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Know the basics of a good healthy eating plan

The best healthy eating plan for type 2 diabetes is one that helps you reach all of your goals and is realistic for you. No two healthy eating plans are the same. However, there are some basics everyone should keep in mind.

Choose wisely:

• Choose a variety of foods, especially those that contain carbohydrates and fiber, such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit.
• You should eat foods that contain protein, such as meat, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and cheese.
• Saturated fat (animal fat) and trans fats (partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as hard margarine and shortenings) should be limited, but some unsaturated fat (oil from vegetables and fish) is healthy.
• Sweets are okay if you eat them in moderation and balance them with healthy choices in other food groups.

Eat often:

• Eating three or more small meals a day is better than eating one or two large ones.
• Healthy snacks between meals may help you reduce hunger and prevent low blood sugar.
• By spreading your calories and carbohydrates throughout the day, you can help control your blood sugar.

Get help from a professional

Check with your health professional before making any nutrition changes:

• Make sure any changes fit into the management goals you and your health professional have set.
• Consider seeing a health specialist such as a registered dietitian for additional help. Many health insurance plans, including Medicare, provide coverage for a dietitian if you have diabetes.

When in doubt, follow the guidelines

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has created a new personalized food pyramid system called MyPyramid. MyPyramid is your guide to better nutrition. It will help you choose the foods in amounts that are right for you.

Your MyPyramid Plan helps you balance what you eat with physical activity. Physical activity goes hand in hand with healthier eating; when you’re physically fit, you have the strength, flexibility, and endurance needed for your daily activities. MyPyramid walks you through the steps to becoming a healthier you.

Adapted from the US Department of Agriculture.

What should you choose?

Eating a variety of healthy foods is the best way to improve your overall health and provide your body with the energy it needs. The pyramid includes guidelines for the types of foods you need to eat to stay healthy.

Adapted from the US Department of Agriculture.

Understanding nutrition labels

What you’ll find on a label

• Food labels, or “Nutrition Facts�?as they’re officially called, are must-reads for healthy eating. Each label tells you if the food has a little or a lot of the nutrients you are
  interested in.
• The amount of any nutrient is listed per serving. Servings are portions, such as “number of items�?or “cups.�?
• Keep in mind that a package may contain one or more servings (portions). Be sure to measure or count out the right serving size for you.
• Remember that the percent of daily value (% DV) listed is for 2,000 calories a day. You may need more or less of these nutrients depending on your daily calorie needs.

1. Recommended serving size/Calories per serving. How much you eat is as important as what you eat. Serving size tells you how much food makes up a single serving. Everyone needs a certain number of calories each day. You can use this number to figure out your total calories eaten.
2. Calories from fat. If this number equals more than 1/3 of the total calories, the food you are eating is high in fat. Higher-fat foods should be eaten in smaller portions.
   
   
    
3. Total fat. This is the amount of fat per serving based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
   • 65 grams of fat or less per day is the goal for
     most people.
   • Saturated fat should be only 20�?5 grams per day.
   • No actual daily amount of trans fat is currently recommended, but it goes without saying that only small amounts should be consumed.
   • Most of the fat you eat should come from
     unsaturated fat.
4. Cholesterol. You should consume less than 300 milligrams per day.
5. Sodium/salt. Less than 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day, OR about a teaspoonful of table salt, is recommended.
6. Total carbohydrate. Total carbohydrate includes sugar, starch, and fiber. Use grams of total carbohydrate (not dietary fiber or sugars) when counting carbohydrates.
7. Fiber. Fiber slows down the speed at which your body digests the food you eat. Try to eat more than 15 grams of fiber per day.
8. Protein. Meat, fish, poultry, and dairy foods are high in protein. You need 50�?00 grams of protein per day.

Cutting down on fat

To start lowering the amount of fat you eat, ask yourself these questions:

• Can I find a low-fat version of the food?
• Can I check the food label to see if healthier ingredients can be used for preparing foods (for example, using canola oil instead of butter)?
• Can I substitute other foods for it?

Then, consider these tips for healthy eating:

• Cook in broth instead of fat.
• Skim the fat from gravies and soups.
• Take the skin off poultry after cooking but before eating.
• Broil meat and fish and season them with herbs and spices instead of cooking them in oil or butter.
• Eat more vegetables and less meat.
• Eat smaller portions of high-fat foods.
• Seek out interesting recipes from diabetes and weight management magazines and websites. View a list at the “Good reading for healthy eating�?section of this Web page. 

Dining out?

