Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in the world. For all its complexity, there are methods that can make a person’s life much easier. First, you need to follow a certain diet.
If you follow a properly prescribed diet, diabetes will not affect your general well-being in any way, and it will reduce various complications, including heart attack, stroke, and so on.
Types of diets
The diet of diabetes is determined depending on the type of disease and age. So there are general principles for developing proper nutrition that are set based on the individual indicators of the human body.
Because it is impossible to cure the disease, a certain menu is assigned to reduce the risk. Consuming the right foods at a clearly defined time is essential to:
- reduces the risk of chronic and acute complications,
- maintaining good health and relatively strong immunity,
- to prevent or reduce weight gain,
- keeping blood sugar levels within acceptable limits.
There are two types of diabetes. In other words, the first is called insulin-dependent. Its development involves damage and death to the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin.
With this, nutrition is aimed at maintaining the process of insulin therapy and is rather a complementary method to control the disease. Its principles are similar to those followed by healthy people to achieve good shape and well-being.
The main difference is the calculation of the amount of carbohydrates. Because the treatment for type 1 diabetes consists of taking insulin, you need to check what percentage of your daily diet is given to carbohydrates. Generally, this should not exceed 60%.
Since type 2 diabetes, which also develops in insulin-independent, obese people, diet is accordingly in the first place. In the initial stages of the disease or mild, the point is to rationally get rid of excess weight.
When this type of diabetes reaches a moderate or even severe form, medications to lower blood sugar or insulin are prescribed in addition to the diet. It is worth noting that in such cases, special attention should also be paid to physical activity. Thanks to them, a problem like obesity can be solved without surgery.
The most popular diets are called 8 and 9 tables. The eighth diet table is applicable to those who are overweight or overweight. The ninth is used as the basis for determining the diet of diabetics.
Diet 9 in diabetes
Diet No. 9 is considered a healer and is prescribed to normalize metabolism (carbohydrates). It is also intended to prevent disorders associated with fat metabolism. Its caloric content should not exceed 2500 kcal.
Such a diet is characterized by:
- the caloric content must be reduced by consuming animal fats and carbohydrates that are easily digestible (except sweets and sugar),
- partial restriction or complete elimination of cholesterol and salt,
- consumption of more vitamins and fiber,
- the protein content should be within the normal range.
All healthy diets, including the ninth, are based on proper nutrition. You should eat often and in small portions. Overall, the frequency should be 5-6 times a day.
Fried or steamed foods should be eaten as little as possible or completely forgotten. It must be baked and cooked first. It’s best to plan a weekly menu because it will make it easier to keep track of. Particular preference should be given to the following products:
- lean meat
- lean fish
- vegetables containing not more than 5% carbohydrates,
- fruit (not all),
- natural drinks without sugar.
As far as spices and eggs are concerned, their consumption should be limited. This is especially true for egg yolk. The daily amount of protein should not exceed 1, 5 pieces. In addition to excluding sweets from the menu in the case of diabetes, pasta, noodles and puff pastry, pickled vegetables are also prohibited.
Bananas, dates, figs, grapes and all their derivatives should not be categorically consumed. The same goes for fats like pork, lamb and beef. To get the necessary fats, consume moderate amounts of butter (not salt) and vegetable oil.
Diet No. 9 is the basis used to select the nutrition you need. It is adjusted depending on the personal indicators of the person with diabetes. You can combine different types of diets and find the right one for you.
What is a bread unit?
Since the essence of proper nutrition for diabetics is to consume a certain amount of carbohydrates, you need to know how to define this cherished norm, depending on how much and what foods you should eat.
Each carbohydrate product has different physical properties and calories. These characteristics are not covered by the standard measurement method. In addition, in diabetes, nutrition requires increased control over their own daily intake.
In order to make it easier to determine how much of a given product you should eat and not exceed what is allowed, nutritionists have introduced the term "bread unit". The concept is used in cases where a diabetic is prescribed insulin.
With such a measured unit, one can more easily understand what to eat and drink and what not. You compile your healthy menu based on personal metrics, and you can also change some foods to carbohydrate foods.
Generally, a person should consume 18-25 such units per day. Since there should be five meals, it makes sense to distribute this amount rationally at all times. The main "dose" should get into the body in the first half of the day. You can write yourself a daily menu to keep track of the number of units of bread you have consumed.
How many calories should you consume per day?
The diabetes mellitus diet requires the rejection of many foods and foods that were previously included in the daily diet. However, foods that allow sugar levels to normalize with those needed to lose extra pounds should not be confused.
The goal of the type 1 diabetes diet is to calculate exactly how much insulin is needed. Calorie content does not play such an important role in this case. Be careful not to gain weight.
A diet for type 2 diabetes requires increased control of caloric intake as it often develops in obesity. However, it is not worth bringing into fanaticism either.
The number of daily calories is calculated depending on the individual indicators of the body. The diet should be low in carbs, but that doesn’t mean total carbs. We need to eat the fed, but it’s important not to overeat.
When the question arises as to what to eat in type 2 diabetes, many believe that you should almost sit on breadcrumbs and water. This is completely impossible. Foods should be whole, with vitamins and fiber.
