A lot of individuals, who discover for the first time that they have diabetes, usually worry over the impact of the disease on their food intake. There may be little to worry about though since all a diabetic may ever need may be a good diabetes diet plan.
Why You Need a Plan
The rise and fall of sugar levels in diabetic individuals and the manifestation of symptoms and even of complications may are determined by how much carbohydrates, sugar, fats and proteins taken every day. A good diabetes diet program is supposed to carefully regulate your intake of nutrients to keep sugar levels normal and stable.
It is incorrect to believe though that a diabetes diet plan contains special foods that only diabetics can eat. Diabetic individuals can basically eat the same kinds of food as anyone else but in varying serving sizes and in different frequencies. In general a diabetes diet plan stresses a variety of whole grains, fruits and vegetables in different combinations and amounts and eating what’s in the plan at regular times during the day.
Diet Goals
Depending on your specific diabetes condition, your diabetes diet plan may have different goals and components. For some, one major goal may be to reduce over all weight if being overweight is a major diabetes factor. Most diabetic individuals however share the goal of simply picking the best and healthiest kinds of food and figuring out the right amounts of these foods to include in each meal. Others also need to be taught a diabetes diet strategy that will fix a routine and schedule for daily meals. For some people, a diabetes diet program may simply mean having to change bad eating habits such as overeating, irregular eating and bad food choices.
Doctor’s Opinion
Many people and resources may offer you different tips for your diabetes diet plan. Most of these tips are practical, sensible and effective. You should never forget though that your specific condition may be unique compared to others. It is obvious for example that a type 1 diabetic may not have the same requirements as a type 2 diabetic. One tip may therefore not always be appropriate for you. The best way to get the right plan for you is to ask an endocrinologist or a licensed dietician to help you make a diabetes diet plan that is tailor suited to your needs. An endocrinologist can help assess your exact situation and tell you what will work for you.
Common Tips
Although your doctor is the best judge on what you should or should not eat, all doctors have common strategies that they can adjust to your needs. One common strategy which you can adopt in your plan is counting carbohydrates. Depending on your sugar level, you doctor will teach you how to count the amount of carbohydrates in your daily meals so that you can always maintain the same amount of carbohydrates in every meal.
For variety, doctors may also ask you to refer to an exchange list. You diabetes diet exchange list will contain details on which foods in specific servings contain the same amounts of carbohydrates and other nutrients and can be interchanged. This way, you don’t have to eat the same things every day.
