A Type 2 Diabetes Diet Helps Control Your Blood Sugars
What Do I Use a Type 2 Diabetes Diet For?
Type 2 diabetes is an adult-onset form of the increasingly common disease. Diabetes prevents the body from absorbing sugar correctly, which can cause all kinds of medical issues if left uncontrolled. There are, however, ways to control the disease. One of them is with medications, and sometimes injection of insulin, the other is with a type 2 diabetes diet meal plan. The diet is designed to help control blood sugar levels with food instead of medication. It should be noted, however, that controlling diabetes using a type 2 diabetes diet alone can be very difficult.
Why Treat Using A Type 2 Diabetes Diet?
You can cause further damage in your body if you have high levels of sugar continually in your blood stream, so that is when eating a type 2 diabetes diet can be protective. The body is not designed to function with high levels of sugar in the blood on a regular basis, and build-up can cause everything from eye problems to excessive swelling, to death due to heart disease. The most common form of treatment is a combination of a type 2 diabetes diet, exercise, and prescription medications.
How is a Type 2 Diabetes Diet Part of the Treatment Options for Diabetes?
The treatment for diabetes is normally begun with a type 2 diabetes diet and exercise. If those fail to control blood sugar levels, the person is put on oral medications. Typically, medications are monitored and adjusted for a period of time. If, after that period is over, the disease is still uncontrolled, patients are put on insulin injections. Life on insulin can be very limited, so it is, by far, a better idea to try to maximize the value of the diabetic diet and exercise.
The Type 2 Diabetic Diet Plan
A type 2 diabetes diet typically has about sixteen - eighteen hundred calories and two hundred and twenty grams of carbohydrates. In contrast, a normal diet for an adult is about two thousand calories a day. Diabetic diets are strong in fruits and vegetables, low in carbohydrates, salt and fats, and ideally have minimal added sugar aside from what is found in the fruits and vegetables. Along with the obvious reduction in sugar, these diets help one lose weight, which further aids in the control of the disease.
A sample of a typical diabetic diet is shown below:
Breakfast
(360 calories, 52.5 grams carbohydrate)
1/2 small banana
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup egg substitute or cottage cheese
1 slice toasted whole wheat bread with 1 teaspoon margarine
1/2 cup skim milk
Lunch
(535 calories, 75 grams carbohydrate)
1 turkey sandwich (2 slices whole wheat bread, 1 ounce turkey and 1 ounce low-fat cheese, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise)
1 cup vegetable soup with 4-6 crackers
1 small apple
Dinner
(635 calories, 65 grams carbohydrate)
4 ounces broiled chicken breast with herbs sprinkled on top
1/2 cup cooked carrots
2/3 cup cooked brown rice
Tossed salad with 2 tablespoons low-fat salad dressing
1 whole grain dinner roll with 1 teaspoon butter
4 unsweetened apricot halves OR one small slice of angel food cake
Snacks
*Pick two per day. Each has about sixty calories, and fifteen grams or less of carbohydrates.
16 fat-free tortilla chips with salsa
1 ounce string cheese plus one small piece of fruit
1/2 cup artificially sweetened chocolate pudding
3 cups light popcorn
Problems Associated With Diabetic Diets
When following a type 2 diabetes diet, some people are under the impression that it is, by itself, enough to control the disease. Though diet can greatly alleviate some of the symptoms of diabetes, it is not a cure. Diabetes is, in fact, a chronic illness that can be treated using a type 2 diabetes diet and controlled but not cured. You can get a preplanned meal and grocery list for your diabetes diet level - 1400, 1800 or 2200 to make following your type 2 diabetes diet much easier for a low cost that is easy to follow.
