Free diabetes and Food e Book 2013

Below is a basic guide to diabetes and food but please feel free to download the free diabetes and food e book above

What you eat can affect your health in a number of ways.

Poor food choices may adversely affect our

1.     Weight leading to us becoming or maintaining ourselves as Overweight or Obese

2.     Blood glucose levels,  leading to high blood glucose levels

3.     Cholesterol and blood pressure leading to high cholesterol and or blood pressure

4.     And can increase our risk of some cancers and heart disease.

·         Control your blood glucose levels

·         Control your weight

·         Improve your cholesterol levels

·         Reduce your risk of heart disease

·         Improve your general health and wellbeing.

Changing your eating habits is not easy and requires dedication. Any changes to your food intake should be for the long term. Short-term diets are not recommended as you will soon return to your usual eating pattern. It is best to make small changes which you can continue indefinitely.

There is no such thing as a “diabetes diet “  what we need to look at is firstly is to assess our diet against healthy eating guidelines then learn as much as we can about foods effects on weight, Blood glucose levels, Cholesterol and blood pressure.

It is also worth noting that there is no such thing in diabetes or nutrition in general as “good” or “bad” foods just good or bad amounts of food as many food items often considered good for us can have negative consequences on our diabetes and general health.

The above concept should be applied to all uses of food including “diabetic cook books” these are a good source of quality healthy cooking advice and some will give some good general advice. Some of the more important questions to ask yourself are how much should I have of it and when should I have it and if it is a sometimes food should I actually have it at all. Unfortunately there is no such thing as healthy chocolate cake just slightly healthier versions of a fantastic treat! The most important question is do I need it how much should I have and how often should i have it.

You should enjoy a wide variety of foods to ensure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs

Including carbohydrate, protein, essential fats, vitamins and minerals. The ideal

meal plan for people with diabetes should be the same as for the whole family and following

the Dietary Guidelines for Australians.

·         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 whole grain

·         Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives

·         Include milks, yoghurt, cheeses and/or alternatives – reduced-fat varieties should be chosen,

·         where possible

·         Drink plenty of water.

·         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.

·         Eat regularly during the day and spread your food over breakfast, lunch and dinner

·         Each day aim to eat:

·         5 serves vegetables

·         2 serves fruit

·         5 serves grains, breads and cereals

·         2-3 serves low-fat dairy products

·         1 serve lean meat, chicken or fish or a meat alternative such as lentils, beans or tofu.

People with higher energy needs may require more serves this is a general guideline and only an accredited practicing dietitian has the skills to design a healthy diet to meet your energy needs.

One of the most significant issues we are having in society in general with food is adjusting our food portion and energy intake with our energy expenditure and this often confuses many. It requires a food expert to make sure we are consuming the correct portions of foods to match our energy needs for weight management but to also ensure we are meeting our nutritional needs.

Food is habit and the three best questions to ask your self are how much of each food type should I be eating when should I be consuming it and why am I eating it. Why is the most important as for the bulk of us  food is habit and asking ourselves why can be the first step to assessing if we need to improve what we are doing and changing behaviors.

1 serve = ½ cup cooked vegetables or 1 cup salad or 1 small potato

1 serve = 1 medium-sized fruit, e.g. apple, orange or 2 pieces of smaller fruit, e.g. apricots, plums,

kiwi fruit or 1 cup diced fruit or canned fruit

1 serve = 1 slice bread or ¾ cup breakfast cereal or 1 cup cooked pasta or ½ cup cooked rice

1 serve = 250mL milk or 200g yoghurt or 40g (2 slices) cheese

1 serve = 100g cooked meat, chicken or fish or 2 eggs or 1/3 cup legumes

Link to the Australian guide to healthy eating http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/health-pubhlth-strateg-food-guide-index.htm

With diabetes high risk of diabetes and pre diabetes one of the most significant aspects we need to focus on to keep well is weight. If we are overweight reducing our weight   has the potential to improve our blood glucose control, reduce our blood pressure, Improve our cholesterol reduce our risk of heart disease and cancer and significantly improve our wellbeing

Weight is about total energy in vs total expended
Energy comes from four sources, carbohydrates, protein, fat and alcohol. When it comes to the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure, the source of energy does not impact on the overall balance. Instead, total energy intake and expenditure dictate whether the balance is positive (weight gain) or negative (weight loss). Therefore there is no need to eliminate any one food source of energy form your diet despite recent fad diets that claim otherwise. Weight loss can be achieved through the consumption of a balanced diet in correct proportions and portions

All carbohydrate foods break down to glucose during digestion. Glucose enters the bloodstream

raising the blood glucose level. As carbohydrate provides the body with fuel for energy, it should

be a part of all your meals and snacks. The quantity and types of carbohydrate-rich foods you eat will affect your blood glucose level. A very high carbohydrate intake may raise your blood glucose levels too high. Carbohydrate foods are essential for us however we often consume them in large portions in a short period of time and choose poor quality carbohydrates.

