this happens frequently it is time look at your eating schedule and meal plan. If you have recently added more physical activity to your daily routine, you will also have to increase your food intake to compensate for the extra energy your are using up. If this isn’t the case and you are unsure why your appetite has increased or your current meal plan is no longer working, speak to your dietician to see if there are some revisions that can be made to prevent this from happening.

When you have gestational diabetes, it is recommended that you have a snack before bedtime to tide you over until the morning. It will also be important to have a bedtime snack if you are taking an insulin injection prior to bed so that your blood sugar does not become too low overnight. If neither of these scenarios applies to you, you can have some free food before bed if you are finding that you are hungry at night time. A bouillon (beef or chicken broth) might stave off hunger pangs and allow you to fall asleep.

If you are hungry at night time and your blood sugars are low, do have something to eat to raise your glucose level. If this is a frequent occurrence, you may not be eating enough food at dinner time. Try adding a protein or carbohydrate to see if this makes a difference.

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When you are a diabetic sometimes when you eat is just as important as what you eat. Keeping a steady stream of food in your system without causing high blood sugars can be hard to do. But once you figure what works for you, you will have more flexibility and better control of your diabetes.

It is recommended that diabetics eat many small meals throughout the day or three main meals and three snacks in between. A typical day may go like this:

• Wake-up and have breakfast
• Mid-morning snack
• Lunch
• Mid-afternoon snack
• Dinner
• Bedtime snack

The timing in between each meal or snack should be two to three hours. This variation will depend on what you have eaten at the previous meal, how active you have been and what you feel like. If you are feeling hungry or light-headed and you normally wouldn’t have eaten for another 30 minutes – don’t wait. Test your blood sugar and move up your meal. The time it can take for you to wait the 30 minutes can be the time it takes for your blood sugar to drop dangerously low.

The only time you may want to wait a longer period of time is between dinner and your bedtime snack. Most times dinner is the biggest meal of the day and you will not need food again for a longer period of time. Another reason to wait longer is to ensure that you have enough food in your system before you go to bed to last you through the night without your blood sugars dropping too low.

If eating this many times in a day is too much for you, consider eating smaller means and smaller portion sizes. Eating this way (less more often) makes it easier for your body to regulate blood glucose levels.

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If you are a vegetarian who has been diagnosed with diabetes, you can still maintain your diabetic diet. In some cases a vegetarian diet may be a healthy way to keep your blood glucose levels stable – that is if you are eating lean high-quality proteins and are following other rules for eating as a diabetic.

As a lot of vegans and vegetarians eat a larger amount of fruits and vegetables in a day than a non-vegetarian and their fiber intake is much higher too. An increased amount of fiber in a diabetic’s diet can help blood sugars because it slows down the process of the body digesting carbohydrates. A vegetarian’s diet is usually lower in cholesterol as well and it can help ward off cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes.

If you are diabetic and are considering a switch to a diabetic diet some of the benefits you might derive include a higher rate of weight loss and better blood sugar readings. This is dependant on the types of vegetarian meals you choose as some meatless meals can be just as fattening as ones that contain meat.

Speak to your doctor and dietician before making the switch. You will need information on how to transition yourself to your new diet. You will also get a list of meat alternatives you should eat in order to get enough protein in a day. These can include tofu, nuts, eggs, and seeds.

As with any change, once your switch to a vegetarian diet give yourself and your body time to adjust. There are many recipes and ideas for vegetarian dishes and you will find a lot of variety and flexibility in the meals that you prepare. Check your blood sugars frequently to make sure your blood glucose levels remain stable during the change.

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There is no known reason for what causes diabetes. There are certainly risk factors that make the likelihood of you being diagnosed with the disease higher. One of the only risk factors that you have control over is your weight. If you are obese, the single best thing you can do for your health and the prevention of diabetes is to lose weight. Even in small increments, when you shed pounds you are increasing your health benefits.

These may be easier said than done. There are new studies that are now showing that there is a genetic factor or mutation for people who are obese and have diabetes. This genetic malfunction affects how the bodies use energy and insulin – two key elements in the functioning of your body and the cause of diabetes and obesity.

The studies also state that this is not a cause and effect case. If you carry this defective gene you are not guaranteed to be obese or have diabetes. But the link is there and it can be prevented. You may have to work harder at it than others to maintain a healthy body weight and put off diabetes but it can be done. Discuss with your doctor options and ways to prevent or put-off the onset of diabetes.

