Archive for July, 2010

Diabetic Diet Plan-Manage Diabetes with Diet

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

If some is suffering from diabetes, it means that his body cannot produce insulin in normal fashion. As a result, it increases the glucose level in the blood. Switching to healthy diabetic diet plan can be of help at this time. Planning for an appropriate diet is a crucial part of your treatment journey, because it can manage the level of glucose in your blood.

Sensible selections of food along with healthy and disciplined lifestyle are the two key success points of diabetic treatment. A healthy diabetic diet plan must include six essential factors such as restricting consumption for sweet products, frequent eating, attentive towards carbohydrate consumption, consume plenty amount of whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables, eating low-fat products, restriction in alcohol consumption.

Diabetic Diet

If you are having diabetes, it does not mean that you should start eating special foods or depend on only strict diabetic diet plan. In most of the case, it is simply switching to a variety of foods in moderate amounts but following a fixed timing.
You should not follow a complicated diabetic diet plan, rather your diet should comprise with a wise selection of nutrients and low in calorie and fatty contents. There are two essential factors that you must not forget while preparing your diet plan. One is eating foods at regular time every day and the second point is the selection of healthy food in right amounts.

Carbohydrate counting is a crucial part for healthy diet plan, especially if you are on insulin medication. In fact, fat and protein counting is not as important as carbohydrate counting is. But that does not mean you should not be careful enough about the fat or protein intake. High calorie and high fat always increase the risk of various health complications including cardiac problems, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

Diabetic Diet and Sweets Consumption

The fact says if you are suffering from diabetes, all your near and dear ones continuously warn you not to have sweets in your diet. Contrary to popular belief, scientific studies confirmed that sweets may not produce any harm if it can be used in a balanced amount in the meal plan. Although, different sweets affect blood sugar level in a varied fashion, but the total carbohydrate count matters the most. If you consider a small amount of sweets in your overall diabetic diet plan, it will not harm your health.

Vegetarian Diet

Some people believe that switching to a vegetarian diet may cure their diabetes problem, but it is not totally correct. Well, it can be managed well with vegetarian diet compared to a non-vegetarian one. In that sense, vegetarian diet can be a wise inclusion to diabetic diet plan.

There is no hard-and-fast rule for preparing a vegetarian diet plan. Vegan diet is the austere form of vegetarian diet. Vegans typically do not feed themselves on any sort of animal products such as dairy and egg. However, other vegetarians can eat these products.

An austere vegan diet comprises of almost no-cholesterol content in it. It also contains low saturated fat. It is mostly prepared with a generous selection of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. These food products are essentially high in fiber. Typically, a vegetarian diet offers lesser calories than non-vegetarian one. So it is beneficial for diabetic patients.

Vegetarian diet is an effective choice in diabetic diet plan because of its weight loss ability which significantly benefits people with type-II diabetes. Some scientific studies confirmed that vegetarian diet can make the body more receptive to insulin.
Vegetarian diet can not cure diabetes, but of course it can alleviate various diabetes-related symptoms including cardiovascular disease and kidney problems. But, obviously this is profoundly dependent on the selection of food.

If you have diabetes and you are planning to change your diet to a vegetarian one, you should consult your dietician. The dietician can guide you for the best selection of diabetic diet plan suitable to your health system.

A 1200 calorie diet plan for men

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

What you should Know about diabetes

Most dietitians agree that calorie control is the key to successful weight loss. For a calorie controlled diet to work, it must be sustainable; one that fits into your present lifestyle, allowing you to live a normal life on normal foods without feeling deprived while you are achieving your health and weight loss goals. Low calorie diets are designed to create an energy deficit which causes your body to burn stored fat resulting in weight loss.

To determine the right caloric intake for yourself, you need to consider your age, height, current weight and activity level. There is no magic diet for everyone; some people require more than 1200 calorie per day. If a 1200 calorie diet gives you a low energy level, raising your calorie intake to 1500 calories is the beast answer. As men are more muscular and need more calories for daily activities, it is usually not recommended they reduce their calories below 1200 calories. If you eat less than 1200 calories per day, you will benefit from a nutritional supplement. Vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and trace elements are necessary especially when dieting.

Many men I know do not cope well with low calorie diets as someone else is cooking their meals or they depend on store bought meals and takeaways. To see good results, you have to watch portion sizes and choose healthier alternatives such as fresh and unprocessed foods, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and lean proteins.

As a guide, you will need :

8 oz of proetin . Choose fish, chicken and turkey. Remove all skin and trim all visible fats. These may be broiled, baked, braised or pan-fried. A small amount of canola, corn or olive oil is allowed for cooking. The protein meal will provide you approximately 480 calories.

6 cups of greens. These will provide the fibre and bulk to reduce hunger and promote regularity. Salad dressing should consist of 1 1/2 tablespoon of virgin olive oil, unlimited amount of vinegar, and a sprinkling of iodized salt and pepper. When including fruits in your calorie controlled diet, exchange a small fruit for 3 cups of salads or vegetables. Solid fruits like apples, peaches, pears are the good choices. Eat oranges, strawberry and grapes sparingly. Avoid juicy choices like watermelon and pineapple; and dried fruits like raisins which have a high glycemic index.

Always drink 6 to 8 glasses of water throughout the day, it keeps you well hydrated and feeling full thus you are less likely to reach for snacks. Avoid sweetened beverages and alcohol.

A sample of 1200 calories diet plan for man:

Breakfast

2 slices wholemeal bread

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 banana

Mid-morning Snack

20 almonds

1 apple

Lunch

3 oz tuna

2 slices of rye bread

2 cups raw vegetable crudits (carrot, red pepper, celery, tomato)

1 tablespoon low fat mayonnaise

1 small orange

Mid-afternoon Snack

8 oz low fat yogurt

Dinner

3 oz grilled, baked or broiled skinless chicken breast

1 cup cooked broccoli or any vegetables of your choice

Salad with 1 cup lettuce, cup cherry tomatoes, cup grated carrot

2 teaspoons olive oil and balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup brown rice

Evening Snack

1 cup low fat milk

It is alright if you slip up and fall off the healthy foods wagon, do not punish yourself if you fail. Weight loss need not be a lonely journey; get support and encouragement from those around you, and making small gradual changes in your eating habits will definitely increase your chances of success.