Diet for Diabetic Patient

Diet for Diabetic Patient: how to control blood sugar through diet

Diet for Diabetic Patient: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic endocrine disease associated with impaired glucose absorption in the body and insufficiency of the hormone insulin. With an illness in the blood, a high level of sugar is stable, which negatively affects the walls of the arteries, causing heart disease.

Normalizing a diabetic's condition involves taking sugar-lowering drugs and a special diet that eliminates fatty and minimizes sweets in the daily diet. Since the disease is associated with metabolic disorders, doctors recommend paying special attention to diet therapy, which is built based on an individual selection of products and the calculation of calories and carbohydrates.

"Every 10-15 years, according to statistics from experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of patients suffering from diabetes doubles. It is sad, but in recent years this disease has become more common at a young age. According to epidemiological studies, there are about 314 million people who have prediabetes (8-14% in the adult population),” commented Irina Kononenko, expert of the UniProf Academy of Physicians, nutritionist.

General rules for diabetes

Diet for diabetic patient involves compliance with basic food intake and additional measures:

• a complete and balanced diet is the basis for good health in diabetes;
• Do not skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Eating should be done regularly and observed at time intervals;
• portions of dishes should not be small or very large. The volume of food should be optimal for saturation;
• weight must be monitored. Obesity reduces insulin sensitivity, which makes it much more difficult to treat the disease;
• in addition to the main meals, the diet should include additional snacks, such as a second breakfast and afternoon tea;
• fractional meals up to five to six times a day are best suited for diet therapy.

Diet for Diabetic Patient: (Types of Diets)

The format of nutrition in diabetes mellitus depends on the type of disease: I, II, and gestational. But before starting this or that diet, you need to consult a doctor.

More on Diet for Diabetic Patient, Type I diabetes occurs due to a malfunction in the immune system. A person needs regular insulin injections, as the pancreas does not produce enough of the hormone. This type requires a low-carbohydrate diet that helps lower blood sugar. Thanks to a responsible approach to nutrition, complications can be avoided and the patient's well-being can be improved.

The basic principles of the diet for type 1 diabetes:

• the daily calorie content of meals should be a maximum of 2000 kilocalories;
• carbohydrate intake should be for breakfast and lunch;
• it is necessary to exclude sucrose in its pure form and use sweeteners, such as stevia;
• adjust the schedule of insulin injections for meals. If the drug is long-acting, it is administered before meals, short - after.

Type II diabetes mellitus is the most common form of the disease that develops against the background of the body getting used to insulin or due to its lack. Non-insulin-dependent people are less sensitive to hormone injections and therefore need additional dietary adjustments with the inclusion of low-calorie foods.

Key parameters of the diet for type 2 diabetes:

• daily calorie content - from 1600 to 1800 kilocalories;
• reduced consumption of simple carbohydrates and animal fats;
• the use of sweeteners such as stevia;
• the maximum break between meals is four hours;
• since type 2 diabetes increases the sensitivity of the kidneys, it is recommended to reduce the amount of salt to nine grams per day (one teaspoon + ⅓ teaspoon).

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is diagnosed during pregnancy and goes away on its own after delivery. This is because the body of the expectant mother is changing: the metabolism is being rebuilt, and the need for insulin increases, which is why blood sugar accumulates in large quantities.

Diet principles for GDM:

• easily digestible carbohydrates are completely excluded;
• foods with a high glycemic index (an indicator of the effect of sugar on blood glucose levels) are excluded;
• if there is excess weight, then all fats are limited;
• fasting is prohibited;
• food should be complete and fractional.

Counting carbs

In the article diet for diabetic patient, Counting carbohydrates is one of the mandatory items in the diet for diabetes. Proper balancing of carbohydrates is important. For calculation, a universal parameter is used - a bread unit (XE). For example, one XE is 10-13 net carbohydrates, which increases glucose to 2.77 millimoles per liter (mmol / l). For the substance to be absorbed, it is necessary to inject 14 units of insulin.

Often, injections are given before meals, so it is recommended to calculate in advance the approximate amount of carbohydrates consumed. On average, no more than six-grain units should enter the body at one meal.

One XE is contained in the following amounts of products.

Product	Quantity equal to 1 XE
Honey	1 st. the spoon
Dough	25 g
Porridge (oatmeal or buckwheat)	2 tbsp. l
Kefir or milk	250 ml
Berries	150 g
Melon	300 g
Peas or beans	5 st. l

Product table

For people with diabetes, there is a general list of foods that can and cannot be consumed.

