What Is A Diabetic Diet?

A diabetic diet can not only help lessen the effects of diabetes, but in some cases can reverse the disease. If you're a diabetic then it's wise to cut the amount of fats and carbohydrates you consume.

Before discussing the diabetic diet it's important to understand the two types of diabetes. In general there are two types of this disease – type I diabetes which is generally diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously called juvenile diabetes, and type II diabetes which is a more common form of diabetes. With type I diabetes the body does not produce insulin, while with type II diabetes the cells generally ignore the insulin. Both forms of the disease respond well to a diabetic diet, although it is more likely that type II diabetes can actually be avoided or reversed in early stages.

In general the diabetic diet is geared towards attaining ideal body weight for controlling and managing diabetes. There is a simple rule of thumb to establish this ideal body weight. In women add five pounds to 100 for every inch above five feet, and subtract five pounds from 100 for every inch under five feet. For example a 5'2” woman would ideally weigh 110 pounds. For men start with 106 pounds for a height of 5 feet than add 6 pounds for every inch about 5 feet. A 5'11” man would ideally weigh 172 pounds.

Although there are many versions of a diabetic diet, they all have a few things in common. For a person with type I diabetes diet should be approximately 35 calories per kilogram of body weight per day, that's 16 calories per pound of body weight per day. Therefore a 150 pound person could eat as many as 2400 calories in a day. Type II people should lose weight by eating as little as 1500 calories daily, then refer to the type I formula to maintain ideal weight.

Carbohydrates account for about 50% of the calories consumed in a diabetic diet. It is often believed that even lower card-levels are healthier for Diabetic patients, but higher percentages of fat in the diet has its own problems. People who avoid saturated fats, even if they take in overall more mono and poly unsaturated fats, also do well.

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