Dealing With Diabetes in a Healthy Way

Written by Glenn

Wednesday, 02 July 2008

When it comes to dealing with diabetes, there are healthy ways and unhealthy ways to control your blood sugar levels. The unhealthy ways, of course, will lead to unbalanced blood sugar levels and an increased chance of diabetes diet related illness. A good diabetic diet, on the other hand, is one that helps to stabilize glucose and help the body to gain a hold on those fluctuating levels. See Also our other Diabetic Diet articles and this one also . We also recommend you read our other special reviews , weight loss and exercise plans. Also Thinking Longer Term About Diabetes and Top Tips for a Healthy Diabetic Diet.

The food we place in our bodies is digested and it then provides our body with the right amount of energy needed to keep moving and surviving each day. When the diabetic diet we choose to consume is not high in slow burning carbohydrates or food with a low glycemic load, our bodies do not handle the fluctuation in blood sugars very efficiently. The illness of diabetes often causes difficulties with how the body distributes the blood glucose in the blood. Over time, the blood glucose builds up to higher and higher amounts and thus the troubles begin with diabetes.

When the diabetic living diet is not changed, the glucose levels remain elevated in the blood stream for long periods of time. When left untreated, the high levels of glucose can lead to a wealth of health problems including, heart disease, kidney problems, loss of vision and amputation of the limbs. The low carb diabetic diet is the best solution to controlling those glucose levels.

The reason that the diabetes diet guidelines require a lower consumption of carbohydrates is centered on the fact that carbohydrates are translated into higher glucose levels much more quickly by the body than any other type of food. A good diabetic diet is one that keeps simple carbohydrates to a minimum and complex carbohydrates continually consumed throughout the day.

When choosing the best diet for diabetes, there are many choices out there today. Most of the diabetes diet choices will center on total calories. This is because the majority of the adult diabetes cases today are related to obesity in some way, shape or form. The 1200 calorie diabetic diet, 1500 calorie diabetic diet and1600 calorie diabetic diet are the three most common diabetic diet plans prescribed by nutritionists today.

The 1200 calorie diabetic diet is often aimed at the diabetic who needs to lose weight. Weight loss can mean all the difference in glucose distribution in the body and often, with a significant weight loss, the obese patient with diabetes will go into a complete remission of the disease.

The 1500 and 1600 calorie diabetic diets are the most common and offer a diabetic diet plan or diabetic diet chart allowing the diabetic to choose from different foods for each meal. These diabetic diet charts make eating simple while still remaining within the proper carbohydrate, fat and protein levels needed for good body health.

In order to set up your very own diabetic diet plan, you need to evaluate the three types of food you eat and place each of these food types into your plan in the proper amounts. The three food types are those with a high carbohydrate content, medium carbohydrate content and a low carbohydrate content.

High Carbohydrate Content

When you think of high carbohydrate content, your often think of sugar. But, foods such as potatoes, grains, breads, flour, hard beans, peanuts and fruit or fruit juice are high in carbohydrates. These foods will need to take up the least amount of space on your diabetic diet plan. In addition to these natural foods, any foods that are processed and those that contain high levels of natural sugars like candy and chocolate are very high in carbohydrates. These should be avoided at all costs.

Healthy alternatives to higher carbohydrate foods would be those in the medium to low content categories or foods that are created sugar free just for the diabetic diet plan.

Medium Carbohydrate Content

The foods that contain a medium amount of carbohydrates are more readily acceptable on a diabetes diet menu. These foods contain lower amount of total carbs and thus cause less of a spike in blood glucose levels. Foods like root vegetables (carrots, beets, turnips, rhubarb), squashes, avocados, onions, honeydew melons and strawberries are all considered medium carbohydrate foods. These foods will make up the majority of your meal plan as they offer the body vitamins and nutrients in high amounts while keeping blood sugar levels more stable.

Low Carbohydrate Content

The lowest of carbohydrate bearing foods is meat . Meat has been the stable of people eating low carbohydrate diabetic diets for quite some time. Other low carbohydrate foods include spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, and all dark green leafy vegetables. When creating a 1200 calorie diabetic diet, 1500 calorie diabetic diet or 1600 calorie diabetic diet, the foods on the low carbohydrate list are the ones that will help to keep blood glucose levels in a healthy range.

Aside from the diet choice, exercise needs to be on the top of the list as a compliment to every diabetic diet menu. The diet for diabetic patients is only as effective as the overall health choices made by the diabetic. If exercise is not included with the diabetic diet menu, the diabetic might as well choose to eat all foods from the high carbohydrate list. The body needs to learn how to effectively convert glucose to fuel without that glucose storing up in the blood stream.

Exercise helps to keep the body moving in just the right ways to utilize body energy, maintain healthy blood glucose levels and return the body to a normal weight which is ideal for many adult onset diabetes patients.

When it comes to fighting diabetes head on, the diabetes menu plan can not work alone at the task. The body weight will need to drop (in most cases), exercise will need to be raised and the diabetic diet chosen will need to be low in carbohydrates and high in slower burning fuel laden foods. Your body depends on you making great diabetic choices and now you can.

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