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Dieting For Diabetics

Following a healthy lifestyle along with daily physical activity and medication can help to maintain the diabetic’s blood glucose level within the target range. The three key points are, what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat, following simple guidelines can prevent health problems due to diabetes.

The key to successfully maintaining diabetes is to eat small meals on a regular basis such as breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and an evening snack.

Your diabetes Doctor can give you guidance and suggestions for a healthy eating plan, but generally by following simple guidelines you can design your own which should include the following

Starches

These are bread, grains, cereals, pasta and starchy vegetables such as corn and potatoes. They provide vitamins, minerals and fibre, try to get wholegrain starches because these are healthier and provide more vitamins, minerals and fibres. Some starches should be eaten with every meal and examples of starchy foods are potatoes, pasta, corn, bread, rice and beans.

Vegetables

Vegetables are rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals and low in carbohydrates and 5 portions should be included in the diet daily along with fruit. Vegetables can be boiled, steamed or eaten raw and help maintain healthy skin.

Fruit

Five portions of fruit should be eaten daily as these are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre and also provide carbohydrates.

Milk and dairy products

This group provides you with vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and calcium which are essential for bone strength.

Meat and Fish

This group includes meat, fish and poultry, small amounts of this group should be eaten everyday, and this group provides vitamins, minerals and protein.

Taking care of yourself when you’re ill

Extra care should be taken if you are diabetic and become ill because your blood glucose level could go too high. Some simple guidelines can be followed.

• Keep a check of your blood glucose level every 4 hour and write down the results.

• Even if you can’t keep food down keep taking your medication.

• Drink at least one cup of water every hour.

• If you can’t eat what you usually would then try to eat soup or crackers or drink fruit juice.

* If you can’t keep anything down then try drinking clear liquids such as ginger ale or drink something with sugar in it to make sure you get enough calories, if your sugar level drops too low then you increase the risk of hypoglycaemia.

When blood glucose is very high in people who have type 1 diabetes then the body will produce ketones, these can make you very ill so check for ketones if your blood sugar is over 24 or if you can’t keep any food down.