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       Volume I - January 8, 2010

Knowing the WHATS, HOWS, and WHENS of
Eating Makes ALL the Difference!

by Alice Osborne

The National Diabetes Information Clearing House (NDICH), a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, offers very helpful tips for those of us struggling with blood sugar issues. They say that you can take good care of yourself and your diabetes by learning what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat. Their premise is that making wise food choices can help you feel good every day, lose weight if you need to, and lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and other problems caused by diabetes.

Healthful eating helps keep your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, in your target range. Physical activity and, if needed, diabetes medicines also help. The diabetes target range is the blood glucose level suggested by diabetes experts for good health. You can help prevent health problems by keeping your blood glucose levels on target.

So, what should blood glucose levels be? Target blood glucose levels for people with diabetes should be 70-130 BEFORE meals and less than 180 one to two hours after the start of a meal.

Ask your doctor how often you should check your blood glucose on your own, and also ask for an A1C test at least twice a year. Your A1C number gives your average blood glucose for the past 3 months. The results from your blood glucose checks and your A1C test will tell you whether your diabetes care plan is working.

And, how can you keep your blood glucose levels on target? Make wise food choices, be physically active, and of course, take medication if needed.

For people taking certain diabetes medicines, following a schedule for meals, snacks, and physical activity is best. However, some diabetes medicines allow for more flexibility. Your health care team can help create a diabetes plan that’s best for you. Here’s a typical sample of a healthy eating plan:

Drawing of foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a morning snack, an afternoon snack, and an evening snack, arranged in a circle around a clock. Breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack are labeled.

Here’s a handy chart you might want to use after talking with your doctor or diabetes teacher about how many meals and snacks to eat each day. You can note your meal and snack times on these clocks:

Drawing of a blank clock face labeled breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner and evening snack.

The diabetes food pyramid can help you make wise food choices. It divides foods into groups, based on what they contain. Eat more from the groups at the bottom of the pyramid, and less from the groups at the top. Foods from the starches, fruits, vegetables, and milk groups are highest in carbohydrate. They affect your blood glucose levels the most.

 

A drawing of the diabetes food pyramid, divided into six sections. Each section is labeled with the name of the food group and shows examples of foods in that group. At the base of the pyramid is the starches group. Above the base are two groups: vegetables and fruits. The milk group and meat and meat substitutes group are above the vegetables and the fruits. The fats and sweets group is at the top.

In answering the question “How much should I eat each day?”, the NDICH recommends having about 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day if you are a small woman who exercises, if you are a small or medium-sized woman who wants to lose weight, or a medium-sized woman who does not exercise much. They suggest:

Choose this many servings from these food groups to have 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day:

6 starches

2 milks

3 vegetables

4 to 6 ounces meat and meat substitutes

2 fruits

up to 3 fats

They suggest you talk with your diabetes teacher about how to make a meal plan that fits the way you usually eat, your daily routine, and your diabetes medicines. The NDICH also recommends having about 1,600 to 2,000 calories a day if you are a large woman who wants to lose weight, or a small man at a healthy weight, or a medium-sized man who does not exercise much, or a medium-sized or large man who wants to lose weight. In these cases, they suggest:

Choose this many servings from these food groups to have 1,600 to 2,000 calories a day:

8 starches

2 milks

4 vegetables

4 to 6 ounces meat and meat substitutes

3 fruits

up to 4 fats

Finally, the NDICH recommends having about 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day if you are a medium-sized or large man who exercises a lot or has a physically active job, a large man at a healthy weight, or a medium-sized or large woman who exercises a lot or has a physically active job.

Choose this many servings from these food groups to have 2,000 to 2,400 calories a day:

10 starches

2 milks

4 vegetables

5 to 7 ounces meat and meat substitutes

4 fruits

up to 5 fats

In every instance, they always recommend you talk with your diabetes teacher about how to make a meal plan that fits the way you usually eat, your daily routine, and your diabetes medicines. You might want to use this chart to create your own Diabetes Food Pyramid and an eating plan based on it:

Each day, I need

A drawing of the diabetes food pyramid, divided into six sections. Each section is labeled with the name of the food group preceded by a blank line for writing in the number of servings needed. Each section shows examples of foods in that group. At the base of the pyramid is the starches group. Above the base are two groups: vegetables and fruits. The milk group and meat and meat substitutes group are above the vegetables and the fruits. The fats and sweets group is at the top.

This one-day meal plan is also handy—I keep mine in my day planner and refer to it all day.

Breakfast

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lunch

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snack

Food Group

Food

How Much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some great information on how to easily measure our food amounts and I’ll talk more about starches, fats, dairy, meats and meat substitutes, and so on. 2010 can really be a year of amazing health for us, so stick with me!







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