Knowing you have diabetes is the first step. The next step, as you’ve probably already been told by your doctor and nutritionist, is to modify your diet to control your diabetes. There are great recipes for diabetics and if you know the basics, you can make your own diabetes diet plan with your favorite foods.
First, start with a foundation of giving your body what it needs. Diabetes Research shows that keeping carbohydrate intake to 45–60 grams at each meal is effective at controlling blood sugar. Fiber shows the best benefit of maintaining your blood sugar levels so plan to get the recommended amount of fiber every day. Break your meals into 5-6 small meals each day and divide your daily calorie intake into them. Breakfast is my biggest meal of the day so I spend most of my calories there. There should be a gap of about 3-4 hours between each meal. Whole foods that are unprocessed are best so I recommend you emphasize these in your plan.
So what are some creative ways to plan what you want in your diet? If it’s a food you love that costs a lot in terms of carbohydrates, try substituting it with a food that’s a better fit for your diabetes diet plan. Example: If you like orange juice, try one of the new low-sugar brands available in the market and add it to meals. Another way to get creative is to prepare foods in a way that is just as delicious, but fits into your plan. You can also include some specialty foods such as shake bars and frozen foods that are commercially prepared just for diabetics.
Sweets and treats are one category of food that can be difficult to deal with at times. When possible, try to have a low or zero sugar equivalent so it doesn’t send your blood sugar skyrocketing. Russell Stover Sugar Free Candies are my lifesaver when I have a chocolate craving that just won’t go away. You can also find dessert recipes for diabetics online. Splenda and stevia are two of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners right now and you can find a wide range of products that use both of them to help take the edge off your sweet tooth.
The next thing you’ll want to do is keep track of what you eat along with the readings you get from your blood glucose meter. The purpose of keeping these records is to identify which foods raise your blood sugar and by how much. Foods like fruit juice and milk usually raise blood sugar for me and I have learned to measure how much of these I consume at meals. If you keep measuring the carbs at each meal, the process of limiting problem foods will be easier and you can stick to the whole process. Recipes for diabetics often include information on carbs with the recipe itself.
Creating your own diabetic diet plan is easy when you know the basics. Diabetes Research shows that keeping carbohydrate intake to 45–60 grams at each meal is effective at controlling blood sugar. When planning your own diet, you can substitute your favorite foods with low-sugar foods, prepare foods to make them more diabetes-friendly, or choose commercially available foods just for diabetics. Can use prepared foods. Be aware of foods that affect blood sugar so that you can limit them in your diet. Planning a diet with diabetes can be easy when you know the rules.
Source by Elridge Jones
