Diabetic Diet Plans will help Combat Diabetes
If you are living with diabetes, one of the best ways to fight this disease is with a diabetic diet plan. This diabetic meal plan is based of the recommended foods found on the diabetic food pyramid.
By following the suggested meal plan, you will be receiving the proper amounts of recommended nutrients which will ultimately help you fight the disease.
Today, there is a wide range of diabetic diet plans. Doctors and researchers have created countless plans for diabetics. They try to aim for foods that will be tasteful, yet provide the proper amount of nutrients. We all know a diet is not any fun when the food does not taste great!
Recent studies have shown an increase in diabetes over the past 10-20 years. With the large increase, it has created a huge demand for diabetic diet plans to help diabetics battle the disease.
Since diabetes affects all types of people and diverse lifestyles, many types of diabetic diet plans have been created to suit these varying types of individuals.
Despite the varying lifestyles of many diabetic individuals, all have one common goal.
That goal is to battle this disease with the help of a diabetic diet plan. With the proper amounts of nutrients, individuals can make progress against diabetes.
Meal plan methods
Two common ways to help you plan how much to eat if you have diabetes are the plate method and carbohydrate counting, also called carb counting.
Check with your health care team about the method that is best for you.
Plate method
The plate method helps you control your portion sizes. You do not need to count calories. The plate method shows the amount of each food group you should eat. This method works best for lunch and dinner.
Use a 9-inch plate. Put non-starchy vegetables on half of the plate; a meat or other protein on one-fourth of the plate; and a grain or other starch on the last one-fourth. (Starches include starchy vegetables such as corn and peas.)
You also may eat a small bowl of fruit or a piece of fruit, and drink a small glass of milk as included in your meal plan.
Carbohydrate counting
Carbohydrate counting involves keeping track of the amount of carbohydrates you eat and drink each day. Because carbohydrates turn into glucose in your body, they affect your blood glucose level more than other foods do.
Carb counting can help you manage your blood glucose level. If you take insulin, counting carbohydrates can help you know how much insulin to take.
Choose healthy carbohydrates, such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low-fat milk, as part of your diabetes meal plan.
The right amount of carbohydrates varies by how you manage your diabetes, including how physically active you are and what medicines you take, if any.
Your health care team can help you create a personal eating plan based on carbohydrate counting.
In addition to using the plate method and carb counting, you may want to visit a registered dietitian for medical nutrition therapy.