Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases in the world. Despite all its complexity, there are methods that can greatly facilitate a person's life. First of all, you must follow a certain diet.
If you adhere to a properly prescribed diet, diabetes will not affect general well-being in any way, and also the likelihood of various types of complications, including heart attacks, strokes, etc. , decreases.
Types of diets
The diet for diabetes is determined depending on the type of disease itself and the age category. Therefore, there are general principles for developing proper nutrition, which are adjusted based on the individual indicators of the human body.
Since it is impossible to cure the disease, a certain menu is assigned to reduce the danger. Eating the right foods at a clearly specified time is essential to:
- reduce the risks of chronic and acute complications,
- maintain good health and relatively strong immunity,
- prevent or lose weight gain,
- keep blood sugar levels within acceptable limits.
There are two types of diabetes. The first, in other words, is called insulin dependent. Its development is associated with the damage and death of cells located in the pancreas and responsible for the production of insulin.
With it, nutrition is aimed at maintaining the process of insulin therapy and is rather an additional method of controlling the disease. Its principles are similar to those that healthy people follow to achieve a good figure and well-being.
The main difference is the need to calculate the amount of carbohydrates. Since the treatment of type 1 diabetes consists of taking insulin, it is necessary to control what percentage of the daily diet is administered for carbohydrates. As a general rule, it should not exceed 60%.
Since type 2 diabetes is also insulin independent, it develops in obese people, and consequently, diet comes first. In the initial or mild stage of the disease, the point is to rationally get rid of excess weight.
When diabetes of this type reaches a moderate or even severe form, in addition to diet, drugs to lower blood sugar or insulin are prescribed. It is worth noting that in such cases, you should also pay special attention to physical activity. Thanks to them, a problem like obesity can be solved without surgery.
The most popular diets are the so-called 8 and 9 tables. The eighth diet chart is applicable for those who are overweight or have a tendency to be overweight. The ninth is taken as the basis for determining the diet of diabetics.
Diet number 9 for diabetes
Diet No. 9 is considered curative and is prescribed to normalize metabolism (carbohydrates). It also aims to prevent disorders associated with fat metabolism. Its caloric content should not exceed 2500 kcal.
This diet is characterized as follows:
- the calorie content should be reduced by ingesting animal fats and carbohydrates that are easily digestible (with the exception of sweets and sugar),
- partial restriction or complete elimination of cholesterol and salt,
- consume more vitamins and fiber,
- protein content should be within the normal range.
All healthy diets, including the ninth, are based on correct food intake. You need to eat frequently and in small portions. In total, the frequency should be 5 or 6 times a day.
Fried or stewed foods should be eaten as little as possible or forgotten altogether. First of all it is convenient to bake and boil. It is better to design a menu for the week, as it will make it easier to follow. Special preference should be given to the following products:
- lean meat
- lean fish
- vegetables that contain no more than 5% carbohydrates,
- fruits (not all),
- natural drinks without sugar.
As for condiments and eggs, it is advisable to limit their consumption. This is especially true for egg yolks. The amount of protein per day should not exceed 1, 5 pieces. In addition to the fact that it is necessary to exclude sweets from the menu for diabetes, pasta, pasta and puff pastry, pickled vegetables are also prohibited.
Bananas, dates, figs, grapes and all their derivatives should not be consumed categorically. The same applies to fats like pork, lamb, and beef. To get the necessary fats, you should eat butter (without salt) and vegetable oil in moderation.
Diet number 9 is the basis that is used in the appointment of the necessary nutrition. Depending on the personal indicators of the person with diabetes, it is adjusted. There are different types of diets that you can combine and find the one that suits you best.
What is a unit of bread?
Since the goal of proper nutrition for diabetics is to consume carbohydrates in a certain amount, then you need to know how that precious norm is determined, on which depends how much and what foods you need to eat.
All products, which include carbohydrates, have different physical properties and calories. These characteristics are not subject to the usual measurement method. Furthermore, nutrition in diabetes mellitus requires greater control over your own daily intake.
In order to make it easier to determine how much you need to eat this or that product and not go beyond what is allowed, nutritionists have introduced the term "unit of bread". The concept is used in cases where a diabetic is prescribed insulin intake.
With such a unit of measurement, it is much easier for a person to understand what can and cannot be eaten and drunk. You build your healthy menu based on personal cues, and you can also swap out some foods for ones that contain carbohydrates.
As a general rule of thumb, a person should consume 18 to 25 such units per day. Since there must be five meals, it makes sense to rationally distribute this amount at all times. The main "dose" should enter the body in the first half of the day. To keep track of the number of units of bread consumed, you can write a menu per day yourself.
How many calories per day to consume?
The diet for diabetes mellitus requires the rejection of many foods and dishes that may have been previously included in the daily diet. However, you should not confuse the food that allows you to normalize the sugar levels with the one that is necessary to lose those extra pounds.
Nutrition for type 1 diabetes aims to precisely calculate the amount of insulin needed correctly. Caloric content in this case does not play such an important role. It must be controlled so as not to gain weight.
The type 2 diabetes diet requires greater control of calorie intake, as it often develops in the presence of obesity. However, it is also not worth taking your account to fanaticism.
The number of calories per day is calculated based on the individual indicators of the body. The diet itself should be low in carbohydrates, but it does not imply a total lack of carbohydrates. You need to eat your fill, but it is important not to overeat.
