Starting A Diabetes Diet Plan
Diabetes can cripple you for life if you let it, but one way of taking control and not letting it do that is by following a diabetes diet plan. This is not really an option - unless you do so, your health will worsen and every facet of your life will be affected by diabetes. So what you should do is, consult a nutritionist who will design a healthy eating plan for you, which has enough variation to satiate your taste buds, while ensuring that your nutritional needs are met at the same time.
A healthy diet plan for diabetics has very strict composition - it must have 50% starch, 20% fat and 30% protein. Since the composition should be so exact, diabetic food must be prepared very precisely, with a great deal of attention given to exact measurements.
You will have to pass up on some of the food stuff that you like, like fried foods. Instead, you will have to focus on baked, steamed, boiled and broiled foods when you are on your healthy eating plan. Snacking between meals is not allowed either - and you must make sure that you never miss meals, because that can affect your metabolism.
On your diabetes diet plan, you will have to avoid a lot of foods like whole milk products, frozen and preserved fruits, honey, candy, sweets, confectionery items, your favorite desserts - instead, you must stick to healthy alternatives, like fresh fruits and vegetables and skimmed milk for your diary intake.
Binges out on the town are out of the picture, too, when you are on your diabetic eating plan. Alcohol should be strictly avoided. Red meat, mayonnaise, eggs and other foods that are high in cholesterol and fat content should be avoided as far as possible too. Fizzy drinks, sauces and dressings and bottled juice are other items you must try and avoid. What you should aim at is a daily intake of around 1800 calories. This means that your daily diet must be carefully planned.
It is not as difficult as it might seem to figure out a good diet plan for a diabetic. Here is a simple and wholesome one. Breakfast can be a slice of wholemeal bread, a soft-boiled egg, half a cup of oatmeal, two thirds of a cup of apple juice and one cup of skimmed milk, without sugar. Lunch can include two slices of wholemeal bread, half a cup of tuna, a half a cup of diced tomatoes, one cup of mixed fruit, a glass of lemon tea and a teaspoon of margarine. A good dinner to round off the day would include half a cup of mashed potatoes, one slice of wholemeal bread, three ounces of baked chicken and either a cup of broccoli or a tossed salad. Salad dressing is something else you have to be wary of - store-bought dressings are high-fat and high-sugar. You could try a teaspoon of olive oil with some chopped garlic and a condiment like parsley, sage, basil or oregano for seasoning.
You need to know a good bit about what your body needs in terms of nutrition and how your metabolic system keeps you going to figure out a diabetes diet plan. You can turn to your doctor for help, and you can design a varied and nutritious eating plan that keeps you healthy and happy for a long time.