The Diet for Diabetes: a simple diabetic diet plan

A good balanced diet is very important in all types of diabetes and must be followed no matter how powerful the prescribed drugs are.

For efficiency purposes the diet must be based on some factors such as: age, sex, daily exercise, food preferences, allergies but also based on eventual illnesses such as obesity, high blood pressure, kidney problems etc.

For starters there are some general rules to follow if you suffer from diabetes:

–calories: the diabetes sufferer with a normal weight has about the same food needs as a healthy person. On the other hand his calories are derived from different proportions of lipids, sugars and proteins. Those sufferers who are overweight will follow a diet with less calories and the ones that are underweight will follow a diet with more calories.
–sugars:50-55% of your daily caloric needs(about 300gr/day) must be fulfilled avoiding simple sugars with a high absorption rate such as highly processed sugars and it’s derivates.
–proteins: 12-15% of your daily caloric needs(about 1gr/kg/day). In case of kidney problems, the daily limit will be 0.8gr/kg/day.
–lipids: 30-35% of your daily caloric needs (about 125gr/day)
–fibers: 30-25 gr/day should come frome vegetables, cereals and fruit.
–daily salt rations: less then 7gr/day but high blood pressure sufferers should not exceed 3gr/day.
A diabetes sufferer must eat less every meal but more often(5-6 meals a day) and must respect a fixed daily meal schedule. Dinner must be server at least 2 hours before bedtime.

Aliments permitted for the diabetes sufferer:
-tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, egg plant, lettuce, carrots, beat, dry onions, garlic. Garlic is especially good for high blood pressure since it maxes the arteries more elastic.
-melons, lemons, strawberries, nuts, cherries.
-meat and fatty fish.
-milk, dairy products and eggs.
-non alcoholic drinks prepared without sugars(with artificial sweeteners)

Aliments with a high sugar content should be avoided:
-sugar, honey, malt
-biscuits, sugar based pastries, chocolate.
-figs, raisons, dates, dried plums, grapes, jams and marmalades.

Aliments that should be weighed before consumption:
-white bread, whole wheat bread, potatoes, beans and pees and rice
For a young adult of about 1.70 cm and 70kg with a normal daily exercise ( burns about 40cal/kg/day) one dietary example follows:
In the morning:coffee with milk(250gr), bread(60gr) cottage cheese(100gr) and green peppers.
Snack time:bread(40gr), with butter(20gr), salami(100gr)and fruit(100gr)
Lunch goat cheese(50gr) with tomatoes and bread(40gr) and fruit(100gr)
Dinner vegetable soup with bread (100gr) and mashed potatoes (150gr), green assorted salad, bread(60gr) and fresh fruit juice (100ml)
Supper: assorted salad, bread(40gr), rice pudding with meat, egg cream (one small cup)
Before you go to sleep: a cup of warm milk (250ml) and 20gr of bread.
Total caloric count: 2800/day

One other easy diet that offers about 1600 daily calories is the next one, but you have to take into consideration some factors such as age, sex, weight, daily caloric consumption etc.
In the morning: tea with or without artificial sweeteners, cottage cheese(50gr) with bread(20gr)
11.30 am:Yogurt(250gr)
15.00 pm: tomatoes soup with vegetables, meat pie(100gr) and steamed potatoes(150gr), cabbage salad and bread (40gr)
18.00 pm:fruit jelly with low fat whipped cream.
21.00 pm:roast carp with carrot (200gr), and tomatoes, one glass of warm milk and bread (40gr)
Total caloric count:1600/day

I want to remind you that the above diets are recommended in the case of mild diabetes without complications such as kidney problems, obesity, hepatitis, high blood pressure etc.
Also, in the case of children or pregnant women whom suffer from diabetes you must adjust the diet accordingly.

Other than the aliments recommended to diabetes suffers, there are some rules and special ways to cook them, ways that are usually known by them:
-never use sugar or sugar based products when cooking;
-to prevent the bitter taste that sometimes occurs when using artificial sweeteners, the sweetener shall be pre diluted in water and then added.
-sauces shall be made without any kind of flour or starches. For thickening purposes you can use vegetables passed thru a grid.
-Fruits and vegetables shall be weighed before cooking because sugar contents rise.
-After cooking, pastas usually grow in volume and contain 20gr of sugars for every 100gr of pastas. I recommend serving pastas aldente so that the starch in them doesn’t have time to transform into sugars thru cooking.