Diabetic – Eating the Perfect portion

Dietary management of diabetes is really very easy when you consider that there is no such thing as a “diabetic diet” or “diabetic food”.

All healthy foods are in fact suitable for those with diabetes.

The trick is to know how foods affect blood glucose levels and how you can combine any foods into delicious meals to still give excellent blood glucose levels. In order to mimic normal blood glucose levels it is essential to balance carbohydrates (starches, cereals, sugars, fruit, vegetables, legumes and dairy products), proteins (meat, fish, poultry, legumes, eggs, venison and dairy products) and fats (oils, butter, margarine, avocado, nuts, seeds, salad dressings and fried foods) in such a way that their steady release into the blood stream in the form of glucose, ends up giving near perfect blood glucose readings after meals. A good understanding of the digestion and absorption rate of carbohydrates is crucial to achieving this i.e. understanding the concept of the glycemic index. A knowledge of portion sizes further fine-tunes blood glucose control.

Sample breakfast:

A small portion of fruit salad, followed by grilled tomato and mushrooms with one lightly fried egg on one slice of seed loaf (unbuttered).

Sample lunch:

Tuna and pasta salad filled with lots of salad vegetables topped with a low oil dressing. One fresh fruit for dessert.

Sample supper:

Chicken casserole with a tomato wine sauce on basmati rice, accompanied by a huge helping of roast baby vegetables.

And what about snacks?
The best snack is nature’s take-away – fresh fruit. All fruits have a slower absorption rate (with the exception of melons) and tend to keep blood glucose levels where they are for the next two hours. Fruit bars (preferably those that do not have any extra sweetening) are a good choice, whereas the real thing – fresh fruit – is still the best choice.
For many more ideas see our lower GI, lower fat recipe books :

EATING FOR SUSTAINED ENERGY

The perfect portions for your plate explained.

Every plate of food should include the following:

Starch

5 – 6 portions per day
(Add at least 1 portion, a max. of 2 per meal)

1 portion =

• 1 slice of seed loaf / Rye bread or
• 3 Provitas / 2 Ryevitas or
• Cupped hand cooked starch e.g.
• 3 Baby potatoes, durum wheat pasta, couscous, Tastic rice, etc. or ½ cup of low GI cereal

Protein

Add 1 portion per meal

1 portion =

• Red meat: size of the palm of hand, thick as pinky or
• Chicken / Fish: size of whole hand or
• 1 Egg or
• 1 Cup of low fat / skim milk or
• 1 small low fat yoghurt or
• 1 matchbox low fat cheese or
• ½ cup of legumes

FAT

Add 1 portion per meal (4 – 5 portions per day)
1 portion =

• 1 teaspoon margarine /oil / mayonnaise or
• 2 teaspoons ‘lite’ margarine / peanut butter or
• 1 tablespoon low oil mayonnaise / low fat salad dressing or
• 1 tablespoon raw unsalted nuts (30g) or
• ¼ avocado pear or
• 5 large olives / 8 small olives

Find out more….

The dietary management of Diabetes revolves around mimicking normal blood sugar levels. This can be achieved by learning all about carbohydrate, protein and fat quality and quantity. Look through our available Nutrition coaching and learn more.