When the question arises of what to eat with type 2 diabetes, many believe that it is necessary to sit almost on breadcrumbs and water. This is absolutely impossible. Food must be complete, contain vitamins and fiber.
There are various recipes for delicious, satisfying and at the same time healthy dishes that will not allow you to recover, but at the same time a person will be full of strength and energy. What specific foods to eat and the approximate number of calories allowed per day should be discussed with your doctor.
Useful and unhealthy foods
Low carb diets are different. For a healthy person, they are less strict than for someone who has been diagnosed with diabetes. But they have the same meaning. They differ in the main list of products, which are divided into healthy and harmful for diabetics.
Useful
- all kinds of vegetables,
- vegetables (spinach, sorrel, dill),
- mushrooms,
- meat and fish (lean),
- Coffee and tea,
- mineral water.
Harmful
Moderate increase in sugar:
- potato,
- cereals,
- pasta, including hard varieties,
- dairy products.
Sugar on the rise:
- sweet
- honey,
- drinks with added sugars,
- alcohol,
- grapes and their derivatives,
- hot and salty condiments.
This division of products is generally accepted and is often taken as the basis for developing menus for diabetes mellitus. But what is good for one person may be bad for another. Since everything is relative, an individual diet is prepared for each diabetic.
How to eat for obesity
It is believed that in order to lose weight, you must follow a strict low-calorie diet. But the point is, it doesn't work. Numerous studies have shown that with a decrease in the caloric content of your diet, in addition to a constant feeling of hunger, even fainting, nervousness and other things, nothing else happens.
With such a diet, it will be possible to lose weight literally by a few kilograms, but if at the same time the body is distinguished by elasticity and good muscles, then this is all that will leave you in the first place. Subcutaneous fat will not go anywhere, and sometimes on the contrary, it will accumulate even more.
A protein diet implies an active protein intake and a parallel reduction in the amount of fats and carbohydrates. The focus itself isn't bad, but it also has its own nuances. Again, it is impossible to overdo it with protein and it is completely forbidden to exclude fats from the diet. The lack of carbohydrates will cause a loss of vital energy.
In the end, it all comes down to a low carb diet again. By itself, you need to reduce sugar. In weight loss, it is frankly not a life saver, but of all those featured, it is the best. Its merit is that all the necessary elements that are needed to maintain vital activity enter the body.
Therefore, when there is a rational amount of natural fat, protein and carbohydrates, the body does not need to make deposits. The metabolism begins to work like clockwork, there is no chronic hunger, the symptoms of the disease practically disappear, and the person becomes more active.
Diet for type 1 diabetes
To maintain a healthy body with type 1 diabetes, you need the same low-carbohydrate diet. But in this case, you must be strict. The number in the table does not play a special role here, although diet number 9 is often taken as the basis.
The problem is that even the effect of insulin is very different, so it is quite difficult to normalize the indicators. That is why it is necessary to follow a certain diet. The less carbohydrates enter the body, the less insulin is needed.
It should be understood that your own diet is interconnected with your personal insulin dose. Therefore, when developing your menu, you need to take into account the amount of medicine. It's best to schedule this per day so it's easier to follow.
Diet for type 2 diabetes
Since type 2 diabetes is less complex than type 1 diabetes, diet is essential to lose weight and prevent it in the future. Again, a low carb diet is also recommended. Of course, this is a rough diet that is being adjusted. Its significance is in the normalization of glucose and insulin in the blood, as well as in the control of insulin resistance.
Some people practice the intake of various diet pills and treatment with home remedies. You should forget about the first one, because in the best of cases, these drugs will not make sense.
Folk remedies, as a rule, consist of herbal teas and decoctions. If you really understand medicinal plants, then perhaps something will come of them, but you should not make them the basis of treatment.
Renal insufficiency
Against the background of the disease, kidney failure may develop. It should be understood that it is not caused by dietary protein, as many mistakenly believe, but by high blood sugar levels.
The active development of such a condition is suspended when the glucose level returns to normal. For this, diet helps. Proteins are not excluded from the diet, but it is necessary to work with carbohydrates. Proper nutrition available to ordinary people can even lead to the kidneys being fully restored.
However, if the process is taken to the extreme, there will be no return to kidney health. Also, in such a case, a low carbohydrate diet can accelerate the destructive process. In order not to lead to this, you need to monitor your condition, and in order to monitor your nutrition, a table created for you will help you, where dishes and insulin doses are programmed, if necessary.
Other important points
Diabetes can develop at any age. In children, it can occur against the background of the fact that flour products, sweets were eaten in excess. Finding the problem in time and starting to solve it correctly, you can avoid complications.
In women, the disease can occur for various reasons. Constant stress, abundant nutrition (mostly unhealthy foods), as well as inactivity can cause excess weight and, as a result, type 2 diabetes.
Most often there is a situation when the disease arose during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal imbalances. Also, a woman during this period can actively consume foods that can provoke the development of diabetes.
As a rule, there is a less strict diet for pregnant women, which is aimed at normalizing the processes in the body and partially losing weight, but at the same time without harming the fetus.
With gestational diabetes mellitus or diabetes during pregnancy, strict nutrition should only be discussed with a specialist. The diet should be adjusted taking into account the fact that there is a parallel development of the fetus. By excluding any product, you can harm the fetus.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus develops less often in men than in women. This is due to the fact that they have a slightly accelerated metabolism. But junk food, alcohol addiction, and little physical activity can easily lead to such a problem.