Diet in diabetes

Diabetes is a disease recognised on the basis of a high blood sugar level. Blood sugar level higher than 126 mg% gives grounds to diabetes diagnosis. At present there are two types of diabetes.

• Type I – usually diagnosed in children and young adults. It is caused by genetically conditioned lack of insulin. Type I diabetes is treated with insulin and therefore called 'insulin –dependant'

• Type II – usually diagnosed in older people, often older and obese. Treatment involves oral drugs, and eventually, at later stage, insulin.

Diet

Treatment of both types of diabetes involves correct diabetes diet.

The key target of diabetes treatment is the reduction of blood sugar to the correct level. Patients diagnosed with diabetes type II, following the reduction of body weight to the correct level, may be able to maintain the correct blood sugar level by means of a proper, balanced diabetes diet only.

For diabetics proper diet does not mean starving, but healthy eating. Bread, rice, pasta, grouts, potatoes should constitute not more than 40% of your food; vegetables and fruit – approx. 30 %; fats – approx. 10 %, and meat – approx. 20% Diabetics should eat many products containing soluble fibre (brown bread, grouts, vegetables, fruit). Diabetes diet means that one should cut down of food containing easily absorbed sugar and fat, especially animal fat.

Apart from proper diet, diabetes treatment also involves physical activity which helps to maintain proper body weight and supports burning of excess calories. Obeying these rules also helps to prevent heart diseases.

7 rules of diet for diabetics:

1. Avoid food fat that you can see (don't fry, don't eat fatty meat or cold cuts)

2. Avoid food fat that you cannot see (drink skimmed milk, replace cream with yoghurt)

3. Complex carbohydrates should constitute 50-60% of caloric value of your meals (can be found in yoghurt, fruit, rice and grouts)

4. Fruit and vegetables are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals. However it should be remembered that fruits contain simple carbohydrates, therefore one must be careful not to eat too many.

5. Avoid simple sugars, do not put sugar into your coffee, tea, avoid sweets, and sweet pastry.

6. Eat adequate amounts of proteins, that is approx. 1 g per each correct body mass. Veal, lean poultry, fish, lean cold cuts and legumes are recommended.

7. Alcohol poses greater threat to diabetics than to healthy people therefore it is recommended that alcohol should be eliminated.

dr Elżbieta Dudzińska-Feliksbrot