One of the best and most recommended ways of keeping diabetes in check is by following a diabetes diet plan. Of course, you have to consult a nutritionist before you embark on one, but following such a diet plan is the ideal way of making sure that diabetes does not get the best of you. A qualified nutritionist can make sure that there is enough variation in the diet without sacrificing any of the essential nutrition that your body needs.
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 really have to be dedicated to following your diabetic eating plan. Fatty and high calorie foods like fried foods and snacks between meals must all be strictly avoided. You also have to be careful not to miss any meals - this can mess up your metabolism. Eating out can be a problem, but you have to be careful.
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.
There are plenty of other things you will have to try your very best to avoid - alcohol tops the list. Other high-fat foods like red meat, potato chips, eggs, mayonnaise etc must also be avoided, if you can, as should bottled fruit juice, cooking sauces and carbonated drinks. When you are on a strict diabetic eating plan, the daily calorie intake you must aim at is 1800 calories. So you have to make sure that your daily diet is carefully planned well in advance.
Let us look at what one day on a diabetic eating plan can be like - breakfast can be quite filling and nutritious, if you have half a cup of oatmeal, about two thirds of a cup of apple juice, a slice of bread (but make sure it is wholemeal bread), a cup of skimmed milk, as long as it’s not sweetened, and a soft-cooked egg. For lunch, you could have half a cup of tuna, two slices of wholemeal bread, half a cup of diced tomatoes, a teaspoon of margarine for the bread, a cup of mixed fruit for a healthy dessert and a glass of lemon tea to wash it all down with. Dinner, again, can be tasty and filling, with a slice of wholemeal bread, half a cup of mashed potatoes, either a tossed salad or a cup of broccoli and three ounces of baked chicken. You have to be careful about salad dressing, though - don’t pick one off the shelf, make a low-fat, no-sugar one with olive oil and seasoning.
As you can see, preparing a nutritious and energy-generating diet needs good knowledge about basic nutrients required to keep your body healthy and a good understanding of how your metabolic system works. You can easily get your doctor to help with creating an easy-to-follow, enjoyable and wholesome diabetes diet plan.