Various recipes are available for delicious, satisfying and at the same time healthy foods that do not allow recovery, but at the same time one will be full of strength and energy. What special foods should be consumed and how many calories per day should be discussed with your doctor.
Useful and unhealthy foods
A low carb diet is different. They are less stringent for a healthy person than for someone who has been diagnosed with diabetes. But they have the same meaning. These differ in the main list of products that are healthy and harmful to diabetics.
Useful
- all kinds of vegetables,
- greens (spinach, sorrel, dill),
- mushrooms,
- meat and fish (lean),
- Coffee and tea,
- mineral water.
Harmful
Moderate increase in sugar:
- potato,
- cereals,
- pasta, including hard varieties,
- dairy products.
Highly growing sugar:
- sweetness,
- Honey,
- beverages containing added sugar,
- alcohol,
- grapes and their derivatives,
- hot and salty spices.
This product sharing is generally accepted and often serves as a basis for designing diabetes menus. But what is good for one person can prove bad for another. Because everything is relative, an individual diet is prepared for each diabetic.
How to eat because of obesity
It is believed that in order to lose weight, you need to follow a strict, low-calorie diet. But the point is, it doesn't work. Numerous studies have shown that with a decrease in the caloric content of a diet, nothing but constant hunger, hunger, fainting, nervousness, and other things happen.
With such a diet, you can literally lose a few pounds, but if at the same time the body is distinguished by flexibility and good muscles, then that’s all that leaves you. Subcutaneous fat does not go anywhere and sometimes, on the contrary, accumulates even more.
A protein diet involves the active intake of proteins as well as the parallel reduction of fats and carbohydrates. The approach itself is not bad, but it also has its own nuances. Again, it is impossible to overdo it with proteins and it is completely forbidden to exclude fats from your diet. Lack of carbohydrates leads to a loss of vital energy.
In the end, again, only a low-carb diet follows. It is necessary in itself to reduce sugar. Losing weight is not downright life-saving, but he is the best of the present. It deserves that all the elements needed to sustain a vital activity enter the organization.
Thus, if rational amounts of natural fats, proteins and carbohydrates are present, the body does not need to deposit. Metabolism begins to work like an hour, there is no chronic hunger, the symptoms of the disease practically disappear and the person becomes more active.
Diet for type 1 diabetes
Maintaining a healthy body with type 1 diabetes requires the same low-carbohydrate diet. But in this case, you have to be strict. The number on the table does not play a special role here, although diet No. 9 is often used as a basis.
The problem is that even the effect of insulin is very different, so it is quite difficult to normalize the indicators. Therefore, it is necessary to follow a certain diet. The less carbohydrates you get into your body, the less insulin you need.
It should be understood that your own diet is related to your personal insulin dose. Therefore, you should consider the amount of medicine when designing your menu. You may want to schedule this on a day-to-day basis to make it easier to follow.
Diet for type 2 diabetes
Because type 2 diabetes is less complicated than type 1 diabetes, a diet is essential for weight loss and prevention in the future. Again, a low carb diet is also recommended. Of course, this is an approximate diet that will be modified. It means the normalization of glucose and insulin in the blood and the regulation of insulin resistance.
Some people practice taking different diet pills and treating them with folk remedies. You have to forget the first one because at best these drugs will not make sense.
Folk remedies usually include any herbal infusion and decoction. If you really understand herbs, maybe it will become something, but it shouldn’t be used as a basis for treatment.
Renal failure
The disease may be caused by renal failure. It should be understood that it is not caused by dietary proteins, as many mistakenly believe, but by high blood sugar.
The active development of such a disease is suspended when glucose levels return to normal. Diet helps with this. Proteins cannot be excluded from the diet, but carbohydrates must be worked on. Proper nutrition for ordinary people can even lead to complete kidney recovery.
However, if the process is led to extremes, there will be no return to healthy kidneys. Moreover, in such a case, a low carb diet can speed up the destructive process. To prevent this from leading to this, you need to monitor your condition and have a self-made chart to help you regulate your diet, where meals and insulin doses are scheduled as needed.
Other important points
Diabetes can develop at any age. In children, this may be due to the overeating of flour products and sweets. If you find the problem in time and start solving it correctly, you can avoid complications.
In women, the disease can occur for a variety of reasons. Constant stress, an abundant diet (mostly unhealthy foods), and inactivity can lead to overweight and, consequently, type 2 diabetes.
Quite often there is a situation where the disease occurred during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal imbalances. In addition, a woman may actively consume foods during this period that can cause the development of diabetes.
As a general rule, there is a less strict diet for pregnant women, which aims to normalize the processes in the body and partially reduce weight loss, but at the same time without harming the fetus.
In case of gestational diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes, strict nutrition should only be discussed with a specialist. The diet should be adjusted to take into account the fact that the fetus is developing in parallel. Excluding the products may harm the unborn child.
Type 2 diabetes is slightly less common in men than in women. This is due to their slightly accelerated metabolism. But fast food, alcohol addiction, and lack of physical activity can easily lead to such a problem.