What can

Approved foods for diabetes

Product category	Can	Available in a limited quantity
Bread and pastries	bran bread	Wheat bread and savory pastries
Meat	—	Lamb, veal, rabbit, turkey, chicken
First meal	Fish and mushroom soup, borscht, beetroot	Low-fat hodgepodge
Fish and seafood	Lean fish fillet	Crayfish, mussels, squid, shrimps, from fish - salmon, trout, salmon
Dairy and dairy products	Milk, kefir, unsalted cheese	Homemade yogurt, curdled milk, fermented baked milk
Kashi	Millet, buckwheat, oatmeal, barley	—
Vegetables	All types of cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, radishes, mushrooms, bell peppers, fresh leafy greens	Corn, boiled potatoes, fresh beans
Fruits and berries	Pear, lemon, cranberry, quince	Apple, peach, cherry, oranges, watermelon, blueberries
The drinks	Tea, cocoa, unsweetened fruit nectars, berry fruit drinks, unsweetened ground coffee	Diluted vegetable juices
Oils and fats	—	Corn, linseed, sunflower, olive

What is not allowed

Prohibited foods for diabetes

Product category	Prohibited in any quantity
Bread and pastries	Sweet and savory pastries
Meat	Pork, duck, goose, canned meats, bacon and smoked sausages
First meal	Fatty broths and kharcho
Fish and seafood	Red and black caviar, types of fish: sturgeon, sprat, beluga, herring, stellate sturgeon, any canned food in oil
Dairy and dairy products	Sour cream, butter, condensed milk, cream, 50-60% fat cheese, salted cheese
Kashi	Semolina porridge, brown rice, pasta
Vegetables	All fried, salted and pickled vegetables
Fruits and berries	Bananas, grapes, dates, figs, dates
The drinks	Sweet lemonades, kvass, alcohol
Oils and fats	Salo, meat fats

Menu for the week

The menu for diabetes should be compiled only by a qualified dietitian, taking into account the type of disease and with an individual dosage of products, taking into account the presence or absence of obesity.

Days	First breakfast, second breakfast	Dinner	afternoon tea	Dinner
Monday	Boiled meat, apple and tea without sugar Omelette for a couple	Vegetable soup without potatoes and baked fish	A glass of kefir, any fruit allowed	Boiled chicken with asparagus
Tuesday	Cabbage, tomato and cucumber salad, stewed beef liver, unsweetened biscuit and unsweetened green tea Watermelon	Boiled rabbit, bell pepper and cucumber salad, milk and berry pie	Tomato juice (diluted) and unsweetened biscuits	Buckwheat porridge with milk and bread
Wednesday	Zucchini pancakes, bread, ground coffee without sugar, low-fat cottage cheese Pear, orange or peach	Braised cabbage, boiled beef, fresh tomato, bread and berry juice	Glass of milk with a biscuit	Pumpkin porridge, bran bread
Thursday	Milk porridge, slice of bread, green tea without sugar, unsalted cheese Any fruit allowed	Borscht, bread, vegetable salad and steamed cutlet with wheat groats garnish	A glass of kefir with unsweetened cookies	Boiled fish, stewed vegetables
Friday	Lavash, cheese, boiled egg, black tea without sugar Quince	Mushroom soup, cabbage and pea vegetable salad, unsweetened fruit nectar, slice of bread	Decoction of dried fruits, orange	Cottage cheese casserole with pears
Saturday	Oatmeal, green tea, cheese and a slice of bread Low-fat cottage cheese with cherries	Fish soup, stewed zucchini, bread	Unsweetened tea, lean biscuits	Boiled chicken fillet, fresh leaf lettuce and cucumbers, dried fruit decoction
Sunday	Buckwheat porridge, ground coffee without sugar, boiled egg Vegetable and tuna salad	Baked potatoes, stewed cabbage with meat, lavash	Kefir with a biscuit	Green beans, steam cutlet, unsweetened fruit nectar, bread

Expert opinions

Nutritionist Irina Kononenko highlights several key parameters that are important to pay attention to when following a diet for diabetes:

• meals should be at the same time, it is not recommended to skip breakfast and eat at night. The last meal is desirable four to five hours before bedtime, but no later than 19:30;
• food should be as natural as possible (preferably farm products) with minimal processing;
• you can’t eat carbohydrate dishes for dinner;
• it is recommended to observe a sleep schedule - poor sleep exacerbates insulin resistance and increases the manifestation of stress at the metabolic level. Lack of sleep affects the hormones that control hunger and satiety, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin, the "hunger hormone," signals the brain that it's time to eat. When a person is deprived of sleep, the body produces more ghrelin. In turn, leptin signals to the brain that the body is full. When a person is chronically sleep-deprived, leptin levels drop, signaling the brain to increase hunger to get more energy. Therefore, it is quite natural that lack of sleep leads to overeating and extra pounds.

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