Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases in the world. Despite all the complexities, there are methods that can greatly facilitate one's life. First of all, you have to follow a certain diet.
If you correctly adhere to the prescribed diet, then diabetes will not affect general well-being in any way, and in addition, various types of complications are possible, including heart attack, stroke, etc. , reduce.
Types of diet
Diet for diabetes is determined depending on the type of disease itself and the age category. So there are general principles for building proper nutrition, which are adjusted based on individual indicators of the human body.
Since it was impossible to cure the disease, certain menus were set to reduce the harm from it. Eating the right foods at clearly defined times is essential to:
- reduce the risk of chronic and acute complications,
- maintain good health and relatively strong immunity,
- prevent or lose weight,
- keep blood sugar levels within acceptable limits.
There are two types of diabetes. The first, in other words, is called insulin dependent. Its development is associated with the destruction and death of cells located in the pancreas and responsible for insulin production.
Thus, nutrition is aimed at sustaining the process of insulin therapy and is more of an adjunct method of controlling disease. The principle is similar to that adopted by healthy people in achieving a good figure and well-being.
The main difference is the need to calculate the amount of carbohydrates. Since treatment for type 1 diabetes consists of taking insulin, you need to monitor what percentage of your daily diet is devoted to carbohydrates. As a rule, it should be no more than 60%.
Since type 2 diabetes, it also does not depend on insulin, develops in obese people, so, therefore, diet comes first. In the early or mild stages of the disease, the point is to get rid of excess weight rationally.
When this type of diabetes reaches a moderate or even severe form, then in addition to diet, medications are prescribed to lower blood sugar, or insulin. It should be noted that in such cases, you also need to pay special attention to physical activity. Thanks to them, problems such as obesity can be solved without surgery.
The most popular diets are the so-called tables 8 and 9. The eighth diet table applies to those who are overweight or have a tendency to be overweight. The ninth is taken as the basis for determining the diet for diabetics.
Diet number 9 for diabetes
Diet No. 9 is considered curative and is prescribed to normalize metabolism (carbohydrates). It also aims to prevent disorders associated with fat metabolism. The calorie content should not exceed 2500 kcal.
Such a diet is characterized as follows:
- the calorie content should be reduced by consuming animal fats and easily digestible carbohydrates (except sweets and sugar),
- partial restriction or complete elimination of cholesterol and salt,
- consume more vitamins and fiber,
- Protein content should be in the normal range.
All healthy diets, including the ninth, are based on the correct intake of food. You need to eat often and in small portions. In total, the frequency should be 5 or 6 times a day.
Fried or boiled foods should be eaten as little as possible or completely forgotten. It must first be roasted and boiled. It is best to design a menu for the week, as it will make it easier to keep track of it. Particular preference should be given to the following products:
- lean meat
- lean fish
- vegetables containing no more than 5% carbohydrates,
- fruit (not all),
- natural drink without sugar.
As for spices and eggs, their consumption should be limited. This is especially true for egg yolks. The amount of protein per day should not exceed 1. 5 pieces. In addition to the fact that it is necessary to exclude sweets from the menu for diabetes, pasta, pasta and puff pastry, pickled vegetables are also prohibited.
Bananas, dates, figs, grapes and all their derivatives should not be consumed carelessly. The same applies to fats such as pork, lamb and beef. To get the necessary fat, you need to eat butter (without salt) and vegetable oil in moderation.
Diet number 9 is the basis used in the appointment of the necessary nutrition. Depending on the personal indicators of people with diabetes, it is adjusted. There are different types of diets that you can combine and find one that works for you.
What is a unit of bread?
Since the essence of proper nutrition for diabetics is consuming a certain amount of carbohydrates, it is important to know how the norm is determined, which depends on how much and what foods you need to eat.
All products, which include carbohydrates, have different physical properties and calories. These characteristics are not subject to ordinary measurement methods. In addition, nutrition in diabetes mellitus requires increased control over their own daily intake.
To make it easier to determine how much you need to eat this or that product and not go beyond what is allowed, nutritionists have introduced the term "bread unit". This concept is used in cases where diabetics are prescribed insulin intake.
With such a unit of measurement, it is much easier for a person to understand what can be eaten and drunk, and what is not. She compiles her healthy menu based on personal indicators, and can also change some foods for others that contain carbohydrates.
As a rule, a person should take from 18 to 25 such units per day. Since there should be five meals, it is logical to rationally distribute this amount each time. The main "dose" should enter the body in the first half of the day. To track the number of units of bread consumed, you can write your own menu by day.
How many calories per day should be consumed?
The diabetes mellitus diet requires the rejection of many foods and dishes that may have previously been included in the daily diet. However, you should not confuse foods that allow you to normalize sugar levels with foods that are necessary to lose those extra pounds.
Nutrition for type 1 diabetes is aimed precisely at calculating correctly how much insulin is needed. Caloric content in this case does not play an important role. It should be monitored so as not to gain weight.
The type 2 diabetes diet does require increased control of calorie intake, as it often develops in the presence of obesity. However, it is also not worth bringing their count to fanaticism.
The number of calories per day is calculated depending on the individual indicators of the body. The diet itself should be low in carbohydrates, but that does not mean a complete lack of carbohydrates. You need to eat until you're full, but it's important not to overeat.
When the question arises of what you can eat with type 2 diabetes, many believe that you need to sit almost on breadcrumbs and water. This is absolutely impossible. Food must be complete, contain vitamins and fiber.
