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| How Should Diabetics Eat? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 24 2006, 08:37 PM (217 Views) | |
| Ahmaq | Dec 24 2006, 08:37 PM Post #1 |
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Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, what, when and how much you eat all affect your blood glucose. Blood glucose is the main sugar found in the blood and the body's main source of energy. If you have diabetes (or impaired glucose tolerance), your blood glucose can go too high if you eat too much. If your blood glucose goes too high, you can get sick. Your blood glucose can also go too high or drop too low if you don't take the right amount of diabetes medicine. If your blood glucose stays high too much of the time, you can get heart, eye, foot, kidney and other problems. You can also have problems if your blood glucose gets too low, a condiction called hypoglycemia. Keeping your blood glucose at a healthy level will prevent or slow down diabetes problems. Ask your doctor or diabetes teacher what a healthy blood glucose level is for you. For most people, target blood glucose levels are Before meals: 90 to 130 One to two hours after the start of a meal: less than 180 Talk with your health care provider about your blood glucose target levels, and ask your doctor how often you should check your blood glucose. The results from your blood glucose checks will tell you if your diabetes care plan is working. Also ask your doctor for an A1C test at least twice a year. Your A1C number gives your average blood glucose for the past three months. To keep your blood glucose at a healthy level: Eat about the same amount of food each day. Eat your meals and snacks at about the same times each day. Do not skip meals or snacks. Take your medicines at the same times each day. Exercise at about the same times each day. Your blood glucose goes up after you eat. If you eat a big lunch one day and a small lunch the next day, your blood glucose levels will change too much. Keep your blood glucose at a healthy level by eating about the same amount of carbohydrate foods at about the same times each day. Carbohydrate foods provide glucose for energy. Starches, fruits, milk, starchy vegetables such as corn, and sweets are all carbohydrate foods. Exercise What you eat and when also depends on how much you exercise. Exercise is an important part of staying healthy and controlling your blood glucose. Physical activity should be safe and enjoyable, so talk with your doctor about what types of exercise are right for you. Whatever kind of exercise you do, here are some special things that people with diabetes need to remember: Take care of your feet. Make sure your shoes fit properly and your socks stay clean and dry. Check your feet for redness or sores after exercising. Call your doctor if you have sores that do not heal. Drink about two cups of water before you exercise, about every 20 minutes during exercise, and after you finish, even if you don't feel thirsty. Warm up and cool down for five to 10 minutes before and after exercising. For example, walk slowly at first, then walk faster. Finish up by walking slowly again. Test your blood glucose before and after exercising. Do not exercise if your fasting blood glucose level is above 300. Eat a small snack if your blood glucose is below 100. Know the signs of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) and how to treat it. Hypoglycemia You should know the signs of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, such as feeling weak or dizzy, sweating more, noticing sudden changes in your heartbeat, or feeling hungry. If you experience these symptoms, stop exercising and test your blood glucose. If it is 70 or less, eat one of the following right away: Two or three glucose tablets 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of any fruit juice 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of a regular (not diet) soft drink 1 cup (8 ounces) of milk Five or six pieces of hard candy 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar or honey After 15 minutes, test your blood glucose again to find out whether it has returned to a healthier level. Once blood glucose is stable, if it will be at least an hour before your next meal, it's a good idea to eat a snack. To be safe when you exercise, carry something to treat hypoglycemia, such as glucose tablets or hard candy. Another good idea is to wear a medical identification bracelet or necklace in case of emergency. Teach your exercise partners the signs of hypoglycemia and what to do about it. When You Are Sick It's important to take care of your diabetes even when you're ill. Here are some tips on what to do: Even if you can't keep food down, keep taking your diabetes medicine. Drink at least one cup (8 ounces) of water or other calorie-free, caffeine-free liquid every hour while you're awake. If you can't eat your usual food, try drinking juice or eating crackers, popsicles, or soup. If you can't eat at all, drink clear liquids such as ginger ale. Eat or drink something with sugar in it if you have trouble keeping food down, because you still need calories. If you don't have enough calories, you increase your risk of hypoglycemia. Make sure that you check your blood glucose. Your blood glucose level may be high even if you're not eating. Call your doctor right away if you throw up more than once or have diarrhea for more than six hours. |
