Diabetes is a condition where the body does not either make or use insulin efficiently. Without this capability the body is unable to get energy from food. There are two sub groups within the groups of people suffering from diabetes, these are:
- Insulin controlled diabetics
Insulin Controlled Diabetics do not make any insulin and so must inject insulin daily, usually several times in order for them to metabolize food properly
- Diet controlled diabetics
Diet controlled diabetics produce insulin but it may be too little or their bodies do not utilize the insulin effectively. These patients are usually given medications and also an exercise and diet plan. The diet plan given to them is usually the diabetic exchange diet and is monitored by a trained dietician but is based on a scoring system. In the diabetic exchange diet a list has been made up based on different foods nutritional properties. All food in each list contain a similar amount of carbohydrate, protein, fat and calories. Fibre is not taken into account in this diet.
Food lists are then divided into three main groups. Carbohydrates, meat or meat substitute and fat. All foods are then assigned to one of these groups.
- Carbohydrate
In the carbohydrate group are foods such as starch, fruit, milk and vegetables.
- Meat
In the meat and meat substitute group there are very lean meat, lean meat, medium fat and high fat meat or substitutes.
- Fat
The fat groups contains monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats. The dietician will work out how many foods per day from each group is required. Then the person is allocated how many servings from each group they are allowed each day. Then any foods can be picked to make up these points and everything is interchangeable within the specific group as they contain the same or very similar nutrition.
With this diabetic exchange diet the patient should be able to maintain a healthy weight in order to maintain their insulin production without any one food being over eaten.
In addition to the listed foods there are FREE FOODS. Free foods refer to any food or drink containing less than 20 calories or less than 5 grams of carbohydrate. These have no serving size so can be eaten in as large a serving as wanted however should be limited to three servings per day. These include such things as condiments, pickles and creamers (amongst other things)
There are also a few helpful tips with the diet in order to make the most of the limits of the diabetic exchange diet.
- Bake, roast , boil or grill instead of frying with added fats
- Use non-stick pan sprays or a non-stick pan to fry if there is no other choice
- Trim off all visible fat before cooking, and when missed, after cooking
- Try to not add breadcrumbs, flour, coating or fats to food during preparation
- Weigh meat after cooking and removing bones and trimming off fat to ensure the correct amount is eaten, many people eat a larger serving than is required.
- Restaurants tend to serve prime cuts of meat-these tend to be higher in fat and calories so beware when eating out.
With the help of this diet, people with both diet controlled as well as insulin controlled diabetes can maintain a healthy lifestyle and control their weight. This can help to alleviate some of the associated problems that can occur with diabetes. It is all of course at the recommendation of your doctor who should always be consulted before undertaking any kind of diet. Especially for those with diabetes.