Diabetes - important points in diet

• People with diabetes do not need a special diet.
• Include a wide variety of healthy foods in your diet.
• You may need to limit serving sizes to maintain or achieve a healthy weight.
• Meals should be based on high fibre carbohydrates and be low in total and saturated fats, added sugar and salt.

Diabetes and Sample meal plan

Choose foods that you like and that satisfy you. Include carbohydrate foods in each meal or snack to help manage blood glucose levels. You can eat your main meal at lunch or dinner.

Breakfast

Choose from:

• One cup of high fibre breakfast cereal with low fat milk and one piece of fruit;
• or Two slices of bread or toast – preferably wholegrain, wholemeal or high fibre white – with thinly spread margarine, peanut butter, jam, Vegemite, baked beans, grilled tomato or sardines
• Water, tea, coffee or 100ml of fruit juice.

Light meal

• Soup (preferably one with vegetables and legumes, not one that is cream-based)
• One sandwich made with bread, one roll or six dry biscuits – preferably wholegrain or wholemeal – with thinly spread margarine or avocado
• Lots of salad vegetables
• 90g to 120g of lean meat, skinless poultry or seafood; or two eggs; or 40g of fat reduced cheese; or a half a cup of legumes (such as beans or lentils)
• One piece of fruit
• Water, tea or coffee.

Main meal

• One cup of cooked rice or pasta or one medium potato
• Lots of other vegetables
• 90g to 120g of lean meat, skinless poultry or seafood;
• or half a cup of legumes (such as beans or lentils)
• One fruit or one small tub of yoghurt
• Water, tea or coffee.

Between meal snacks

Not everyone needs to include snacks between meals. Talk to your diabetes educator or dietitian if you are unsure. If you do include snacks, select healthy choices such as fruit (fresh or canned in natural juice), low fat yoghurt, a glass of low fat milk, wholegrain bread, fruit bread or high fibre crackers.

Basic eating guidelines for Diabetes patients

Follow this simple healthy eating plan if you have diabetes:

• Eat regular meals throughout the day.
• You may need to limit the serving size of your meals and snacks, as too much food will lead to an increase in body weight.
• Choose a food containing some carbohydrate at each meal. Examples of carbohydrate foods are bread, cereals, pasta, rice, fruit and starchy vegetables.
• Do not restrict your carbohydrate intake. Aim for at least 130g per day.
• Choose high fibre carbohydrate foods.
• Select a variety of healthy foods from the different food groups. Include breads and cereals, fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products and lean meat.
• Limit saturated fats that are found in foods such as full fat dairy products (including cream, milk, icecream, yoghurt, butter and cheese), meat fat (trim the fat from meat and limit your intake of processed meats), fried foods, cakes, pastries and foods containing palm oil and coconut oil.
• Consume small amounts of unsaturated fats like olive, canola or sunflower oil, mono- or polyunsaturated margarines, oily fish, avocado, seeds and nuts.
• Baked items like cakes and biscuits should be eaten only occasionally and in small serves, even when they are low in fat.
• Avoid lollies and sweet soft drinks.
• Don’t add salt when you cook or at the table, and reduce the use of high salt foods.
• Limit alcohol to two standard drinks per day for men and one standard drink per day for women. Have at least two alcohol-free days per week.

Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

1. Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. For example walking around your neighborhood each day is a good idea. The key is to use large muscle groups. You could also try going to the gym a couple of times a week.
2. Make sure you eat a balanced diet. Eat a little from each food group, and not too much of the bad stuff - like sugar, salt and fat.
3. Watch the amount of sugar or carbohydrates you put into your body. Like instead of drinking a regular soda, drink water. Diet soda is often considered a good alternative, but the best is water. unfortunately, most foods labeled as "sugar free" or "low-carb" actually contain artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, and other additives that create a hormonal mess inside your body, actually stimulating your body to STORE more fat and stimulate cravings! And foods labeled "whole grain" only have to contain a small fraction of whole grains where the majority can still be refined starches and sugars that spike your blood sugar faster than a sugar-laden soda! A common mistake is believing that preventing diabetes means not eating any sugar. The truth of the matter is that you have to eat the right amount. People with diabetes have to take care that they don't eat too much or too little sugar. A good rule is based on the understanding that everything we eat turns to "a blood sugar;" therefore, choose foods that will take some time to convert. for example, sugar takes no time to convert to sugar, where protein takes more time. the key is balance in your diet.
4. Drink plenty of water, because your body needs water. Water is better than any other drink if you need to keep hydrated. Water also fills you up so your desire to eat decreases.
5. Maintaining a healthy weight is also very important. Of course eating well and exercising will help do that.

