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Here is the American
Diabetes
Association Diet
Updated 2-2-13 -
Healthy foods that are recommended as part
of the American Diabetic Association diet are discussed in this article.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that people who suffer
from diabetes symptoms eat foods
daily from each of the 4 major food groups, which are:
-
Vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, green beans, Swiss
chard, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, and fruits
including berries and apples.
-
Whole grains, breads and cereals
like barley, bran, oats, wheat, and brown rice.
-
Low or non-fat dairy products
like skim or low-fat milk, yogurt, and non-fat cottage cheese.
-
Proteins
including cold water fish, poultry, meats, eggs, nuts, tofu and dried beans.
According to the American Diabetes Association, your diet should
include foods from each of these 4 groups every day in order to be sure you
receive all the nutrients you need.
The main nutrients found in foods we eat are carbohydrates, proteins,
fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Carbohydrates offer
energy for your body. Good healthy carbohydrate food options also
include lots of vitamins and minerals. The ADA recommends peas, beans, lentils, fruits, whole grain
breads, whole grain cereals and vegetables. (We question the
inclusion of whole grain breads and cereals because they tend to be
high glycemic foods, thus raising blood glucose more than other foods
might). We also recommend raw vegetables and fruits, rather
than cooked ones to obtain maximum nutrition.
The American Diabetic Association diet includes proteins
which are very important to help in your body’s growth and can help
with the body’s energy supplies. The diet includes proteins such as
non-fat dairy products, fish, tofu and skinless poultry.
High-fiber foods like beans, bran cereals, and
low glycemic index fruits and
vegetables
are very healthy for diabetics and definitely recommended as part of
the American Diabetic Association diet. This is chiefly because foods
high in fiber may prevent excessive rises in blood glucose after meals.
The ADA recommends that you lose weight, if you are
overweight. Losing weight alone can often correct insulin
resistance and symptoms of diabetes. Reducing portions of high calorie foods (high fat,
high carb or high glycemic foods) and increasing portions of low
calorie or low carb foods (raw or
cooked vegetables, low glycemic fruits) is one way to do this.
The American Diabetes Association
Does Not Recommend the Following
Unhealthy Foods
Although this diet includes some fat, excessive
saturated fat has been shown to be a major contributor to the
development of diabetes and heart disease. In addition, excessive
animal fats (found in meats and dairy products) may
aggravate or even cause insulin resistance. There are several healthy
fats that should be included in your diet including the
oil found in ground flax
seed, walnuts, olive oil and fish oil (found in wild
caught salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies). Still,
all fats should be consumed in moderate amounts.
Most other fats, especially animal fats, should be
limited because increased fat and cholesterol in the diet
can result in a higher likelihood of heart disease or hardening of the arteries both
of which affect diabetics more than non-diabetics.
Avoid eating all fried foods such as fried potatoes, fried
chips and fried meats.
Suggestions for cutting down on fat include:
-
Pick
lean meats rather than fatty meats and be sure to cut away extra fat.
Don't eat ground meat as almost all ground meat has a lot of extra
fat added. Eat less meat and more fish and poultry.
-
With poultry be sure to remove the high fat skin before eating
and focus on the lower fat breast rather than legs and thighs.
-
The ADA diet suggests margarine instead of butter.
Newer margarines do not have hydrogenated fat in them (check for this
on the label), so are OK in very small amounts, as is butter in small
amounts.
-
The American Diabetes Association diet proposes skim or low-fat milk
rather than whole milk, half and half or cream.
-
Eat only up to 3
or 4 eggs per week and occasionally have some liver (we always
recommend organic liver due to pesticides and other toxins in
commercial beef). Note:
It is possible today to get eggs with omega-3 fat in them (the chickens
are fed flax seed), these are probably the best choice for diabetics.
Salt can be a problem as it can make high blood pressure,
a common consequence of diabetes, worse. Besides the obvious sources of
salt, there are hidden sources of salt in almost all prepared foods such as
canned soups, salad dressings, and cheeses. Read
the labels and try to reduce your sodium intake.
As part of the American Diabetic Association diet, sugar intake should be reduced
(again we disagree, we believe you should cut out all
sugar from your diet in any of its forms including honey
and maple syrup). Pies, frosted cakes, table sugar,
honey, and breakfast cereals with sugar coating have a
high amount of sugar in them. Did you know that
a 12-ounce can of Coke has about 9 teaspoons of sugar?
Other foods to avoid include ice cream, any
pastries made with white flour, sugar and shortening,
potatoes, fried foods, fruit juices (which are mostly sugar or corn syrup) and
all high sugar sodas. Drink tea with lemon, water or
drinks sweetened with
sugar substitutes.
Stay away from alcohol and ask your dietician for advice
if you decide on a drink or two. Alcohol acts like
sugar in your blood stream so it’s not a good idea for
people with diabetes to drink it.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that you
create a personalized diet by working with your dietician to design a meal plan that’s
effective for you and includes foods you really like.
Your regular eating habits and schedule should be a fit
with this diet while you retain a steady weight.
More information about the
American Diabetes
Association Diet
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