Basic Guidelines for Diet Control of Blood Glucose: 1. Eat three meals a day and snacks spaced in long spans. 2. Do not skip meals. 3. Eat your meals and planned snacks about the same time every day, just as you take your medication. 4. Eat a consistent amount of carbohydrates at each meal and snack, and distribute carbohydrates evenly throughout the day. 5. It is important to be mindful of what you eat, and the effect it has on your blood glucose by testing before and after meals. Composition of Food Here is a mini-lesson in Nutrition 101. Food is made of three components— fat, protein and carbohydrate. Each of these has different effects on blood glucose. Fats, oily substances like oil, mayonnaise, cream, butter and avocado, do not raise blood glucose. In fact, fats slow stomach emptying and so decrease the rate at which blood glucose rises after a mixed meal. Protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, cheese, eggs, tofu, etc. cause the blood sugar to rise slightly, and also slows this rise because of length of digestion time. Carbohydrates are all the sweets, starches, fruits, vegetables and milk/yogurt foods. These foods are responsible for an increase in blood glucose, which activates insulin release. Carefully controlling your intake of certain portions of carbohydrate will keep your blood glucose on target. Your meal plan will have a defined amount of carbohydrate for you to eat each day. What about Fiber? Dietary fiber is a source of carbohydrate. Fiber is found in plant-based food like fruit, vegetables, legumes, peas, brown rice, whole-grain breads and cereals. Fiber is not digested or absorbed like other starches, and so has less of an effect on increasing blood sugars. The recommendation is to eat 20-35 grams of fiber a day. There are two kinds of fiber. Insoluble fiber is roughage–bran, skins and seeds, vegetables and cereal. This kind of fiber promotes regularity by adding bulk to bowel movements, slows digestion to aid in weight loss and blood glucose control, and helps prevent intestinal disorders and reduces the risk of intestinal cancers. Soluble fiber is the part of the plant material which absorbs water and dissolves in the digestive system. Oat bran, barley, legumes and fruit are high in soluble fiber. This fiber also works to moderate blood glucose, reduce cholesterol, triglycerides and lower LDL cholesterol.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:20:12 +0000
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