Diabetes Diet Guidelines

One of the most important aspects of managing diabetes is controlling your nutrition. Persons with diabetes must develop a meal plan in conjunction with a dietitian or doctor to meet individual lifestyle and disease-management needs. Diabetes meal plans generally focus on balance and maintaining glucose control.

Carbohydrates

• Since the body metabolizes all carbohydrates to glucose, it is important to monitor the amount of carbohydrates consumed. A meal plan should be designed so that carbohydrate consumption is consistent from day to day and aligns with maintaining your body weight.

Sugar

• A common misconception about diabetes is that all forms of sugar must be avoided. Sugar is acceptable in your meal plan as long as carbohydrate consumption for that meal is consistent with your meal plan. While sugar alone will not increase blood glucose levels, high sugar in conjunction with high carbohydrates will make blood glucose levels rise.

Protein

• People with diabetes do not necessarily require specific levels of control for protein. However, avoiding saturated fats is important because diabetics face an increased risk of heart disease at earlier phases of life. The best way to reduce saturated fat in your diet is to avoid foods with animal fats, such as meats and some cheeses.

Portion Control

• Since your blood glucose level is directly related to the quantity of food you consume, maintaining appropriate portions is key to stabilizing glucose levels. According to the Joslin Diabetes Center, the best way to maintain appropriate quantities is to measure your food in accordance with the portion sizes on food labels.

Timing

• Blood glucose levels generally vary throughout the day. Therefore, consistent timing of meals is important for smoothing out glucose levels and providing energy supply to tissues. Consuming several small meals throughout the day is recommended as long as the volume of food and caloric intake does not increase.