Thursday, October 30, 2008

Personalized Diet Plan - What is the Healthy Diet Plan For Diabetes?

When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, what he or she eat becomes very important. In other words, diabetics must monitor what they eat and have a healthy diet plan. Carbohydrates are the most important part of the food we eat as they directly affect our blood glucose level.

For a diabetic, the key is to balance the daily carbs intake. The question is how do you keep your carbs in balance? It is not always easy to answer this question. But fortunately there is a resource called "Diabetes Food Pyramid" by American Diabetes Association that provides guidelines on healthy diet plan for diabetes.

The Diabetes Food Pyramid provides the most comprehensive and easy to understand guidelines for healthy diabetes diets. It divides the foods into six food groups. The largest food groups are at the bottom of the pyramid and they are also the most healthy foods for diabetes. These foods are breads, grains, beans, and starchy vegetables. So, diabetics are encouraged to eat more servings of food groups at the bottom of the pyramid.

At the top of the pyramid, you will see foods like fats, sweets, and alcohol. These are the foods you should avoid if you have diabetes.

As mentioned, people with diabetes need to keep close track of their carbohydrates intake as they directly affect the blood sugar levels almost immediately after eating. Carbohydrate is made out of complex carbon and hydrogen molecules. As insulin works with the carbs and breaks them down for energy, the right amount of dose needs to be adjusted according to the amount of carbs.

Your doctor can help determine the units of insulin per grams of carbs, but it is your job to maintain the balance of your blood glucose levels by watching your daily carb intake and exercising regularly. Maintaining this balance is what carb counting is all about.

Another way to ensure that you don't consume too much carbs is to eat more servings of foods that are located at the bottom of the Diabetes Food Pyramid. By eating more servings of healthy food groups, you are in turn having less carbs intake. Make sense?

Consistency is key. Establish a healthy diet plan for your individual circumstances and stick to it, making gradual adjustments as needed. In the long term, it will help minimize any complication associated with diabetes.

Also, remember to check your blood sugar levels often, write down the numbers and amount of carbs you have eaten that day. Good record keeping will give you and your doctor an accurate picture of how effective your diet plan and medication are. That will help keep your diabetes well under controlled.

Remember that diabetes is a disease that can be cured. Nobody need to succumb to diabetes, people with diabetes can still live a normal life. Click here: How To Cure Diabetes for more information. --> http://diabetes.healthbuzzone.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mei_Susanti

1 comment:

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