Eating For Good Health

The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Adults
Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods:
Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives Include milks, yoghurts, cheeses and/or alternatives. Reduced-fat varieties should be chosen, where possible Drink plenty of water. and take care to:
Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake Choose foods low in salt Limit your alcohol intake if you choose to drink Consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars Speaking with a dietitian can help to improve eating patterns and set you on the right track for a healthier lifestyle. To find an accredited practicing dietitian in your area visit the Dietitians Association of Australia
Eating healthier is only one part of living a healthy lifestyle. Improving eating patterns in combination with physical activity and and maintaining a healthy weight will contribute towards a healthier lifestyle.

Food Hilights - for Diabetes suffers

Coffee
Coffee, especially decaf, helps reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, suggests a 2006 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Postmenopausal women who drank 6 cups of coffee a day had a 22% lower risk of diabetes than women who did not drink coffee. Decaffeinated coffee drinkers had a 33% lower risk compared to non-coffee drinkers. A 2005 review in the Journal of the American Medical Association also found that drinking coffee on a regular basis helps reduce diabetes risk. The preventive effect was greatest for people who drank at least 4 cups of coffee a day.

Red Meat

Eating lots of red meat does more than boost unhealthy blood fats. It also increases heme iron intake, which can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. In a 20-year study of 85,000 women, the risk of diabetes increased along with heme iron intake. Women with the highest intakes had a 28% increased risk compared to those with the lowest intakes. Replacing red meat with chicken may help improve kidney function in patients with type 2 diabetes, suggests a small study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E supplements do not help prevent cancer or heart disease and may increase the risk of heart failure for patients with diabetes, according to a 2005 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Folic Acid and B Vitamins
Vitamin B supplements do not help prevent heart disease, according to several 2006 studies in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) trial, researchers assigned over 5,500 patients with diabetes or vascular disease to receive either a folic acid - vitamin B6 - vitamin B12 combination or placebo for 5 years. The vitamins did not reduce the risk of heart disease or heart attack.

Three Generations in Diabetes - Similar Lifestyle Leads to the result

Diabetes expert commented on the three generations with diabetes: the way of similar life style leads to the result.

Great Eastern subsidiary Clinic received a large hospital the day before yesterday, with three generations is the case with diabetes, the youngest is only15-year-old.

Experts said that diabetes have a certain genetic factors, but more likely to be in a similar way of life caused.

The prevalence of three generations from northern Jiangsu. Mother and grandmother are diabetic patients for many years, recently, 15-year-old daughter Xiaomei (a pseudonym), all of a sudden weight loss and regular dry mouth, thirst, Chinese University Hospital to check Ⅱ diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Her mother asked the doctor, my mother at the age of 40 was found to have diabetes, while I was found out at 30-year-old. Now 10-year-old daughter suffering from the disease, and is diabetes genetic?

It is understood that the family do not love sports, body fat more than the normal, like high-fat rich diet.

"Diabetes is currently the cause is still unknown, but it is certain that the disease is a genetic factor, but that genetic susceptibility to diabetes, which means parents of children with diabetes easy to get diabetes than others, such as diet, exercise, not pay attention to on, too The risk of diabetes than people in other high. "Zhongda, deputy director of the Endocrinology Hospital doctors said Jin Hui, the normal risk of diabetes for 1-5 percent, but the prevalence rate of diabetes patients compared with children of 8-10 percent.

Although genetic factors in diabetes play a role, but as to improve the living, dining on a large number of high-calorie intake lead to obesity, insulin secretion in turn cause defects and insulin resistance, diabetes is leading to increasing incidence of the main reason . Said Jin Hui, from clinical experience, a lot of family in the way of life of patients with diabetes are often very similar, he thinks this may be hereditary diabetes showed that the real "problem."