Eating at a restaurant can be hard because foods are not labeled. Follow these helpful tips for cutting down on fat when you eat out:

• Ask for salad dressing or sauces on the side, and use only a small amount.
• Ask if any items are low fat or can be made “heart healthy.�?Some restaurants indicate “heart healthy�?dishes on their menus. Fast food restaurants may also provide nutritional information on request.
• Substitute steamed vegetables for starchy side dishes.
• Eat half your entrée and take the other half home or split it with a friend.

Trans fat

All fats are not created equal. While some fats—such as olive oil—are good for you, others—such as too much butter—are not. Trans fat (also called trans fatty acid) is the latest fat culprit to join this list of bad fats.

What makes this type of fat bad for you? Food processing that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil is called hydrogenation. Simply put, liquid oil is being turned into semi-solid or solid fat. Hydrogenated fat—such as trans fat—raises your cholesterol in much the same way as saturated fat.

What kinds of foods have trans fat? Processed snack foods in particular are likely to contain trans fat.

What can you do? Check food labels. Look for the words partially hydrogenated fat or partially hydrogenated oil. Limit the amount of foods you eat with these hydrogenated fats—including trans fat. Although there is no recommended percent of daily value (% DV) for trans fat, it’s a good idea to limit cholesterol and saturated fats to less than 20% DV.

Counting carbohydrates

From pasta to potatoes and popcorn to peaches, the body uses carbohydrates as an important source of energy. How? The body turns the carbohydrates into the blood sugar that fuels your tissues and cells each day.

But having type 2 diabetes means taking extra steps to control the sugar in your blood throughout the day. You may need to reduce the portion size of carbohydrate foods you eat, and you will need to spread your carbohydrate foods out between meals and snacks each day.

Most foods contain labels that list the carbohydrate content. However, you won’t have the benefits of these prepackaged labels when eating out or preparing fresh produce. Carbohydrate-counting reference books are available and can be used to help you with meal planning. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Dietetic Association have “exchange lists�?that divide foods into categories. Your health professional can determine how many of each category you should eat every day. The ADA even updated many of its exchange lists in 2007. The exchange lists and other planning resources can be found at ADA Exchange Lists & Meal Planning Products.

Your health professional will help determine the total amount of carbohydrate grams you need per day. You’ll also learn how to adjust your food intake to help you control your blood sugar levels.

Fiber and carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is an important source of energy, vitamins, and minerals. It’s also a good source of fiber.

1. Fiber that can help keep you regular. This type of fiber passes directly through your body and helps keep bowel movements regular. Many fruits, vegetables, whole-grain cereals, and breads contain this type of fiber.
2. Fiber that can help to lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Beans, peas, oats, and barley contain this type of fiber.

Most people only get about 11�?3 grams of fiber each day. A healthy amount is 20�?5 grams.

Luckily, there are a variety of fiber-rich foods to choose from in the starch, vegetable, and fruit categories.

Shop smart

The idea of a “diabetic diet�?has changed a lot in recent years. Today, your food options are virtually endless. But you still need to choose the right foods to keep your blood sugar and cholesterol levels in control. To help you make the right choices, here are some helpful tips for your next trip to the grocery store.

How to fight temptation at the grocery store

• Don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach.
  • When you’re hungry, tempting foods are much more alluring.
• Use sugar-free alternatives.
  • Sugar-free pudding and sugar-free soda can be just as tasty as their sugar-sweetened counterparts. Remember to check the carbohydrate content.
• Load up on fruits and vegetables.
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables are the ideal choice, but frozen is a good substitute if fresh fruits and vegetables are not available. If canned produce is your only option, make sure that fruits are packed in their own juices (not in syrup) and that vegetables are low in salt. Remember to count fruits and vegetables as carbohydrates.
• Think smart snacks.
  • Stick with pretzels over chips to decrease fat intake. If you have chips, choose baked over fried.
• Go small.
  • Buy tempting foods in small single-serving packages to minimize bingeing. 

There are many books, magazines, and websites that can give you the information and motivation you need for healthy eating at every meal. You should also talk with your health professional. Here are some resources to get you started:

Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy
By Hope S. Warshaw

Reading Food Labels: A Handbook for People With Diabetes
By the American Diabetes Association

Skim the Fat
By the American Dietetic Association

The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Fat Gram Guide, 2nd edition
By Lea Ann Holzmeister

The Carbohydrate Counting Cookbook
By Tammy Ross and Patti Bazel Geil

The Joy of Snacks
By Nancy Cooper

The Diabetes Snack, Munch, Nibble, Nosh Book
By Ruth Glick

Month of Meals Series
Available from the American Diabetes Association

Diabetes Forecast magazine

Cooking Light magazine