Diabetic Diet Programs - Diabetes Programs

All diabetics should have a diabetic diet program in place, whether they require insulin or other medications or not. A diabetic diet is the base of good diabetes control. This makes sense, seeing as diabetes is actually a disorder of the digestive process.

In a healthy individual, foods that have carbohydrates are broken down into sugars and put into the circulating blood. As the blood moves around, the sugars go to all parts of the body. Insulin is released to transport the sugars from the blood stream to individual cells, where the sugars are used for energy to keep the body going. In a diabetic’s body, there is a problem with the insulin: either it is no longer being made, or the body becomes resistant to its effects. For this reason, all diabetic diet programs aim to feed the body carbohydrates at regular intervals to avoid overwhelming the system with sugar.

The two most popular diabetic diet programs currently used are the “carbohydrate counting” method and the “exchange list” method. Both of these diabetic diet programs are based on similar principles and can be used to successfully control blood sugar levels.

Your doctor or dietitian may recommend one method or the other to you after taking into consideration additional health goals that you would like to achieve. For example, if you would like to lose weight, the exchange list method may be a better option for you because it keeps track of all calories eaten during the day. Carbohydrate counting is solely focused on calories that will turn to sugar in your blood.

The carbohydrate counting method provides you with guidance by listing the total grams of carbohydrates allowed for each meal or snack. The patient using this method will learn serving sizes for many different starchy and sugary foods. The serving sizes are created to contain 15 grams of carbohydrates per serving. This makes calculation fairly easy.

The exchange list method is a bit more inclusive. Patients who use this method will count not only servings of carbohydrates, but servings of other foods as well. Only the carbohydrate servings make a difference in blood sugar levels, but managing all food groups helps with weight control and overall good nutrition.

Whether you choose to use the carbohydrate counting method or exchange list method, following your diet is the key to successfully managing your diabetes. Be sure to monitor your results with blood glucose testing as your doctor has instructed. Make sure that your diabetic diet program is working for you!

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