•          Carbohydrate foods should be consumed as part of your balanced diet. The key concepts with carbohydrate foods are what I like to call the three T, s.

•          Timing of carbohydrates

•          Total amount of carbohydrates

•          Type of carbohydrates

The most significant determinant of how high your blood glucose reading will go in relation to food is the amount of carbohydrate foods consumed at any one given time. Our energy and carbohydrate needs differ significantly between individuals and changes with individual goals and differ vastly depending on how active you are or if you want to gain or lose weight you will need to seek specific advice from an accredited Practicing dietitian to guide you on how much carbohydrate is appropriate for you. As a starting point carbohydrate foods should be consumed in moderate quantities at each meal spread across the day as evenly as possible and where appropriate slow acting Low GI choices used http://www.glycemicindex.com .

Of these concepts the most important is the first spreading the load of our carbohydrate foods across the day. With diabetes carbohydrate foods are essentially our body’s preferred fuel source but our body needs our help as a fuel filter to deliver small amounts across the day so as to not overload the system. With this I suggest that with diabetes three regular meals with a moderate carbohydrate portion in each is essential in diabetes management.  If tolerated three medium sized meals typically breakfast, lunch and an evening meal with small mid meals spaced in between such as a morning tea afternoon tea and supper is an excellent way to control you blood glucose and energy levels across the day.

Two of the more useful times to check our own blood glucose levels are 1 fasting such as first thing in the morning which gives as a good indication of how our body is dealing with diabetes in general. And 2 two hours after food to assess how well our body is doing in dealing with an appropriate amount of our fuel food (carbohydrate). This measure as particularly useful if we take our blood glucose before food and 2hrs after as we know exactly how our body responded to a normal “load’ of carbohydrate food.

In ideal circumstances with diabetes our fasting blood glucose levels are between 4-6mmol/L and two hours post a meal 6-8mmol/L. This should closely mirror what we would expect of someone without diabetes.

The picture below gives a general representation of potential effects of consuming a large amount of carbohydrate foods at one time with diabetes the times are abutiary and may not represent you situation. In the first representation we have raised blood glucose levels post dinner due to a large load of carbohydrate foods at one time with some potatoes, cheese cake and raisin toast consumed within a short period. With the second representation there is almost the same amount of food and carbohydrate foods but the carbohydrate food is spread out giving our body time to bring our blood glucose back down.

                    

                                      

             

With total amount of carbohydrate foods as mentioned before I cannot give specific advice in this forum and I urge you to seek advice from an APD. A good general starting guide (and I stress this is just a general guide) is to aim for approximately ¼ of you plate to contain a carbohydrate source.

 

GI or glycaemic index is a useful concept where if practical you should aim to choose a low GI option as your carbohydrate source at each meal. This concept however should not replace eating the correct portions at appropriate timings.  A low GI food breaks down to glucose more slowly and causes a slower rise in the blood glucose levels compared to a high GI food. Try to choose more low GI carbohydrate foods – aim for at least one in each meal.

Small amounts of sugar can be included as part of a healthy meal. For example, 1-2 teaspoons of sugar added to porridge or a teaspoon of jam or honey on multigrain toast. Savoury foods containing sugar such as baked beans and tomato sauce can also be eaten.

Avoid or find alternatives to foods which contain large amounts of sugar such as soft drink, regular jelly and confectionery. Some artificially sweetened foods are suitable, but be aware some may be high in fat.

Although blood glucose levels are directly affected by carbohydrate, eating too much fat is also a problem. Fats provide us with energy and some vitamins, so a small amount is essential. However,too much leads to carrying excess body weight, which increases insulin resistance.

There are different types of fats in food and some are worse for your health than others.

Saturated fat and Trans fat increase the risk of heart disease by increasing blood cholesterol levels.Saturated fat is found in:

·         animal products (e.g. butter, full cream milk, cheese and yoghurt, fatty meats, processed

·         meats, cream, lard)

·         palm oil which is often used in commercial snacks and baked products such as biscuits,

·         pastries, takeaway foods, chips

·         coconut oil including coconut cream and milk