Nutrition is more than just knowing what to eat; it’s also about knowing how your blood glucose is effected by various foods. Here explore ways to craft the diet that’s best for you.

Diet and Nutrition

The Food Pyramid may be helpful as a guide to how much of a certain type of food you should eat. There is a food pyramid specifically tailored for patients with diabetes.

In the diabetes food pyramid, starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, are grouped with the whole grains. Cheeses are included in the meats group instead of the dairy group. Alcohol is grouped with the fats and sweets group, which should be used in careful moderation.

Variety of Food Groups

No single food provides all the nutrients you need. This is why it is important to eat a variety of foods. The main food groups include:

• Fruits and vegetables (examples: apples, oranges, spinach and carrots)
• Whole grains (examples: bread, rice, oats and barley)
• Dairy products (examples: milk, yogurt, cheese and cream)
• Meats and dried beans (examples: fish, poultry, eggs and nuts)

Nutrition and Diabetes Management

Nutrition is a very important part of your diabetes management. Balancing your nutrition with your medications and physical activity is critical to maintaining your target blood glucose levels. A dietitian can work with you to decide the best meal plan for you to follow and to meet your specific needs.

All foods are composed of basic nutrients that your body needs. These include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins and water.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy the body derives from food. These include sugars, starches and fiber.

Sugars come in various forms and from different sources. Milk provides lactose. Fruits and vegetables provide fructose and sucrose. Table sugar is also known as sucrose. Food ingredients that end in ‘ose’ are most likely sugars.

Starches are long chains of these sugars. These chains are broken down into individual sugars when digested.

Fiber comes from plants and is also a complex carbohydrate like starch. It is not absorbed, and therefore, it does not contribute to an increase in blood glucose.

Proteins from our diet provide us with amino acids required to build our own proteins to maintain our muscles, skin and cells in the body. All people need some protein in their diet to provide the body with important amino acids. Most people consume more protein than necessary.

Fats provide a very high source of calories and can be a major cause of weight gain and other health problems. However, fats are an important part of our diet. Fats contribute to flavor and texture of our foods and also meet specific nutritional needs of our bodies.

Minerals, vitamins and water are nutrients that are essential for life and should be supplemented if needed. Some patients may require vitamin supplements if they are on a very low calorie diet.

Nutrition and Blood Glucose

Some people believe that only sugars raise blood glucose or that some carbohydrates are better than others. This is not necessarily true. The total amount of carbohydrates absorbed from a meal is more important than the source of carbohydrate.

One myth about diabetes is that people with diabetes should not eat sugar or sugar-containing foods. Sugar is just one carbohydrate. You need to watch all your carbohydrate foods, including items like bread or rice, not just carbohydrates with sugar.

Meal Timing

Timing of meals is important in diabetes since the food consumed can affect blood glucose for many hours after you are done eating. The time needed to process a meal depends on what nutrients are present in the food.

Weight Control

Weight control is one way to lower blood glucose and reduce the risk of heart and blood vessel disease. Your weight is determined by the food you eat, your activity level, heredity and body build, body chemistry and sometimes even medications that you are taking.

Eating fewer calories is important for losing weight. The minimum recommended calories to provide the needed vitamins are 1200 calories for women and 1500 calories for men. Very low calorie diets should only be attempted under medical supervision.

Foods high in water and/or fiber content have fewer calories per bite than fatty foods. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains have the fewest calories per bite.

Choosing a meal plan that best fits your lifestyle is essential for maintaining weight control. While some people may want to eat three meals throughout the day as well as a light snack, others may prefer to eat six small meals throughout the day.

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Copyright 2006 Medicine Shoppe International, a Cardinal Health company. All rights reserved.

These materials were adapted from Life with Diabetes: A Series of Teaching Outlines, American Diabetes Association, 2000, Diabetes Care, Volume 27, Supplement 1, January 2004 and Diabetes Forecast, January 2006. Byetta package label., and Symlin package label.