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The
goal of the ADA Nutrition Guidelines is for people living
with diabetes to achieve optimal nutrition through healthy
food choices. There is no longer anything called a “diabetic
diet”. The recommendations for food intake are the
same as for the general population. A healthy diet consists
of eating a variety of grains, fruits and vegetables, along
with low-fat dairy products, fish, lean meats and poultry.
Some general guidelines to help you in making food choices
are:
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Protein
10 – 20 % of your calories should come from protein |
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Fat
– Less than 30% of your calories should come from
fat |
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Less
than 10% saturated fat
Less than 10% polyunsaturated fat
10-15 % monounsaturated fat |
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Cholesterol
– Less than 300 mg/day |
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Sodium
– same as general population |
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Less
than 3000 mg/day if no hypertension
Less than 2400 mg/day with hypertension
Less than 2000 mg/day with hypertension & nephropathy |
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Alcohol
– same as for the general population |
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No
more than 2 drinks a day for men
No more than 1 drink a day for women
Abstain from alcohol if pregnant
Limit or abstain if you have pancreatitis, dyslipidemia
or neuropathy |
Your
food, medications and exercise need to be integrated into
your lifestyle. Meal planning has become much more flexible.
We now have the tools to help you match your medication
with your food and schedule. Insulin pump therapy and multiple
daily injections have allowed for much more freedom. In
addition, carbohydrate counting has become an essential
element in daily diabetes management. We have learned that
all carbohydrates are converted to glucose, not just sugar.
So, the good news is, people living with diabetes can have
sugar! They just have to count it along with all the other
sources of carbohydrates in the diet.
To learn more about carbohydrate counting and flexibility
in meal planning, contact a registered dietitian in your
area. RD’s can help you individualize your meal planning
based on your lab values, goals and lifestyle. To locate
a registered dietitian in your area, go to www.eatright.org
or call 800-877-1600 x 5000. Or give us a call at 502-412-3252,
888-388-4622.
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