The gene that researchers have discovered as a precursor to diabetes has been found in young children. It is scary to know that children in their preschool years are being diagnosed with obesity and type 2 diabetes due to genetics. But parents can reduce or prevent these things from happening by giving their children healthy lifestyle choices. Now that a DNA link has been found, the research can focus on finding a way to fix or prevent this from happening at some point in the future.

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Body Mass Index (BMI) is a calculation that is based on your height and weight to determine if you are underweight, an ideal weight, overweight, or obese. The test is an indication of the total body fat that you are carrying around. The number ranges are fairly accurate but there are some circumstances when the calculations may not be 100% true. As these results are purely based on numbers, you should take the number you are given and discuss other contributing factors with your doctor (such as muscle weight or body type considerations).

A BMI of 30 or over is considered obese. The higher end of the scale for overweight people (25 – 29.9) and people that fall into the obese category are at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Other danger indicators are waist circumferences. If you are a man and your waist measures 40 inches or more and if you are a woman and your waist measures 35 inches or more, there is an increased abdominal fat risk factor for diabetes and other diseases.

Maintaining a healthy BMI is all about being at a weight that is right for your height and body type. Both of these goals will bring many more benefits than just better controlled blood glucose levels. You will also have increased energy, can reduce the amount of insulin you are on, and give yourself a longer life expectancy.

Reduce your total body fat to bring your BMI into a healthy range (18.5-24.9). Consult your doctor and get advice on how to meet your goals. And if you are just starting an exercise routine, get the okay from your doctor first. You do not want to overtax yourself at the beginning and your doctor may have some restrictions for you to ensure you do not suffer from injury or hypoglycemia.

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Birthday parties, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more are holidays and special occasions that are centered on food. For most people these are times to anticipate the celebration and the eating. For a diabetic it can be a stressful time, you want to partake in all of the good food too but most times it is not made with a diabetic in mind. If the frequency of these events is not too often, you can adjust your diet for special occasions so you too can have some of the treats available.

The hardest part about preparing for a special occasion is if you do not know what is going to be served. If this is the case, a quick call to your host or hostess can be made. Most people will not mind you asking especially if you have dietary needs that need to be taken into consideration. Once you do know what is being served, plan your meals for that day accordingly. You may want to have fewer carbohydrates with your breakfast and snack to make up for the extra ones you will have at a birthday party where pizza is being served.

Another option for special occasions is to offer to bring a dish for everyone to share. Make it something that you enjoy as a treat but still follows the guidelines for your diabetic diet.

For family favorites and traditions, be creative and look for ways to make the same dishes with less fat or sugar. You can do this by substituting regular sugar for sugar substitutes or choose whole wheat flour instead of white for the extra fiber content.

During the holidays and other occasions, closely monitor your blood sugars. Even with extra care, the change in your diet can still result in a blood sugar that is too high or low.

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The food industry has come up with a solution for people on diets or with diabetes that have a sweet tooth. They are known as artificial sweeteners and they are used in everything from chewing gum, coffee sweeteners, and even baking. There is some controversy over the use of them as some of them are totally synthetic and others are derived from the actual sugar plant. But to a diabetic who doesn’t want to give up on their favorite pop or chewing gum they can be a life-saver.

The four different kinds of artificial sweeteners are: saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium. Each of these types can be found under various product names and brands. Not all are made the same way and they have different uses. Some you can buy in liquid or powdered form for baking needs and others like aspartame is only found in foods that you purchase pre-made.

The use of these artificial sweeteners will not raise blood sugar and are safe for a diabetic to use. Care and attention is still needed because the food items you put sugar in or on most likely will have an affect on your blood sugar. Still follow your diabetic diet but use some artificial sweeteners to make it a little sweeter.

Some diabetics may want to use honey as a substitute for sugar. You certainly can make this substitution, however, honey is very similar to sugar in carbohydrate content and the effects it will have on your blood glucose level. It is best to enjoy honey in small moderations if at all.

Aspartame has been linked in some medical studies with Alzheimer’s disease. Speak to your doctor about the benefits and risks of using any of the artificial sweeteners if you have any concerns about the potential health risks.

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