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| Ahmaq | Dec 24 2006, 09:01 PM Post #2 |
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Treatment of Diabetes There are several aspects in the treatment of diabetes, each one with a very important role. The mainstays of treatment are: Working towards obtaining ideal body weight Following a diabetic diet Regular exercise Diabetic medication if needed Note: Type 1 Diabetes must be treated with insulin. This involves injecting insulin under the skin for it to work. Insulin cannot be taken as a pill because the digestive juices in the stomach would destroy the insulin before it could work. Scientists are looking for new ways to give insulin. But today, shots are the only method. There are, however, new methods to give the shots...Insulin Pumps are now being widely used and many people are having great results. A new page on insulin pumps will be on line soon. Working towards obtaining ideal body weight. An estimate of ideal body weight can be calculated using this formula: For women: Start with 100 pounds for 5 feet tall. Add 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet. (If you are under 5 feet, subtract 5 pounds for each inch under 5 feet). This will give you your ideal weight. If you have a large frame, add 10 percent. If you have a small frame, subtract ten percent. ( A good way to decide your frame size is to look at your wrist size compared to other women's) Example: a woman who is 5' 4" tall and has a large frame. 100 pounds + 20 pounds (4 inches times 5 pounds per inch) =120 pounds. Add 10% for large frame (in this case 10% of 120 pounds is 12 pounds). 120 pounds + 12 pounds = 142 pounds ideal body weight. For men: Start with 106 pounds for a height of 5 foot. Add 6 pounds for every inch above 5 foot. For a large frame, add 10%. For a small frame, subtract 10 percent. (See above for further details). The Diabetic Diet Diet is very important in diabetes. There are differing philosophies on what is the BEST diet but below is a guideline with some general principles. Patients with Type 1 diabetes should have a diet that has approximately 35 calories per kg of body weight per day (or 16 calories per pound of body weight per day). Patients with Type 2 diabetes generally are put on a 1500-1800 calorie diet per day to promote weight loss and then the maintenance of ideal body weight.. However, this may vary depending on the person's age, sex, activity level, current weight and body style. More obese individuals may need more calories initially until their weight is less. This is because it takes more calories to maintain a larger body and a 1600 calorie diet for them may promote weight loss that is too fast to be healthy. Men have more muscle mass in general and therefore may require more calories. Muscle burns more calories per hour than fat. (Thus also one reason to regularly exercise and build up muscle!) Also, people whose activity level is low will have less daily caloric needs. Generally, carbohydrates should make up about 50 percent of the daily calories ( with the accepted range 40-60 percent). In general, lower carbohydrate intake is associated with lower sugar levels in the blood. However the benefits of this can be cancelled out by the problems associated with a higher fat diet taken in to compensate for the lower amount of carbohydrates.. This problem can be improved by substituting monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats for saturated fats. Most people with diabetes find that it is quite helpful to sit down with a dietician or nutritionist for a consult about what is the best diet for them and how many daily calories they need. It is quite important for diabetics to understand the principles of carbohydrate counting and how to help control blood sugar levels through proper diet. Below are some general principles about the diabetic diet. Understanding Food Groups There are three basic food groups: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are the foods that can be broken down into sugar. It is essential to have all three food groups in your diet to have good nutrition. 1. Why count carbohydrates? Carbohydrate makes your blood glucose level go up. If you know how much carbohydrate you've eaten, you have a good idea what your blood glucose level is going to do. The more carbohydrates you eat, the higher your blood sugar will go up. 2. Which foods contain carbohydrate? Most of the carbohydrate we eat comes from three food groups: starch, fruit and milk. Vegetables also contain some carbohydrates, but foods in the meat and fat groups contain very little carbohydrate. Sugars may be added or may be naturally present (such as in fruits). The nutrient term for sugars can also be identified by looking for -ose at the end of a word ( i.e. glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc. are all sugars). Look for these on food labels to help identify foods that contain sugar. Below are some examples of carbohydrate grams for some common food items: Food Amount Carb grams Food Amount Carb grams 1 % fat milk 1 cup 12 yogurt fruited 1 cup 40 Bran Chex 2/3 cup 23 yogurt fruit 1 cup 19 Frosted Flakes 3/4 cup 26 Raisin Bran 3/4 cup 28 fruit juice 1/2 cup 15 bread/toast 1 slice 15 banana 1/2 15 sugar 1 tsp. 4 pancake syrup 2 Tbsp. 30 pancakes - 4 2 15 low-fat granola 1/2 cup 30 