As we conclude this series for Diabetes Awareness month, I want to share some resources for recipes, meal planning, and disease management. Please follow the links below for these resources and more:
American Diabetes Association: www.diabetes.com & www.diabetesfoodhub.org Living with Type 2 Diabetes Program Joslin Diabetes Center Lilly Diabetes Additionally, some hospitals offer free classes and workshops to prevent the development of diabetes or to provide information and support to individuals with diabetes and their caregivers. I hope you have enjoyed this "Exposed" series. Please leave any questions in the comments.
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Welcome back to our November series on diabetes and nutrition. This month, we have worked our way through some of the diabetes myths that I hear over and over from many of my clients. My hope is that by dispelling these myths, you or someone you know with diabetes, can make healthier and more enjoyable food choices. Read on for the final myth that I will discuss for the month.
Myth #4. Snacking is bad. I cannot count the number of times that a client smugly reports that they do not snack and that they hardly eat junk food. Snack has unfortunately, and inaccurately, become synonymous with "junk food". Snacking is not inherently bad--it is the types of foods that we have become accustomed to choosing as snacks, that give them a bad rap. This choice is often a result of marketing, convenience, cost, and availability. A snack can serve many purposes. A well-balanced snack can curb your appetite when you are unable to eat a full meal, or just not quite hungry enough for a meal. Snacking also provides an opportunity to reach the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, which are lacking in the standard American diet. If you have long days, and will be going more than 4 to 5 hours between meals, a snack can provide just the right amount of nourishment to keep your blood sugar levels from crashing, and prevent you from becoming ravenous before your next meal. This last point is particularly important if you are managing diabetes. When blood sugar levels drop too low, this is called hypoglycemia, a state which can lead to shakiness, dizziness, headaches, and even fainting. Diabetes medications can amplify these symptoms. Additionally, if you become too hungry before your next meal, it can cause you to overeat and/or make less healthy food choices, which can cause a spike in blood sugar. The goal with diabetes is to keep blood sugar levels stable. Snacking can help achieve this goal. To make the most of your snack, you want to include at least 2 of the 5 food groups. You also want to try to include all of the macronutrients--carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The following combinations make for delicious, healthy, and balanced snacks: 1. 1 cup of raw veggies and 1/4 cup of hummus 2. 1/3 cup of homemade trail mix with unsweetened dried fruit 3. 1 serving of low sugar cereal (plain or multigrain Cheerios, Honey Bunches of Oats, Nature's Path Heritage Flakes) with 1 cup of unsweetened soymilk 4. 6 ounce container of plain or lower sugar Greek yogurt 5. 1 slice of whole grain bread topped with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/2 a banana, sliced 6. 1 string cheese stick and 1 small apple 7. 1 boiled egg with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce 8. 3 cups of air popped popcorn 9. 1/2 cup of chicken or tuna salad with 1 serving of whole grain crackers 10. 1/2 cup of roasted chickpeas There are many other healthy snacks that can fit into your meal plan. Tune in next week, when I will share resources that will provide meal and snack ideas, recipes, and other guidance for diabetes management. Have a safe, healthy, and happy Thanksgiving! We are officially halfway through the month and on our third week of mythbusting for National Diabetes Awareness Month. Read on for this week's nutritional nugget. Myth # 3. I need to avoid fruit. Fruit is nature's candy. It can satisfy a sweet tooth, serve as a healthy snack, or add flavor to a recipe, all while providing fiber and a host of vitamins and minerals. All fruit contains fructose, a type of naturally occurring sugar. However, because fruit provides fiber, vitamins, including A, B, and C; and minerals, like potassium and magnesium, you get a lot more nutritional value, compared to having a soda, candy bar, or another food or beverage with added sugar. As discussed in last week's post, fruit is a carbohydrate food and does raise blood sugar levels. You do not have to avoid certain fruits when you have diabetes. The key is having fruit in a portion size that will not elevate your blood sugar levels too high, too fast. A bowl full of grapes will likely cause a blood sugar spike, but a small handful (about 17 grapes) will result in a more modest increase. You can also pair fruit with a little protein and healthy fat to further prevent a blood sugar spike. Some examples include pairing a small apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter; having a few cheese cubes with a small handful of grapes; or having a snack-size box of raisins with a quarter-cup of nuts. Dried fruits are more concentrated in sugar, due to their composition. The water has been removed from dried fruits, which reduces their volume. Therefore, it is a lot easier to overeat dried fruit. Dried fruit is also more likely to have sugar added, as in the case of dried cranberries or dried pineapple. Check the nutrition labels on dried fruit to avoid added sugar. Raisins do not typically have sugar added to them. Enjoy a variety of fresh, frozen, and even canned fruit. Avoid canned and frozen fruit with added sugar. Choose canned fruit that is packed in water or in 100% fruit juice. Unsweetened applesauce also makes a quick and convenient "fruit snack". Limit or avoid fruit juice altogether. Since fruit juice lacks the fiber content of whole fruit, it will raise your blood sugar faster and it is easy to overconsume juices. Take a look at the following chart to learn more about the recommended serving sizes for fruit. Aim for 2-3 servings of fruit daily. What is your favorite fruit?
Have your thoughts on fruit changed since reading this post? If so, how? See you next week for the fourth installment of the "Exposed" series! Welcome back to another installment of the "Exposed" series for National Diabetes Awareness Month. Read on as we dispel another common myth about diabetes and nutrition...
