Diabetic Diet Plan

Diabetic diet plans allow the person to eat almost everything. It is opposite to the common myth that after suffering from diabetes a person can only eat only fruits and vegetables. The diabetic plan also includes plenty of fiber rich foods. This diet not only is good for the diabetics but it applies to everyone. Following are given a few suggestions for a good plan. It is good to include plenty of fruits and vegetables in the diet plan for diabetics. It includes apples, bananas, oranges, red cabbage, carrots and beans. One must eat the vegetables that are rich in fiber content but low in their starch content. The examples of such vegetables are spinach and broccoli. Fiber helps in the process of digestion and improves the overall health of the person. The diabetics must try their best to consume whole grain foods and stay away from processed foods. Grains hold the base position in the diabetic diet pyramid. It indicates that diabetics make whole grains the central part of the diabetic diet plan.

The diabetics must eat brown rice and whole wheat spaghetti. Diabetics try to eat foods after smaller intervals. Large gaps between two meals are not good for the diabetics. Diabetics must select only non fat dairy products like low fat yogurt and skimmed milk. Many flavors even in skimmed milk are available in market you can include those in diabetic diet menu. A best diabetic cooking tip is to abstain from eating high calorie sodas and other beverages. One must drink plenty of plain water and a small amount of fresh and natural juices. The amount of tea and coffee must be reduced as much as possible. Lower down the amount of sugar or try to substitute it with artificial sweeteners. Lower down the amount of desserts. All of us love to eat cakes, ice-creams and cookies but reducing the amount of these treats makes a big difference in the blood sugar level of diabetics. It is fine to eat a dessert once a week. Diabetic plan for diet emphasizes to eat the right amount of food at the right time. It emphasizes on the portion size and the timings of the meals. It is good to note these healthy eating habits are good not only for diabetics but for all. Remember diabetic diet plan is nothing but all about discipline as well as control.

Yes, it is possible to reverse diabetes. All it requires is a structured nutrition plan, sufficient exercise and proper support. Sounds simple enough, and indeed, this is what any doctor worth their salt will be advising their diabetic patients to do. Says consultant endocrinologist Dr Zanariah Hussein: “Diabetes type 2 is a progressive disease where the blood glucose keeps climbing up with time. “So, to combat this, doctors need to impart advice on diet, physical activity, as well as medication. Associate Professor Dr Osama Hamdy, who is the Obesity Clinical Program medical director for the Joslin Diabetes Centre in the United States, explains why. “You’d be surprised that only a few kilograms of weight gain can create the entire problem if that person has the genes and the family history for diabetes,” he says. One kg of extra weight means more glucose is required to fuel the body, which means that more insulin has to be produced as insulin is the key that allows glucose into the body’s cells.

Those with the predisposing genes will eventually start to develop insulin resistance with this increase in insulin levels. The pancreas will then start to secrete more insulin in order to overcome that resistance. Overweight and obesity are definitely factors in the Malaysian context as Dr Zanariah observes that there tends to be a progressive increase in weight as the diabetes patients here progress in their disease. In addition, she notes that an increase in weight is usually also accompanied by an increase in blood pressure and cholesterol levels - all important cardiovascular disease risk factors. “All this amounts to a higher complication rate overall,” says the Hospital Putrajaya Department of General Medicine head. However, with weight gain being a key trigger in diabetes, it follows that weight loss might also be the key to stopping or reversing the progress of the disease. The study published in the journal Diabetes Care in 2003, followed the 24 participants through a six-month programme combining a low-calorie diet and moderate physical activity.

“I tell you, I was shocked when we did that study,” he says. “I said, you know, if they become (insulin) sensitive again, those people can be cured. This means diabetes can be reversed. “But then the problem is, how can we do it, He says that instead of the usual method of continually adding medications to help control blood glucose levels, a new philosophy for treatment is needed. “The new philosophy is to target body weight, to target the waistline - how do we help people to lose weight, to decrease their waistline, To this end, he created a weight loss programme called Why WAIT (Weight Achievement and Intensive Treatment). “I was shocked by the first results,” he says. To date, 55 groups have gone through the programme, and he says that they have lost 16,000 pounds (7,257kg) in total. “I think this is the best way to approach the disease: to tell your patients exactly what to do,” he says. For nutrition, Assoc Prof Hamdy explains that the idea is not to deprive patients of food, but to help them identify which foods make their diabetes worse and which help them.