sugar-free syrup 2 Tbsp. 4 To make things easy, many people begin carbohydrate counting by rounding the carbohydrate value of milk up to 15. In other words, one serving of starch, fruit or milk all contain 15 grams carbohydrate or one carbohydrate serving. Three servings of vegetable also contain 15 grams. Each meal and snack will contain a specific total number of grams of carbohydrate. For example: Each gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories. A diabetic on a 1600 calorie diet should get 50% of these calories from carbohydrate. This would be a total of 800 calories or 200 gms of carbohydrate (at 4 calories per gram) spread out over the day. At 15 grams per exchange, this would be about 13 exchanges of carbohydrate per day. The amount of food you eat is closely related to blood sugar control. If you eat more food than is recommended on your meal plan, your blood sugar goes up. Although foods containing carbohydrate (carb) have the most impact on blood sugars, the calories from all foods will affect blood sugar. The only way you can tell if you are eating the right amount is to measure your foods carefully. Also, it is important to space your carbohydrates out throughout the day to avoid sugar "loading." Measuring your blood sugar regularly also provides important feedback on how high your sugar went based on what you ate and your level of activity. Where do you get carbohydrate information? The "Nutrition Facts" label on most foods is the best way to get carbohydrate information, but not all foods have labels. Your local bookstore and library have books that list the carbohydrate in restaurant foods, fast foods, convenience foods and fresh foods. You will still need to weigh or measure the foods to know the amount of grams of carbohydrates present. How do you count carbohydrate? Carbohydrates can be counted in number of grams or can be counted as exchanges. One carbohydrate exchange equals 15 grams of carbohydrate. A good reference for learning how to count calories in this manner will be on line here soon including a calorie computer. Free Foods: These are foods that you can eat without counting. A free food or drink is one that contains less than 20 calories and 5 grams or less of carbohydrate per serving. If your serving or a food contains more than 5 grams of carbohydrate, you should count it in your meal plan. Examples of free foods: Bouillon or broth Carbonated or mineral water Club soda Coffee or tea Diet soft drinks Drink mixes, sugar-free Tonic water, sugar free Sugar-free hard candy Sugar-free Jell-O Sugar-free gum Jam or jelly, light or low-sugar, 2 tsp. Sugar free syrup, 2 tsp. You should spread out free foods throughout the day and not eat them in one sitting. Fitting Sugar in Your Meal Plan It is commonly thought that people with diabetes should avoid all forms of sugar. Most people with diabetes can eat foods containing sugar as long as the total amount of carbohydrate (carb) for that meal or snack is consistent. Many research studies have shown that meals which contain sugar do not make the blood sugar rise higher than meals of equal carbohydrate levels which do not contain sugar. However, if the sugar-containing meal contains more carb, the blood sugar levels will go up. Does this mean I can eat cake and not worry about it? No! A slice of white cake with chocolate icing ( 1/12 of a cake or 80 gram weight) will give you about 300 calories, 45 grams of carb and 12 grams of fat. That is three starch servings and over 2 fat servings. Before you have a slice of cake, ask yourself the following questions: Will that small piece of cake be satisfying or will I still be hungry? How it will fit into my meal plan? Do I have 300 calories to "spend" on this? Are there other choices I could make which would contribute less fat? A 1/12 slice of angel food cake has less than 1 gram of fat and only 30 carb. This may be a better choice. Controlling all carbohydrates It is important to realize that sugar is not the only carbohydrate that you have to "control". The body will convert all carbohydrates to glucose - so eating extra servings of rice, pasta, bread, fruit or other carbohydrate foods will make the blood sugar rise. Just because something doesn't have sugar in it doesn't mean you can eat as much as you want. Your meal plan is designed so that the carbohydrate content of your meals remains as consistent as possible from day to day. A word of caution: Although sugar does not cause the blood sugar to rise any higher than other carbohydrates, it should be eaten along with other healthy foods. If you choose to drink a 12 ounce can of a sugar-sweetened soft drink, that would use up about 45 grams carb - and you wouldn't have gotten any nutrition (protein, vitamins or minerals). What a waste of calories! High sugar foods are more concentrated in carb. Therefore the volume would be smaller than a low sugar food. High sugar foods might not be a good choice if they will just tempt you to eat more. If you would rather eat larger portions, select low sugar choices. Look at the differences in portion size you get for equal amounts of carbohydrate in these cereals! Granola Frosted Flakes Corn Flakes Cheerios Puffed Wheat 1/4 cup 1/3 cup 3/4 cup 1 cup 1 1/4 cup In addition, many sugar-containing foods also contain a lot of fat. Foods such as cookies, pastries, ice cream and cakes should be avoided largely because of the fat content and because they don't contribute much nutritional value. If you do want a "sweet" - make a low-fat choice, such as low-fat frozen yogurt, gingersnaps, fig bars or graham crackers and substitute it for another carbohydrates on your meal plan. More about Type 1 Diabetes More about Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms of Hyperglycemia Treatment of Diabetes How Insulin Regulates Blood Glucose Levels Assessing Control of Glucose in the diabetic More about the production of hormones by Islet Cells of the Pancreas Back to Diabetes Introduction EndocrineWeb Home Page | Search Endocrine Web | Site Map of EndocrineWeb | Copyright © 1997, 1998. Endocrine Web Inc. All rights reserved Disclaimer |
