Protein’s Affect on Blood Sugar Levels

Much the same as fiber, eating quality protein with your snacks and meals can have a positive affect on your blood sugar levels. By combining protein and carbohydrates you will slow the digestions of the carbohydrates in your body. This slowing down will prevent your blood sugar from spiking as the result of too many carbohydrates in your system.

This does not mean that you should eat more protein than is recommended in one meal.

Doing so can lead to other problems down the road. But if you are a diabetic, skipping protein in your diet is not a good idea. For diabetics who are vegetarians or that don’t eat a lot of any protein it is important to find a source that can be consumed on a regular basis.

There are many other sources of high-quality protein that does not include animal meats. Other protein sources can include:

Reading Food Labels

On all packaged food that you buy, there is a food label that includes important information to a diabetic. You need to learn how to read them properly and know what the different numbers and percentages mean to you and your diabetic diet. Below is an overview of the basic information you need to know about food labels.
Whether you are counting carbohydrates, are following the exchange diet, or you are on the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet you can increase your chances for success by reading your food labels and understanding what they mean.

The ingredient list is a good place to start before looking at the numbers in the food label. Where is sugar on the ingredient list? The closer it is to the beginning of the list the more of it is present in the food. That goes the same for all ingredients; manufacturers list the ingredients in order of the amount that is in the product. If there are things in your food that do not work well for your blood sugar on the list it should be avoided or eaten in moderation.

Look at the serving size and compare that to the number of carbohydrates is in a serving. Most servings of carbohydrates for a diabetic are 15 grams. If one serving is higher than 15 grams you will have to eat less than the suggested serving size to stay on track with your meal plan.

Sugar-free foods may grab your attention as something safe and yummy to add to your shopping cart. But look at the carbohydrate count first. Most foods that are made sugar-free using artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes have higher carbohydrate counts.Check the fat content too, look for a low percent of your daily intake and ideally it will be monounsaturated as opposed to polyunsaturated or saturated fats.

Satisfying a Diabetic Sweet Tooth

Life sometimes doesn’t seem fair – you love sweets and are known for your sweet tooth but now that you have been diagnosed with diabetes you are afraid you can’t have them anymore. This isn’t entirely true. Yes, if you previously indulged in many sweets you can no longer do that (and it may be a contributing factor to way you have type 2 diabetes). But there are ways that you can satisfy your sweet tooth and stick to your diabetic diet.

The Role of Fiber in a Diabetic Diet

The role of fiber in healthy diets is very important – it aids in digestion and keep your colon and other organs healthy and functioning properly. It is also a wonder element that should be a large part of any diabetic’s diet. You will reap many benefits from including fiber in your diet. If you are pre-diabetic it can assist in delaying the diagnosis of diabetes or if you are already diabetic it can help keep your blood glucose under control.

Fiber will keep you feeling fuller longer – it slows the conversion of carbohydrates in your body which in turn can keep your blood sugars stable. The type of fiber that a diabetic needs to eat to gain these benefits is soluble fiber (dissolves in water). Some good sources of soluble fiber include:

The TLC Diet for Diabetics

The Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet was developed with more than diabetics in mind. It is a diet that is recommended to people with high cholesterol, heart or other cardiovascular diseases and those that have been diagnosed with diabetes.

This diet consists of a set of guidelines that provide percentage ranges of what a patient should eat from each food group. The aim is to provide flexibility in choices while ensuring that the choices made are helpful to the condition that is being treated. In the beginning it is a good idea to partner with a dietician to ensure the calculations that you are making are accurate and that you are making the best food choice decisions.




The TLC diet provides the following eating guidelines: