Diabetic Food Guide

For a diabetic, getting control of blood sugar though diet, exercise, medication or a combination of the three can make the difference between a healthy life or a series of severe complications. Along with consulting your doctor, get the help of a registered dietitian. A registered dietitian can give you a very specific eating plan that is tailored to your lifestyle and condition. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Importance of Adhering to Diabetic Diet

It's important to adhere to guidelines for food and diet because failing to do so can lead to serious health complications. When a diabetic doesn't pay close attention to what they eat, how much they eat it and when they could suffer from infection, loss of limbs, blindness and kidney failure. Having diabetes does not necessarily mean that you'll develop these complications, but ignoring proper diet makes them more likely.

Glycemic Index and Blood Sugar

The glycemic index is a measure of how fast and how high the food will raise the blood sugar after it is eaten. High glycemic-index foods will cause the blood sugar to spike higher and faster than low glycemic-index foods. However, high glycemic-index foods should not be avoided. Rather, meals and snacks should be planned to include both a high and low glycemic-index food in moderate portions to keep blood sugar levels regulated over time. For instance, whole wheat toast and low-fat peanut butter makes a good snack for a diabetic. The whole wheat toast will cause the blood sugar to rise relatively quickly. However, the peanut butter will cause the blood sugar to rise later as the sugar levels from the toast falls.

High Glycemic Index Foods

A food is considered to be high on the glycemic index if the GI is 70 or higher. Some of the high glycemic-index foods include foods that are high carbohydrate/low fiber choices. For instance, the sugar in orange juice is broken down very quickly in the body, which gives it a very high glycemic index. This is why it is used by diabetics to reverse rapidly-falling blood sugar.

Low Glycemic Index Foods

Low glycemic-index foods have higher fat, fiber or protein content. Fat, fiber and protein are broken down and converted into sugar more slowly than carbohydrates. Among the list of low glycemic index foods are eggs and meat.
Choose low-fat cuts of meat and consider using egg-substitute to lower the fat content of high-protein foods. Maintaining your weight is essential to controlling your blood sugar and your risk for developing other diseases. Keep your fat calories to less than 30 percent of your daily total.

Consistency and Moderation

Your health and risk for complications from diabetes isn't related to what you eat once in a while, but how you eat every day. High blood sugar does its damage over time. Consistency in checking and controlling your blood sugar with proper eating habits will make a difference in your health.