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| Ahmaq | Dec 24 2006, 09:16 PM Post #3 |
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Hum sa ho to saamnay a'ay
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November 07, 2006 Maintaining a healthy diet is important for everyone, but crucial for people with diabetes. Following a diet that meets the strict nutritional requirements of diabetics and does not overshoot on calories is critical. At the same time, having diabetes does not mean you lose your head on calorie counting and bid farewell to delicious food. Here are some yummy meal options that are safe, quick to prepare, and great to taste. Beverage list Choose from the following for each of your meals. Club soda Diet soda Coffee with an artifical sweetener like 'Equal' Sugar-free drink mix, like a sugar-free strawberry crush Tea with no/less sugar Kokam juice with no added sugar Sugar-free tonic water Avoid canned or even fresh juices, especially those with added sugar. Breakfast Dr Kiran Desai, a practicing pathologist and medical officer at IIM Ahmedabad, who also serves as the selector and coach for the Indian roller-skating team, says, "The best breakfast option for a diabetic is a plate full of fruit. Include fruit such as apples, peaches, bananas and even strawberries, and eat a stomach full. You can even have a soup if an urge for salts arises. Once in a while, you can have milk with cereal that has no additional sugar. Muesli is also an option." Some more options: Poached egg on toast Tomato and cucumber salad Bread topped with pineapple slices Whole-grain ready-to-eat cereal Almond milk Bananas These must be alternated though, and none consumed on a daily basis. However, fruits are safe and ideal for repetition. Meals For lunch, Dr Desai wholeheartedly recommends salad, soups or a light oil-and-fat-free veg curry with whole wheat chapattis. He says, "For lunch, a salad and soup is ideal. However, how you make it is also important. Do not add high calorie dressings or sugar-rich products. Otherwise, the purpose of eating a salad will be defeated. The chapattis should not be smothered with butter or ghee either. The whole idea is to monitor the intake of calories so the blood sugar does not shoot up." He shares two soup recipes. Chicken-Rice Soup ~Ingredients 250 grams chicken pieces, small 1/2 cup salad leaves, chopped 1/2 cup rice, uncooked 1 small onion, cut into four 1 cup carrots, diced � cup capsicum, diced Bay leaf (Tej Patta in Hindi) A pinch of pepper ~Method Simmer the chicken in water with the salad leaves, onion, two pinches of salt and tej patta for one hour over low heat. Drain the chicken broth and retain it in a separate container. Place the pieces in a clean plate and debone the chicken. Chop it into small pieces. Combine the broth, chicken, rice, capsicum and carrots in a saucepan and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes or until the rice is tender. Makes three servings Tomato Soup ~Ingredients 10 fresh tomatoes 1 cup onion, finely chopped � cup tomato puree 1 cup chicken broth (vegetarians can skip this) � tsp salt Bay leaf (Tej Patta) A pinch of pepper � cup toned milk Parsley (Ajmood in Hindi) ~Method Finely chop tomatoes and place them in a saucepan. Add onions, tomato paste, chicken broth, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Let it simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf now and let the broth cool for about 15 minutes. Now blend it in a mixer until well mixed. Heat the milk and combine tomato mixture with it. Simmer, stirring constantly, until it is hot enough to serve. Garnish with parsley. This makes three servings. What about those with a sweet tooth? Indulge. There is no harm in indulging if what you eat is within limits. Here's a simple-to-make sumptuous dessert that works very well. Fruit Fusion ~Ingredients 1 cup fresh grapes, chopped into halves 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced into four 1 cup fresh peaches, finely chopped 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 cups low-fat yogurt ~Method Mix grapes, strawberries, and peaches. Mix gently. Sprinkle brown sugar over fruit. Top with yogurt. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Gently stir fruit to mix it and serve in pudding/ice cream bowls. This makes three servings. By carefully selecting what you eat, including a good balance of the right kinds and amounts of fats and carbohydrates, you can help improve your health. The bottom line is you must eat carefully, eat right and eat sensibly. Do not starve or deprive yourself. At the same time, don't over-indulge either. |
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5:33 AM Jul 11