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Healthy Eating
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I am thrilled that Claire
Lightfoot, RD, MEd, CDE - a true 'healthy eating' expert - has been kind
enough to have contributed the information that follows below.
Claire has been working in Campbell River, British Columbia, since 1980.
She is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator. In 2004
she was awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association’s “Diabetes Educator
of the Year.”
If you have clicked onto this
part of the web site you are probably curious about what it means to
“eat properly”. It could mean something like the following story. It
seems there was a man who went to see his doctor. He had a carrot
sticking out of one ear, a banana sticking out of the other ear, and a
stalk of celery up his nose. He said to the doctor: “Doc, there’s
something the matter with me and I need your help.” The doctor replied:
“Well, it’s easy to see what the problem is. You’re not eating
properly.” (groan here…)
On the other hand, eating
properly for diabetes likely means something else entirely. Eating
properly for diabetes management means:
 | Eating foods that supply
adequate nutrition (protein, vitamins, minerals and such) for
good health and to prevent other diet-related health problems. For
example, just because you have diabetes you shouldn’t stop ensuring
that you take adequate amounts of foods that provide calcium and
Vitamin D to prevent developing bone-thinning osteoporosis, and high
fibre foods to prevent bowel diseases. |
| Balancing
the amount of foods eaten, especially those that are sources of
carbohydrate, with your insulin. If you have type 2 diabetes,
that could mean the amount of insulin your body naturally makes and
uses. If you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 that is treated with
insulin injections, that means balancing food with the amount of
insulin you inject. Having the right medical treatment from your
physician, who can work with you to determine what medications in
what amounts you need to provide adequate amounts of insulin, is
essential. |
| Choosing foods that also
help you reduce your chances of developing diabetes-related
complications. In particular, you’ll want to make sure you eat
in such a way that you control your blood pressure, keep your LDL
cholesterol low (under 2.0 mmol/L for most people) and keep your
kidneys healthy. |
| Eating to control
your weight in a healthy weight range. The key word here is
control because it means you should be able to avoid big
fluctuations. In other words, at Christmas or when you are on a
vacation that means that you should be able to keep from gaining
too much weight and you should be able to safely and easily lose
it afterwards. |
Wow – I bet that all sounds like
a lot to pay attention to! Let’s break this all down to some simple
tips, and see how they relate to the above principles.
The 10 Golden Rules for
Meal Planning for Diabetes*
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Golden Rule |
Helps to: |
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Provide adequate
nutrition |
Balance food
with insulin |
Reduce
complications of diabetes |
Control
weight |
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1. Eat
breakfast every day. Breakfast doesn’t have
to be “breakfast foods”, such as cereal or bacon and
eggs, so be creative. It should, however, be made up of
foods from 3 or 4 of the main food groups in
Canada’s Food Guide. It’s best to ‘break your fast’
by eating within 2 hours of getting out of bed. To
balance carbohydrate-containing foods with your insulin,
obtain blood sugar results from your monitor both before
you eat and 2 hours after, then
talk to a registered dietitian who can develop a
meal plan with you using the Canadian Diabetes
Association’s new
Beyond the Basics poster. |
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2. Pay
attention to portions. It is no secret that the
amount of different foods we eat makes a big difference
to our health, weight and energy levels. There are
definitely
suggestions for how much we should eat but consider
your own needs, too, and make adjustments if it makes
sense to do so. (A 94-year old will not likely need the
same portions as a 14-year old!) |
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3.
Choose whole grains. One dictionary
definition of whole is “having all its parts; complete”.
That is what we want to have when we choose our breads,
cereals, pastas, rice and other grains – all the parts,
including the bran layer, a great source of nutrients
and fibre. Check the ingredients on a grain product
label for the word “whole” before listing what grain
(such as wheat, oat, rice, barley, etc.) is in the
product. A bonus benefit – they raise blood glucose
more gradually because the fibre slows down digestion –
even if you don’t have diabetes. |
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4. Go for
colour in your fruit & vegetable choices. Mother
Nature didn’t give us colourful food by accident. The
colours of fruits and vegetables are there to attract us
to them. Generally speaking, the darker the colour of
certain kinds of produce, the richer the nutrient value.
Have a colourful plate or bowl – and feed your eyes as
much as your stomach. |
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5. Plan to
use healthy oils in your menus. North Americans have
become ‘fat obsessed’ to the point that some people
think that fat-free is the best way to eat. Instead,
make sure you include a few teaspoons a day of healthy
oil, such as canola, flax, peanut or olive that provides
essential nutrients that are not obtained anywhere else.
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6.
Include dairy products if you can. Having
diabetes doesn’t mean not paying attention to your risk
for other health problems so dairy products as a source
of calcium should still be included for osteoporosis
prevention. Low fat choices are best if you over the age
of 2 (and therefore able to read this). See the DASH
information below which includes dairy products to
manage blood pressure, too. |
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7. Aim to
have 2-3 meals a week of fish. Diabetes carries with
it the increased risk of developing cardiovascular
disease. Why not try to minimize that risk with a couple
of meals a week of fish, one of the best sources of
‘cardioprotective’
omega-3 fatty acids. Resist the temptation to have
fish and chips, though! |
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8. Consider
using the
DASH eating plan. DASH stands for Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension and
is an effective way of eating to help manage blood
pressure.
New evidence is now also showing its use in
controlling cholesterol levels, blood glucose and
weight. Sounds just about perfect, wouldn’t you say?
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9. Find ways
to include
legumes, nuts, and seeds in your menus. “Beans,
beans, good for the heart. The more you eat, the more
you…” Well, you know the rest. That jingle is more than
cute – it tells us what we have known for a long while:
legumes (e.g. beans) as a meat replacement are a healthy
choice. Nuts and seeds are also getting some
well-deserved attention, too. Hummus, anyone?
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10. Make
water your main beverage. Okay, okay – I don’t have
any fancy references to direct you to for this advice. I
just have 26 years of experience that suggests that
those people who choose water as their main beverage
each day tend to also drink fewer calorie-laden
beverages so tend to manage their weight better. They
also have healthier skin, teeth and maybe even toenails. |
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