Healthy Eating: The Basics of Nutrition and Diabetes

Food and blood sugar go hand in hand.

Your body requires food for energy and a mix of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients for general health and strength. Carbohydrates (carbs) are the body’s main energy source. The body digests carbohydrates into sugar (glucose) which enters the blood stream. The pancreas releases insulin, a hormone, to transfer blood sugar from the blood vessels into cells where it can be used.

The problem comes when the body does not produce enough insulin or doesn’t use it effectively. Then blood sugar levels can become dangerously high.

Healthy Diet

The basic recommendations for people with diabetes are surprisingly similar to the dietary advice for any adult: Watch your carbohydrate intake closely. Eat more vegetables and fruits, along with low-fat dairy foods, whole grains, fish, poultry, and nuts. Eat more fiber. Eat less saturated and trans fats.

Carbohydrates

Because carbohydrates cause your blood sugar to rise, people may assume they are “bad” or indulgent. However, carbohydrates (carbs) are an important part of a healthy diet. They are the body’s main energy source and must be included as part of your daily meal plan, together with proteins and fats. Carbs are the most important part of your diet to consider when your goal is tight blood sugar control.

• Keep track of your daily carb servings.

• Space out carb servings over the whole day.

• Chose complex carbs (brown rice) over simple carbs (white rice).

Slowly digested carbohydrates are preferable for your meal plan. Some carbohydrates, like rice cakes, bread, and potatoes, break down quickly during digestion, absorb easily into the blood stream, and cause blood sugar to rise rapidly. Other carbohydrates break down more slowly and increase blood sugar gradually. These are slowly digested carbohydrates.

Sodium

A person with diabetes is at greater risk for high blood pressure. Your risk will be even higher if you include too much sodium in your diet. While the optimum minimal intake is not known, health officials are more concerned about limiting sodium intake than about ensuring that people take in enough. Both the 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association suggest limiting sodium to 2,300 milligrams (approximately 1 tsp. of salt) daily. People who have high blood pressure, kidney disease, and other heart conditions should check with their healthcare professional for a suggested maximum intake.

Meal Planning

Creating a diabetes-friendly meal plan is all about determining in advance:

• What to eat

• How much to eat

• When to eat

Eating smaller, more frequent meals or snacks throughout the day can improve blood sugar and weight management. You will spread your calorie and carb intake across more occasions. The fully customizable meal plans on this Web site include six daily eating occasions.

If you’re managing your diabetes with medications, meal planning consistency also helps you know when to take medicine prior to meals and when to test blood sugar before and afterward. Planning will help you ensure you’re getting all the right nutrients and will help you avoid harmful highs and lows in blood sugar.

To give you an example, below is the average distribution of calories from carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the meal plans on this site:

• Carbohydrates: 55%-58% of total calories

• Protein: 20%-23% of total calories

• Total fat: 24%-26% of total calories (less than 10% is saturated fat)

Portion Size

Many food portions are larger than you think — and much larger than the portion listed in your personal meal plan (created by your diabetes care team or created on this site). Overestimating portion sizes can result in extra calories and extra carb grams. Extra calories can contribute to weight gain; extra carb grams can lead to high blood sugar levels.