Eating correctly is very important when you are a diabetic because it helps you maintain a balanced healthy lifestyle. Most diabetics understand that watching the amount of sugar they consume is crucial, but it is equally important to learn about the proper nutrition your body needs. Here are 6 rules you can put into practice when dealing with your diabetic diet.
The first rule is to make sure you watch your weight. If you do not watch your weight, you will become overweight and this will eventually lead to a worse condition. So, you need be cautious about the foods you eat on a daily basis to make sure that you do not increase your body's sugar level. If you body's sugar level increases, this will make your pancreas work double time which will ultimately lead to it failing. This will result in lots of extra sugar running throughout your system and thus causing great damage to your other organs. By implementing a good diabetic diet combined with an exercise program you should be able to maintain a healthy existence.
The second guideline is to make sure you eat the good carbohydrates, called complex carbohydrates, and avoid the bad carbohydrates, called simple carbohydrates. The bad carbohydrates are not good for diabetics because they are foods that are absorbed very fast and thus provide a huge sugar surge in your body which is not good. These foods consist of the stuff we always love to eat: cakes, sweets and candies. Good carbohydrates are better for diabetics because our body absorbs them much slower thus providing our bodies with a steady sugar level. These foods consist of brown rice, vegetables, fruit, beans and whole grain food items.
The third rule is to be aware of your fatty foods consumption. There are good fats and bad fats in the foods we eat and you need to make sure that you steer clear of the bad fats and eat more of the good fats. The good fats are called monounsaturated fats and they are found in food items such as virgin olive oil and canola oil. The bad fats are called saturated fats and they are food in the yummy foods such as margarines and fast foods.
The fourth rule is to steer clear of how much alcohol your drink. You see, alcohol behaves just like simple carbohydrates. Once drank, it rapidly turns into sugar. If you drink too much of it at once, this will cause a huge spike in your blood sugar level which can lead to many other bad things happening.
The fifth guideline is to make sure your diet contains more fiber. A diet with more fiber will help lower your blood sugar. You should try to increase your fiber intake slowly to avoid getting bloated and you also need to make sure that you drink at least 8 cups a day to avoid getting constipated. You can find fiber in all plant foods some of which include vegetables, whole grain foods, nuts, and fruits.
The sixth tip is to add vitamin E in your diet. Some small studies have found that a daily dose of vitamin E helps your blood vessels have less swelling, prevents blood clots, and helps prevent the formation of fatty plaque on your artery walls.
Living with diabetes does to have to be a hard task. Just adding these six rules into your daily diabetic diet can make your life much easier. It will also provide you with a much healthier lifestyle.