Nutrition and Diabetes
Eating right and being healthy are important parts of controlling diabetes. By maintaining a healthy weight with exercise and proper diet, your blood sugar levels can be better controlled. Keeping your blood sugar levels controlled can better protect you against long-term problems associated with diabetes. To better control your blood sugar levels it is very important to monitor your carbohydrate intake. You should eat consistent limited amounts of carbohydrates at meals and snacks.
What are starches?
Starches are a type of carbohydrate. They include breads, grains, cereal, pasta, rice, beans or starchy vegetables (corn, potatoes and peas). You should eat 2-3 servings of starches/carbohydrates at each meal and 1-2 servings are snacks
Try to choose whole-grain starches to increase your fiber intake. When eating starches with fiber in them, you can subtract the amount of fiber from the grams of carbohydrates. (For example, if a cereal bar has 30g of carbohydrates and 9g of fiber 30-9 = 21g of carbohydrates you count!)
How many carbohydrates should you be eating?
Each person’s needs are different based on factors such as weight, height, and activity level. Make sure you stay consistent with your meal plan. You cannot skip carbs at one meal and then add them to another. The goal is to be balanced throughout the day. Talk to your dietitian or physician about how many carbs you should consume at meals and at snacks.
Proteins
You should include a 3-4 oz serving of meat or protein source with each meal. Each snack should be a protein and a carbohydrate together (example: peanut butter and apple). Avoid meats that are higher in saturated fats, such as bacon or sausage. Meats do not increase blood glucose levels unless they have breading on them. Some of your protein sources are also carbohydrate sources, so read your labels.
Fats
Limit your total fat intake to help control your weight and cholesterol levels. Your diet should contain about 30% fat. Avoid fried foods, whole dairy products or fatty meats. Use oils, or trans-free fat sources in moderation when cooking. Avoid saturated fats, which are found in foods that come from animal products. Try to pick items with unsaturated fats.