Diet for Diabetes - Lifeabetic.com

Over the past decades, the number of patients with diabetes has been growing uncontrollably and can be called a pandemic. The problem of diabetes is not just medical since the the limitations that such a diagnosis carries in itself apply not only to the medical aspects, but also to the nature of food, physical activity and lifestyle in general.

The main task of all therapeutic measures for diabetes is the normalization of metabolic processes, in the first place, the normalization of blood sugar. For this purpose, doctors prescribe different drugs and insulins to patients. But you need to take into account the fact that in some cases of diabetes, it is enough to adhere to dietary recommendations in order to establish proper metabolism. According to statistics, 30% of patients with diabetes can do without drugs, adhering to a special diet.

Type 1 diabetes – start with math

Type 1 diabetes is an insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus diet, in which it should be, first of all, balanced in the amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, macro- and microelements. If the patient is not obese (as a rule, these problems are absent in patients with type 1 diabetes), then the daily diet should have the same caloric value as healthy people (age, gender and occupation must be taken into account). With insulin-dependent diabetes, you need to know exactly the amount of eaten proteins, fats and carbohydrates. These are very important measures and are needed in order to select an adequate dose of insulin (to prevent insulin deficiency or its overdose and hypoglycemia).

To make life easier for people with diabetes, the concept of bread unit (XE) has been introduced. This is a conditional concept that is used by nutritionists to simplify the calculation of the amount of carbohydrates in foods. 1 XE is 10 (excluding ballast substances) or 12 (including dietary fiber) grams of carbohydrates. Such XE increases glycemia by 2.77 mmol / L and requires 1.4 units for assimilation. insulin

If you have information about how much XE is contained in different products (there are special charts), you can draw up the correct and varied diet and choose an adequate dose of insulin. A person with diabetes needs 18-25 XE per day, which should be divided into 4-5 meals. For one sitting you should not have more than 7 units.

General nutritional principles for type 1 diabetes

Be sure to follow the diet. Eat 5-6 times a day, accompany a meal with insulin injections.

Exclude easily digestible carbohydrates from the diet. You need to forego products such as sugar, preserves, sweets, confectionery, grapes, and other products that have a large amount of simple carbohydrates. Replace sugar with substitutes (xylitol, sorbitol, fructose).

Fullness (in nutritional nutrients and calories) and an increased number of vitamins in the daily diet.

The inclusion of a large amount of dietary fiber in the diet.

Compliance with the basic principles of dietary nutrition, the use of the principle of counting XE in the treatment of insulin will help diversify the menu. This will provide necessary substances, allow you to enjoy food, as well as prevent possible complications of the disease.

Why and what kind of diet should I follow for type 2 diabetes?

The metabolic disorders in type 2 diabetes are due to the presence of resistance to the action of insulin and a decrease in its secretion by pancreatic cells. The most common cause or aggravating factor for type 2 diabetes is obesity and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, normalization of nutrition will be the first and very important step towards normalizing metabolism and blood glucose levels. Proper diet also helps increase tissue sensitivity to insulin, which is important for type 2 diabetes. Proper diet and body weight control will help delay the period of diabetes treatment with sugar-lowering drugs or insulin, and in some cases even avoid medical treatment.

With diabetes, diet 8 is very effective. In most cases, patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Diet number 8 affects the metabolism by eliminating excess fat deposits.

The main dietary recommendations of diet No. 8

Reducing the energy value of the diet due to animal fats and easily digestible carbohydrates. The amount of protein is normal or increased.
Limitation of liquid, salt, spices.
You need to eat 5-6 small portions a day.
Culinary processing of food – using steam, boiled and stewed dishes.
Calorie content of 1500-1700 kcal, proteins 80-90 g, fats 60-70 g, carbohydrates 150 g, salt – up to 5 g, liquid – up to one liter.
Exclude flour products and white bread, potatoes, pasta, legumes, fatty meats, fish, poultry, rich soups, smoked, sausages, fatty cheeses, sauce, spices, sweets from the diet.
The diet should be dominated by products that contain a lot of plant fiber, useful macro- and micronutrients.
Limit drinking, as such drinks are a source of extra calories, especially in people with obesity. And when taking medications to treat diabetes, alcohol can cause life-threatening hypoglycemia.

Buckwheat Diet and Diabetes

Of the whole variety of cereals, there is no more useful for a diabetic than buckwheat. In this product you can find a large amount of iron, calcium, iodine, magnesium, and vitamin B. The composition of buckwheat includes fiber and hard-to-digest carbohydrates, which do not increase blood sugar, therefore a buckwheat diet for diabetes is not only allowed, but also useful. Buckwheat also removes excess cholesterol from the body, preventing macrovascular complications of diabetes.

For a buckwheat diet, cereals are steamed overnight with boiling water. You can eat it as much as you want. You need to drink it with low-fat yogurt in the amount of 1 liter per day. You can adhere to such a diet for no more than 7 days. If you are taking sugar-lowering drugs or insulin, then during the diet you need to reduce the dose of drugs so that hypoglycemia does not develop. In such cases, it is best to consult with your doctor.

Protein diet for diabetics

A protein diet for diabetes is effective and safe for people with type 2 diabetes and obesity. In some cases, such a diet is even more effective than a simple low-calorie diet. Adhering to a protein diet is much easier, because a person on such a diet still has a feeling of fullness. The principle of selecting a diet is very simple – the bulk of calories should be protein products.

A kind of protein diet is the Dukan diet, popular today. The main emphasis in this diet is on non-greasy fish, poultry, dairy products. Dukan’s diet for diabetes is not suitable for those who have high cholesterol, gout and kidney problems, and these symptoms are very common among diabetics. People with diabetes should definitely consult a doctor before such a diet.

Gestational diabetes

If you have gestational diabetes, you should be very careful when choosing foods. About 80-90% of cases can control the manifestations of diabetes in pregnant women with diet and exercise without resorting to medication. Diet for gestational diabetes is not very different from the general principles of nutrition of diabetics. The only nuances are that the number of calories should be greater, and the food should be rich in trace elements and vitamins.

A large number of people with diabetes, after reading the recommendations on dietary food, give up and decide to take medicine instead of an exhausting diet. But, if you delve deeper and understand everything, then a diet for diabetes is equivalent to a normal diet for controlling body weight. Such a diet is followed by many women in order to look beautiful and healthy. There are many cookbooks and websites with recipes for delicious and dietary dishes, just don’t give up.