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Tip #1: Draw Lines on Your Plate
Another good
way to ensure that you are eating a balanced diet is to draw a line
across your plate. It could only be an imaginary line. As you sit there
for a meal, the exercise might even prove to be fun.
The first
step, of course, is to imagine that you are drawing a line through the
center of your plate. Then, divide one of the halves into two.
Then,
fill this section with grains or starchy foods, such as rice, pasta,
potatoes, corn, or peas.
The other section should comprise your
meat and meat substitute group – meat, fish, poultry, or tofu.
Next,
fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables. You can place there
broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, salad, tomatoes, and cauliflower.
Last,
add a glass of milk and a small piece of roll, and eh voila! You are
ready to eat.
Tip #2: Reading Food Labels
With
food labels, it all comes down to the Nutrition Facts. It’s that list of
nutrition information found on the package of foods sold in the grocery
store. Reading food labels can help you make wise choices about the
foods you buy. The labels will tell you what ingredients were used, the
amount of calories, and other pertinent information essential to a
diabetes patient.
For instance, a typical food label would
contain the total amounts per serving for the following nutrients:
1) Calories
2) Total fat
3) Saturated fat
4) Cholesterol
5) Sodium
6) Total carbohydrate
7) Fiber
Use the nutrition facts found in food
labels to compare similar types of foods and buy the one that contains
fewer calories, lower fats, cholesterol, etc.
Pay close attention
to free foods like sugar-free gelatin desert, sugar-free ice pops,
sugarless gum, diet soft drinks, and sugar-free syrups. Just because
they are called “free” does not mean they are entirely free of calories
so don’t be overconfident. Instead, read the label. Most free foods
should have less than 20 calories and 5 grams of carbohydrates per
serving.
Another thing, “no-sugar added” means no sugar was added
during the manufacture and packaging of the foods. The ingredients do
not include sugar. However, the food may be high in carbohydrates still
so be sure to read the label carefully.
Fat-free foods could
still mean that they contain lots of carbohydrates. Often, they contain
almost the same amount of calories as the foods they replace so be sure
to pay attention to the label. Buying fat-free foods instead of regular
foods does not necessarily mean that you are making a wise choice.
Tip
#3: A Word about Sweets
Now, you know that sweets are generally
discouraged among diabetes patients. However, having diabetes does not
necessarily mean that you cannot have sweets. Imagine how bad life can
be for the sweet tooth with diabetes. But as long as you keep your
intake of sweets in moderation, there is no reason you have to eschew
sugar from your life forever. After all, glucose (sugar) is still the
most basic source of energy that the body needs.
So sweeten your
foods with these following options:
A) Sugar and other sweeteners
with calories: honey, brown sugar, molasses, fructose, cane sugar, and
confectioners sugar
B) Reduced calorie sweeteners: erythritol,
hydrogenated starch hydrolysates, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol,
sorbitol, and xylitol
C) Low calories sweeteners: ascelfume
potassium, aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose
Research has
overturned the long standing belief that sugar caused diabetes. The new
studies show us that sugar has in fact the same effect on blood glucose
levels as other carbohydrates like bread and potatoes. Based on this
discovery, experts agree that a diabetic can now consume sugar as long
as they incorporate it into their meal plan the way they would with any
ordinary carbohydrate-containing foods.
Now that you have been
pointed to the right direction with these tips to improve your diabetes
diet, you can go ahead and live a healthier, fuller life where nothing –
no carb nor sweets – is denied you, as long as you keep it all in
moderation.
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