Foods for Diabetics
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with diabetes and have been told the importance of a good diet, you’ve probably been scrambling around looking for a diet consisting of good foods for diabetics. Finding good foods for diabetics is much easier than you may think. You will not have to rush out to a health food store or invest in an expensive diet to remain healthy.
Some of the most basic foods are a major part of the list of good foods for diabetics. Here is a list of some of delicious and readily available foods that can help you maintain a healthy diet and avoid diabetes-related diseases.
Fruits &Vegetables
It probably doesn’t surprise you to see fruits and vegetables at the top of the list because these are healthy foods, regardless of your health conditions. Vegetables and fruits are low in fat, low in calories, high in fiber and filled with vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Go light on starchy vegetables such as potatoes, peas or corn.
Vegetables are good foods for diabetes, whether they’re cooked or raw and the more you eat, the less fatty and high-calorie foods you’ll be eating. Choose fresh fruit over sweetened or canned fruit. Make it your goal to get 3 or 4 servings of each of these foods per day.
Beans are also a great food to consider. They’re probably about the best source of fiber you can get and they’ll help keep your blood sugar level down. Whether they’re put in a salad or made into soup, add some split peas, black beans or lentils into your diet.
Breakfast Choices
Mom really did know what she was talking about when she said your day should start off with a good breakfast, and a high fiber cereal makes a great breakfast. Look for cereals that have at least 5 grams of fiber in each serving such as Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Kellogg’s All-Bran and Post Wheat ‘N Bran, to name just a few. Add ½ cup of low-fat or skim milk and you have a great breakfast.
Yogurt is also a great source of protein and calcium, which will help you lose weight and keep your insulin levels in check. Choose nonfat yogurt with fresh fruit and you have another excellent breakfast choice.
Another excellent breakfast choice is whole wheat toast with a little margarine and oatmeal. Both of these are good diabetes foods. If you like cinnamon, you’ll love the fact that it’s good for you as well because it will lower you blood sugar, so sprinkle a ½ teaspoon on your oatmeal and enjoy your breakfast!
Fish and Poultry
Fish is an excellent source of protein and makes a great alternative to high-fat meats. It’s also an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which is a necessity for everyone but more important for diabetics. Add fish such as tuna, mackerel or salmon to your diet, making 2 to 3 servings per week your goal.
Poultry breast is not only a delicious meal but is also low in calories and saturated fats. Poultry breasts can help with both your insulin and blood sugar levels. It’s lean, delicious and makes for a great meal. Everywhere we look, we’re hearing about the benefits of olive oil. If you absolutely feel you have to cook your food in oils, use olive oil. Olive oil will reduce your risk of heart disease and keep your blood sugar at healthy levels. However, keep in mind that olive oil is high in calories, so use it in moderation.
Nuts – The Perfect Snack
If you’re looking for the perfect snack, nuts are definitely considered a good food for diabetics. They also offer so many varieties. Nuts also provide you with the right source of fats, are an excellent source of vitamin E, are rich in fiber and can even help you lose weight. However, like olive oil, nuts are high in calories so eat them sparingly. A handle of nuts each day can do wonders for your diet!
Authentic hard-to-find raw foods that can’t typically be found in your local health food store!
What to Look for in Meals for Diabetics
Maintaining a good diet, which is an important part of effective diabetic treatment, consists of knowing what to look for in meals for diabetics. Diabetics may also need medication, depending on their type of diabetes. Maintaining an ideal body weight is also important for diabetes as well as for overall good health.
Maintaining an ideal body weight involves eating right. Finding good meals for diabetics is much easier than you might think, especially once you know what foods should be added to your diet. Calories play a large part in weight watching. Your doctor or nutritionist can help you set some guidelines on how many calories you require as well as how to count calories, based on your condition, health and exercise level.
As a rule and this is not set in concrete, a type 1 diabetes patient should have a diet that consists of approximately 16 calories per body weight pound or 35 calories per kg of body weight.
For example, an individual that weighs 125 pounds should have a daily diet that consists of around 2,000 calories. Type 2 diabetes patients are typically put on a diet that consists of 1500 to 1800 calories per day to help lose weight and followed by a weight maintenance program. Because men have more muscles mass than women, they may require more calories per day.
Carbohydrates are a part of your diet that should be monitored, if for no other reason, to ensure it consists of more complex carbohydrates, which can help you balance your blood sugar levels. Typically, half of your calorie intake should be carbohydrates. However, don’t try to lower your carbohydrates too much because you may compensate for this by consuming a higher fat diet. Meals for diabetics should be balanced with the right amount of carbohydrates, vitamins, starches, fiber, etc.
To help with preparing good meals for diabetics, you may want to purchase a carbohydrate or calorie counter book. They’re relatively inexpensive and can prove very helpful. Although you’ll find that preparing healthy meals for diabetics will entail counting everything, there are some foods that are considered as “freebies” because they contain less than 5 grams of carbs and less than 20 calories.
By keeping these in mind, you can implement them into your diet plan. Some of the “freebies” include mineral or carbonated water, broth or bouillon, club soda, tea or coffee, sugar-free hard candy or gum, sugar-free Jell-O, sugar-free drink mixes, low-sugar or light jelly (2 tsp), sugar-free syrup and sugar-free tonic water. Yes, all those things you heard about sugar-free products being healthier really are true!
Preparing meals for diabetics is not much more difficult than preparing healthy meals for the rest of your family. We all require basically the same types of food. It’s just that meals for diabetics appear to be stricter because the consequences of failing to comply can have serious health risks. However, in the long run, failure to comply with healthy eating can have serious health risks on all of us.
In summary, meals for diabetics should consist of low-fat foods, low-sugar foods, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, poultry, nuts, whole wheat breads and pastas and plenty of water.