Myth # 2. I have to avoid ALL carbohydrates. I have talked with so many people who have diabetes who are under the impression that they cannot eat carbs. The key to managing diabetes with diet is figuring out the correct balance of carbohydrate foods for you. A dietitian can help you to determine how much carbohydrate to include in your diet. Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the three macronutrients required by the body for proper nutrition. People with diabetes are often incorrectly advised to avoid all carbohydrates. This is not only dangerous, but practically impossible. Carbohydrates are necessary and need to be included, albeit in a more strategic way when someone has diabetes. Carbohydrates, when digested, become glucose or "sugar" in your bloodstream. In an individual without diabetes, this glucose would be used for energy or stored in the body's cells for future use. In an individual with diabetes, the body cannot use or store the glucose, due to a lack of insulin, insufficient production of insulin, or insulin resistance, which leads to excess glucose in the blood. Too much glucose in the blood leads to health complications. In order to keep blood sugar levels stable, a consistent amount of carbohydrate needs to be eaten on a regular basis. Additionally, carbohydrates need to be balanced with fats and proteins, both of which allow for slower digestion of the carbohydrate, resulting in a more modest rise in blood sugar. The types of carbohydrate foods that you eat impact blood sugar levels differently. Carbohydrate foods include: Grains (rice, bread, pasta, oats); Starchy vegetables (beans, lentils, potatoes, corn, peas, winter squash); Milk and yogurt; Fruit and fruit juice Sweets (baked goods, candy, ice cream, any food or beverage with added sugar). Some carbohydrate foods are more nutritious than others. Whole grains (brown, black, or wild rice; whole wheat pastas, oats, whole grain bread), rather than refined grains (white rice, white pasta, white flour), contain fiber. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. However, it functions to keep our digestive system healthy, aids in weight management, and improves cholesterol levels. Fiber also slows digestion, and similar to fats and proteins, results in a slower rise in blood sugar, compared to foods without fiber. Aim to make at least half of the grains that you eat, whole grains. Along with whole grains, starchy vegetables and fruit are also nutritious carbohydrate foods that belong in a healthy, balanced diet. Milk and yogurt are carbohydrates that contain important nutrients, including calcium and vitamin D, and may also be included as part of a healthy diet. Sweets and fruit juices are among the less nutritious carbohydrates that are not recommended, or necessary, in any amount. It is best to avoid juice, soda, and any sweetened beverage, as they are essentially liquid candy, and in direct opposition to maintaining stable blood sugar levels, providing minimal satiation. As for sweets, choose wisely. Enjoy a small amount of something you absolutely love. Allowing yourself to have a small treat will make it easier to stick with your healthy lifestyle. The Plate Method, recommended by the national dietary guidelines, is a way to ensure that we are including all of the macronutrients in appropriate portion sizes. After learning about carbohydrate foods, what changes, if any, do you think you will make to your diet? What foods have you been restricting that you plan to re-incorporate into your diet in a healthy way? November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, a time during which individuals, organizations, and communities bring awareness to diabetes in order to educate others about this chronic disease, relate to others who may share in a diagnosis, and ultimately mitigate the impact of this chronic disease on morbidity and mortality. Diabetes occurs when the body is unable to make, or respond adequately to, the hormone insulin. As a result, glucose, a type of sugar that the body uses for energy, builds up in the blood, rather than being used or stored for energy. This excess blood glucose places stress on the blood vessels of the body and can therefore affect various organs and organ systems. Long term, uncontrolled elevated blood sugar levels can result in severe consequences, including chronic kidney disease, which can progress to kidney failure; blindness, nerve damage, and increase a person's risk for heart attack and stroke. There are different types of diabetes and for the purposes of this series, we are focusing on Diabetes Mellitus, which includes Type 1 Diabetes (a person's body cannot produce insulin), Type 2 Diabetes (insulin resistance and impaired ability to use glucose), and Gestational Diabetes (diabetes that occurs during pregnancy). There is an abundance of information available on diabetes. However, there are some misconceptions about nutrition and diabetes that I will clear up over these next several weeks, as we journey through the month of November. Every week in November, I will share a different myth about diabetes, explain the fault behind it, and provide the correct information, as supported scientifically. The goal is to reveal the flexibility, freedom, and variety that people may still enjoy in their diets, even with a diagnosis of diabetes. And so we begin... Myth # 1. I have to follow a specific diet for diabetes. There is no "diabetic diet". This fact surprises many people because often, they are referred to me for education on a "diabetic diet", just because they have a diagnosis of diabetes. Well, the truth is, this diet does not exist. The nutrition recommendations for people with diabetes are very similar to those for the generally healthy population. That is, a focus on a variety of vegetables and fruits; lean protein, healthy fats, and whole grains. It sounds simple, but that is the point. Eating this way is simple and so often, people do not apply it because it does not sound fancy or interesting enough. Moreover, people may not know exactly what this looks like on a plate. While specific diets, such as low-carb, DASH, keto, intermittent fasting, and others may help control blood sugar levels, it is not so much that particular diet, but rather improved eating habits overall. All of these diets have something in common, and that is that they depend on people eating more whole foods, fewer processed foods, fewer calories, or all of the above. Adopting any of these habits will result in better blood sugar control. The problem with a strict diet is that it can set people up to fail through unnecessary deprivation and can also lead to nutrient deficiencies. That being said, there are some eating behaviors that are beneficial to maintain healthy blood sugar levels and we will cover them throughout this series, over the next month. What is some dietary advice that you have heard pertaining to diabetes? What questions do you have about nutrition and diabetes? |
AuthorHello there, my name is Alena and I am a Registered Dietitian! This blog is a platform through which I can share my knowledge and perspectives on a variety of nutrition-related topics. Feel free to contribute by commenting. Archives
November 2021
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