Blood Sugar and Your Diet
Adopting a healthy diet is one of the most important things you can do to improve your diabetes symptoms and take control of your diabetes care. When planning a diabetes-friendly diet, it's important to understand how the food you eat affects your blood sugar.
How Food Impacts Blood Glucose
During digestion, your body breaks certain types of food down into small molecules called glucose. Cells use glucose for energy. In order for glucose to enter your body's cells, the molecules must be accompanied by a hormone called insulin. Without insulin, glucose will build up in the body's bloodstream, which causes high blood sugar. Diabetes is a condition in which a person's body is either unable to produce insulin or is resistant to insulin, and therefore doesn't produce enough to get glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells. This is why people with diabetes must pay extra attention to how certain foods raise or lower their blood sugar levels. It is also very important that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings.
Foods that Raise Blood Sugar
Foods with carbohydrates, also called carbs, will have the greatest effect on your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are typically found in grains and starchy foods, such as bread, rice, cereal, pasta, fruits, dairy, and pastries. Even though carbohydrates do raise your blood sugar levels, there are many healthy carbs that you shouldn't cut out from your diet. These include whole grains, some vegetables, fruit, and yogurt. Even though carbs are part of a healthy diet, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends no more than one quarter of your plate be made up of whole grains.
In addition to carbohydrates, sugar itself will also have a major impact on your blood glucose levels. Foods such as candy, pastries, and sweeteners can also significantly raise your blood sugar, even they aren't considered carbs.
Other foods can also impact your blood sugar levels but not as strongly as carbohydrates. Proteins found in animal products, nuts, and beans can raise your blood glucose slightly. Fats are a little trickier. Because fats can slow digestion, they may lower your blood sugar right after you eat and then raise it a bit after your meal. Just like carbohydrates, it's important to include both healthy fats and lean protein in your diet, but all in moderation.
The Glycemic Index
When learning about a diabetes-friendly diet, you may have come across the glycemic index or GI. GI is a number that measures how much a carbohydrate-based food will affect a person's blood sugar. Foods with a high GI raise blood glucose levels more than foods with a medium or low GI. Foods are ranked on the GI scale based on how the compare to a reference food, such as white bread. It's important to note that only carbohydrate-based foods have a GI. Meat and fat aren't assigned a number because they don't contain carbs.
Developing a meal plan that helps keep your blood sugar in check means focusing on foods that are low or medium GI. Make sure that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings.
Here are some examples of foods that are ideal for rounding out a diabetes-friendly diet:
Carbohydrate Counting
Carbohydrate Counting or €carb counting€ is a common technique people with diabetes use to keep taps on their carb intake. Setting and sticking to a maximum number of carbs per meal can help you effectively manage your blood glucose. Everyone's carbohydrate needs are different, so it's important to talk to your doctor about your body's needs before beginning a carb counting routine.
The easiest way to determine the number of carbohydrates in a food is to check its label. In foods that come with a nutrition label, make sure to look at the serving size and then the total grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Counting carbs can get a little harder at a restaurant or dinner party where foods don't come with nutrition labels. If this is the case, you can still estimate the number of carbs in your meal by comparing it to a few reference foods.
Additional Healthy Diet Tips
In addition to keeping tabs on your carb intake, there are several other steps you can take to make sure your diet helps you maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Include a variety of foods
Protein, fat, and carbohydrates, including grains, vegetables, and fruits, all raise your blood sugar levels, but that doesn't mean you should avoid them. Instead, it's important to choose your foods wisely. Opt for lean protein, such as fish, beans, or poultry, and heart-healthy fats. When choosing carbohydrates, look for ones that have a relatively low GI, such as fruits, whole grains, and vegetables.
Watch out for portion sizes
Believe it or not, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Even though your plate is stocked your plate with veggies, five servings of carrots will raise your blood sugar significantly more than one will. To avoid overdoing it€"even on the healthy foods€"compare your serving sizes to common household items. For example, one serving of grains is roughly the size of a hockey puck. One serving of fats or oils, such as butter or salad dressing, is the same size as a game die, and a serving of fruits or vegetables is the size of a baseball. When building a healthy meal, the USDA general guideline is to fill half your plate with vegetables, one quarter with lean mean, and one quarter with carbs.
Avoid eating late at night
Some research has shown that eating more during the evening hours can lead to higher blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and weight gain in almost everyone. Some researchers recommend saying no to bedtime snacks, while others encourage people to eat smaller dinners and larger breakfasts. Make sure that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings. However, before beginning any major diet change, it's important to talk to your doctor or certified diabetes educator first.
Keep a diabetes record book
Sometimes, it isn't enough to just watch what you eat. Between carb counting, measuring insulin doses, and remembering your blood glucose levels, there's a lot of information that goes into managing diabetes and your diet. That's where a diabetes or blood glucose monitoring log book can help. Many people like to use a blood sugar chart or log book to keep track of their sugars before and after they eat. By keeping an up-to-date sugar tracking chart or log book, you'll be able to notice patterns that occur in your blood glucose data over time. You can then use this information to adjust your diet. For example, if your blood sugar levels consistently spike too high after dinner, it may be a sign that you need to rethink what goes on your plate. Re
How Food Impacts Blood Glucose
During digestion, your body breaks certain types of food down into small molecules called glucose. Cells use glucose for energy. In order for glucose to enter your body's cells, the molecules must be accompanied by a hormone called insulin. Without insulin, glucose will build up in the body's bloodstream, which causes high blood sugar. Diabetes is a condition in which a person's body is either unable to produce insulin or is resistant to insulin, and therefore doesn't produce enough to get glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells. This is why people with diabetes must pay extra attention to how certain foods raise or lower their blood sugar levels. It is also very important that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings.
