High-Fat Foods and the Affect on Blood Sugars

All diets should use fat in moderation as it can lead to an unhealthy body weight and heart disease. For a diabetic, controlling fat intake is important for the previous reason in addition to the negative affect it can have on blood sugars. Fats can be put into many different categories – healthy, non-healthy, saturated, non-saturated, trans-fat, and more.

But the bottom line with any of kind of fat is to enjoy in moderation.

Keeping on Track with your Diabetic Diet

Once you have taken the time to plan your meals for the week including snacks and have gone grocery shopping you are all set for a week’s worth of healthy eating. Well, if you can stick to your plan and only eat the foods that you bought you will be. This is easier said than done though. Everyone needs a break from a strict eating plan, but you need to know how to get back on track and stay motivated to follow your diabetic diet.

Different people with have varying reasons as to why it is hard for them to stay on track. For some it may be they are not giving themselves enough variety in their diet from day to day or even week to week. This is an easy dilemma, do some research by talking to other diabetics and your dietician for suggestions on how to mix up your eating plan.

Meal Planning for an Active Diabetic

Physical activity is recommended for any person to stay healthy. But for a diabetic it now only increases energy levels and can help maintain an ideal body weight it also helps to control blood sugars. But an active diabetic needs to take extra care and precautions to ensure they are getting enough fuel for their body so their blood sugars do not drop dangerously low – known as hypoglycemia.

The amount you exercise is going to determine how much you are going to eat on your diabetic meal plan. The more physically active you are the higher your nutritional requirements and the higher your risk is for developing hypoglycemia. The best practice when you are just starting out is to monitor your blood sugars before and after working out and during if you feel it is necessary. It is important to listen to your body and stop if you are feeling light-headed or are experiencing any of the other signs associated with low blood sugar.

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.