There are various recipes for delicious, satisfying and at the same time healthy dishes that will not allow you to recover, but at the same time a person will be full of strength and energy. What specific foods to eat and the approximate number of calories allowed per day should be discussed with your doctor.
Useful and unhealthy food
Low-carb diets are different. For a healthy person, the rules are less stringent compared to someone who has been diagnosed with diabetes. But they have the same meaning. They differ in the list of main products, which are divided into healthy and harmful for diabetics.
Useful
- all kinds of vegetables,
- greens (spinach, sorrel, dill),
- mold,
- meat and fish (lean),
- coffee and tea,
- mineral water.
Dangerous
Increase moderate sugar:
- potato,
- cereals,
- pasta, including hard varieties,
- dairy products.
Highly increased sugar:
- candy,
- Dear,
- drinks with added sugar,
- alcohol,
- grapes and their derivatives,
- spicy and salty spices.
This product division is generally accepted and is often used as the basis for developing menus for diabetes mellitus. But what is good for one person may turn out to be bad for another. Since everything is relative, an individual diet is prepared for each diabetic.
How to eat for obesity
It is believed that in order to lose weight, you must adhere to a strict low-calorie diet. But the point is, it didn't work. Numerous studies have shown that with a decrease in the calorie content of your food, apart from constant hunger pangs, to fainting from hunger, nervousness, and other things, nothing else happens.
With such a diet, it will be possible to lose literally a few kilograms of weight, but if at the same time the body is distinguished by good elasticity and muscle tone, then only this will leave it in the first place. Subcutaneous fat will not go anywhere, and sometimes, on the contrary, will accumulate even more.
A protein diet involves an active intake of protein and a parallel reduction in the amount of fat and carbohydrates. The approach itself isn't bad, but it also has its own nuances. Again, it is impossible to overdo it with protein, and it is strictly forbidden to exclude fat from the diet. Lack of carbohydrates will lead to loss of vital energy.
In the end, it all comes down to a low-carb diet again. By itself, it is necessary to lower the sugar. In losing weight, she is not really a savior, but out of all that is presented she is the best. The plus is that all the essential elements necessary for maintaining vital activity enter the body.
So, when there is a rational amount of natural fats, proteins and carbohydrates, the body does not need to make any deposits. The metabolism begins to work like clockwork, there is no chronic hunger, the symptoms of the disease practically disappear, and the person becomes more active.
Diet for type 1 diabetes
To maintain a healthy body with type 1 diabetes, the same low-carb diet is needed. But in this case it must be firm. Table numbers do not play a special role here, although the diet number 9 is often taken as a basis.
The problem is that even the effects of insulin are very different, therefore it is rather difficult to normalize the indicators. That is why it is necessary to adhere to a certain diet. The less carbohydrates that enter the body, the less insulin is needed.
It should be understood that your own diet is related to your personal insulin dose. Therefore, when developing your menu, you need to take into account the amount of the remedy. It's a good idea to schedule this every day to make it easier to follow.
Diet for type 2 diabetes
Because type 2 diabetes is less complex than type 1 diabetes, diet is very important to lose weight and prevent it in the future. Again, a low-carb diet is also recommended. Of course, this is an estimate of the diet being adjusted. Its meaning is in the normalization of glucose and insulin in the blood, as well as in the control of insulin resistance.
Some people practice taking various diet pills and treatment with traditional medicine. You should forget about the former, because at the very least there will be no taste from these drugs.
Traditional medicine, as a rule, consists of infusions and decoctions of any herbs. If you really understand medicinal plants, then maybe something will come from them, but you should not use them as the basis of medicine.
Kidney failure
Against the background of the disease, kidney failure may develop. It should be understood that it is not caused by dietary protein, as many mistakenly believe, but by high blood sugar levels.
The active development of such a disease is delayed when glucose levels return to normal. For this, diet helps. Protein is not excluded from the diet, but you have to work with carbohydrates. Proper nutrition available to the layman can even lead to the fact that the kidneys are fully recovered.
However, if the process is carried out in an extreme manner, the kidneys will not return to health. Moreover, in such cases, a low-carb diet can speed up the destructive process. In order not to lead to this, you need to monitor your condition, and in order to control your nutrition, a table made for yourself will help, in which dishes and insulin doses are scheduled, if necessary.
Another important point
Diabetes can develop at any age. In children, it can occur against the background of the fact that there is an overeating of flour products, sweets. Finding problems in time and starting to solve them correctly, you can avoid complications.
In women, this disease can occur for various reasons. Constant stress, abundant nutrition (mostly unhealthy foods), and inactivity can lead to overweight and, as a result, type 2 diabetes.
Quite often there are situations when the disease appears during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal imbalance. In addition, a woman during this period can actively eat foods that can lead to the development of diabetes.
As a rule, there are less strict diets for pregnant women, which are aimed at normalizing processes in the body and losing some weight, but at the same time without harming the fetus.
With gestational diabetes mellitus or diabetes during pregnancy, strict nutrition should only be discussed with a specialist. The diet should be adjusted taking into account the fact that there is a parallel development of the fetus. By excluding any product, you can harm the unborn baby.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus develops slightly less frequently in men than in women. This is due to the fact that they have a slightly accelerated metabolism. But junk food, alcohol addiction and little physical activity can easily lead to such problems.