Diabetes mellitus is a disorder in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are abnormally high because the body does not produce enough insulin to meet its needs. Diabetes comes in different forms.
Eating the right amount of food will also help you manage your blood glucose level and your weight. Your health care team can help you figure out how much food and how many calories you should eat each day.
Weight-loss planning
To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories and replace less healthy foods with foods lower in calories, fat, and sugar.
Meal plan methods
Two common ways to help you plan how much to eat if you have diabetes are the plate method and carbohydrate counting, also called carb counting.
Plate method
Helps you control your portion sizes.
Shows the amount of each food group you should eat.
This method works best for lunch and dinner.
Carbohydrate counting
Keeping track of the number of carbohydrates you eat and drink each day.
Help you manage your blood glucose level.
If you take insulin, counting carbohydrates can help you know how much insulin to take.
Most carbohydrates come from starches, fruits, milk, and sweets.
Try to limit carbohydrates with added sugars or those with refined grains, such as white bread and white rice.
Instead, eat carbohydrates from fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low-fat or nonfat milk.
Nutritional Advice for Diabetes
Nutrition advise for type 1 diabetes
For individuals with type 1 diabetes, insulin therapy should be integrated into an individual’s dietary and physical activity pattern.
Individuals using rapid-acting insulin by injection or an insulin pump should adjust the meal and snack insulin doses based on the carbohydrate content of the meals and snacks.
For individuals using fixed daily insulin doses, carbohydrate intake on a day-to-day basis should be kept consistent concerning time and amount.
For planned exercise, insulin doses can be adjusted. For unplanned exercise, extra carbohydrate may be needed.
Nutrition advise for type 2 diabetes
Individuals with type 2 diabetes are encouraged to implement lifestyle modifications that reduce intakes of energy, saturated and trans-fatty acids, cholesterol, and sodium and to increase physical activity to improve glycaemia, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure.
Plasma glucose monitoring can be used to determine whether adjustments in foods and meals will be sufficient to achieve blood glucose goals or if medication(s) needs to be combined with MNT.
Nutrition advise for pregnancy and lactation with diabetes
Adequate energy intake that provides appropriate weight gain is recommended during pregnancy. Weight loss is not recommended; however, for overweight and obese women with GDM, modest energy and carbohydrate restriction may be appropriate.
Because GDM is a risk factor for subsequent type 2 diabetes, after delivery, lifestyle modifications aimed at reducing weight and increasing physical activity are recommended.
Nutrition advise for older adults with diabetes
Obese older adults with diabetes may benefit from modest energy restriction and an increase in physical activity; energy requirement may be less than for a younger individual of similar weight.
A daily multivitamin supplement may be appropriate, especially for those older adults with reduced energy intake.
This information is given for educational purposes only. Please contact the relevant health care profession for more details.
Thameesha Harini
References
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