Foods that Raise Blood Sugar
Foods with carbohydrates, also called carbs, will have the greatest effect on your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are typically found in grains and starchy foods, such as bread, rice, cereal, pasta, fruits, dairy, and pastries. Even though carbohydrates do raise your blood sugar levels, there are many healthy carbs that you shouldn't cut out from your diet. These include whole grains, some vegetables, fruit, and yogurt. Even though carbs are part of a healthy diet, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends no more than one quarter of your plate be made up of whole grains.
In addition to carbohydrates, sugar itself will also have a major impact on your blood glucose levels. Foods such as candy, pastries, and sweeteners can also significantly raise your blood sugar, even they aren't considered carbs.
Other foods can also impact your blood sugar levels but not as strongly as carbohydrates. Proteins found in animal products, nuts, and beans can raise your blood glucose slightly. Fats are a little trickier. Because fats can slow digestion, they may lower your blood sugar right after you eat and then raise it a bit after your meal. Just like carbohydrates, it's important to include both healthy fats and lean protein in your diet, but all in moderation.
The Glycemic Index
When learning about a diabetes-friendly diet, you may have come across the glycemic index or GI. GI is a number that measures how much a carbohydrate-based food will affect a person's blood sugar. Foods with a high GI raise blood glucose levels more than foods with a medium or low GI. Foods are ranked on the GI scale based on how the compare to a reference food, such as white bread. It's important to note that only carbohydrate-based foods have a GI. Meat and fat aren't assigned a number because they don't contain carbs.
Developing a meal plan that helps keep your blood sugar in check means focusing on foods that are low or medium GI. Make sure that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings.
Here are some examples of foods that are ideal for rounding out a diabetes-friendly diet:
- Low GI (55 or less)
- Pasta
- Sweet potatoes
- Legumes and lentils
- Fruits
- Quinoa
- Sweet corn
- Medium GI (56-69)
- Rice
- Whole wheat breads
- Quick-cook oats
- Potatoes
- Low-fat cookies
Carbohydrate Counting
Carbohydrate Counting or €carb counting€ is a common technique people with diabetes use to keep taps on their carb intake. Setting and sticking to a maximum number of carbs per meal can help you effectively manage your blood glucose. Everyone's carbohydrate needs are different, so it's important to talk to your doctor about your body's needs before beginning a carb counting routine.
The easiest way to determine the number of carbohydrates in a food is to check its label. In foods that come with a nutrition label, make sure to look at the serving size and then the total grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Counting carbs can get a little harder at a restaurant or dinner party where foods don't come with nutrition labels. If this is the case, you can still estimate the number of carbs in your meal by comparing it to a few reference foods.
- For example, there are about 15 grams of carbohydrate in:
- 1 4-ounce piece of fruit
- 1/3 cup of pasta
- 1/2 hamburger bun
- 1/4 of a large baked potato
- 1 cup of soup
€
€
€
€
€
Additional Healthy Diet Tips
In addition to keeping tabs on your carb intake, there are several other steps you can take to make sure your diet helps you maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
Include a variety of foods
Protein, fat, and carbohydrates, including grains, vegetables, and fruits, all raise your blood sugar levels, but that doesn't mean you should avoid them. Instead, it's important to choose your foods wisely. Opt for lean protein, such as fish, beans, or poultry, and heart-healthy fats. When choosing carbohydrates, look for ones that have a relatively low GI, such as fruits, whole grains, and vegetables.
Watch out for portion sizes
Believe it or not, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Even though your plate is stocked your plate with veggies, five servings of carrots will raise your blood sugar significantly more than one will. To avoid overdoing it€"even on the healthy foods€"compare your serving sizes to common household items. For example, one serving of grains is roughly the size of a hockey puck. One serving of fats or oils, such as butter or salad dressing, is the same size as a game die, and a serving of fruits or vegetables is the size of a baseball. When building a healthy meal, the USDA general guideline is to fill half your plate with vegetables, one quarter with lean mean, and one quarter with carbs.
Avoid eating late at night
Some research has shown that eating more during the evening hours can lead to higher blood sugar levels in people with diabetes and weight gain in almost everyone. Some researchers recommend saying no to bedtime snacks, while others encourage people to eat smaller dinners and larger breakfasts. Make sure that you maintain a daily blood glucose recording and monitoring log book or tracking chart, where users can properly maintain all of their blood glucose readings. However, before beginning any major diet change, it's important to talk to your doctor or certified diabetes educator first.
Keep a diabetes record book
Sometimes, it isn't enough to just watch what you eat. Between carb counting, measuring insulin doses, and remembering your blood glucose levels, there's a lot of information that goes into managing diabetes and your diet. That's where a diabetes or blood glucose monitoring log book can help. Many people like to use a blood sugar chart or log book to keep track of their sugars before and after they eat. By keeping an up-to-date sugar tracking chart or log book, you'll be able to notice patterns that occur in your blood glucose data over time. You can then use this information to adjust your diet. For example, if your blood sugar levels consistently spike too high after dinner, it may be a sign that you need to rethink what goes on your plate. Re