Nutrition
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:
| • | Protein 10 – 20 % of your calories should come from protein |
| • | Fat – Less than 30% of your calories should come from fat |
| Less than
10% saturated fat Less than 10% polyunsaturated fat 10-15 % monounsaturated fat |
|
| • | Cholesterol – Less than 300 mg/day |
| • | Sodium – same as general population |
| Less than
3000 mg/day if no hypertension Less than 2400 mg/day with hypertension Less than 2000 mg/day with hypertension & nephropathy |
|
| • | Alcohol – same as for the general population |
| 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.