General recommendations | What diet helps maintain health | Exclusions | What is included in the diet | Day menu
With diabetes, the most important thing is proper nutrition. You can even say that if done properly, it is the main treatment plan. Clinical nutrition for diabetes should be frequent (5-6 times a day) and should be strictly limited in carbohydrates.
General recommendations
The very first thing that is required of a diabetic is the exclusion of sugar from the diet. A sudden rejection can cause significant discomfort. Some people do not even want to try to get used to a different taste of food and immediately switch to sweeteners. However, artificial sugar substitutes can have side effects, for example, some have a diuretic effect.
A diet for patients with diabetes can include honey, but in a very small amount and only with the calculation of the total glycemic index of all foods eaten per day. Honey contains many very valuable substances that a diabetic needs.
It is good to eat berries, blueberries are especially good for patients with diabetes. This berry smoothly reduces blood sugar and enhances the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Watermelon can also help reduce blood sugar.
Restricting carbohydrates and replacing them with fatty foods is undesirable. This leads to the consumption of glycogen in the liver, fats and proteins of the body. As a result of this process, body weight decreases, ketone bodies that are toxic to the body accumulate in the blood. Excessive accumulation of them can cause loss of consciousness and coma.
What diabetes diet can help maintain health
Each medical diet has its own number. In diabetes mellitus, the 9th number diet is prescribed for patients with normal or slightly higher than normal body weight. It is indicated for those who do not receive insulin or use it in minimal doses. The purpose of this diet is to create conditions for the normalization of carbohydrate metabolism in the body.
The chemical composition and energy value of diet No. 9
- Proteins – 100 g
- Fats – 70-80 g (of which at least 25 g of vegetable),
- Carbohydrates 300 g
- Retinol 0.3 mg
- Thiamine 1.5 mg,
- Carotene 12 mg
- Riboflavin 2.1 mg
- Nicotinic acid 18 mg,
- Ascorbic acid 100 mg;
- Sodium 3.7 g
- Calcium 0.8 g
- Phosphorus 1.3 g
- Potassium 4 g
- Iron 15 mg.
- Fluid 1.5 liters.
- Calorie content 2300 kcal.
What is excluded from the diet
- Sweets (you can use those that are made specifically for patients with diabetes),
- Cocoa,
- Chocolate,
- Butter dough products,
- Pasta,
- Spices
- Very greasy food
- Alcoholic drinks.
What is included in the diet
- Rye bread, bran bread,
- Low-fat meats, poultry and fish,
- Vegetables,
- Fruits,
- Berries (sweet and sour, blueberries are especially useful),
- Cereals (except semolina and rice),
- Dairy products, low-fat cottage cheese,
- Sunflower and olive oil, you can also use butter,
- Tea and coffee but sugar free.
Sample day menu
Breakfast
- Buckwheat milk porridge with butter, cottage cheese with sour cream, tea with milk.
Lunch
- Cottage cheese with sour cream, rosehip infusion.
- Vegetable soup with meat broth, fried meat with vegetable side dish, fruit jelly with sweetener.
- Boiled egg or scrambled eggs, yogurt.
Dinner
- Boiled fish, stewed cabbage, fresh fruit cup.
Before bedtime
- Yogurt.
Such a diet can hardly be called rigid; the menu can be varied. The most difficult thing is to break the habit of eating sweets. However, research shows that if you hold out for 2 weeks, then you no longer want sweets. And the body, receiving complex carbohydrates, which are retained for a long time in the body, has enough energy and maintains more stable indicators of blood sugar.