Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Importance Of Diabetic Diet

By Donald Jeff

A diabetic diet can not only help lessen the effects of diabetes, but in some cases can reverse the disease. Here is more on this type of diet which cuts fat and carbohydrates.

Both types of diabetes can benefit from the diabetic diet. Type I, called juvenile diabetes, is often diagnosed in children while type II usually starts in adulthood and is more common. With type I diabetes the body produces overly low levels of insulin, while with type II the problem is with cells that don't absorb insulin. A diabetic diet addresses both types, but type II can actually be avoided or reversed with the proper diet.

In general the diabetic diet is geared towards attaining ideal body weight for controlling and managing diabetes. It's easy to calculate ideal body weight for men or women. In women add five pounds to 100 for every inch above five feet, and subtract five pounds from 100 for every inch under five feet. At 5'6" a woman's ideal body weight is 130. Men add 6 pounds to 106 for every inch over 5 feet tall. At 5'6" a man's ideal weight is 142 pounds.

Many people have different opinions on the perfect diabetic diet, however some general elements are in common. For type I diabetics, the ideal diet includes about 16 calories per pound. As an example, someone who weighs 170 pounds would eat 2720 calories daily. Type II diabetics eat about 1500 calories per day to lose weight, then differing amounts of calories to maintain ideal weight.

Carbohydrates account for about 50% of the calories consumed in a diabetic diet. Some argue that less carbohydrates are better, but there are advantages to cutting down the fat. People who avoid saturated fats, even if they take in overall more mono and poly unsaturated fats, also do well. - 15343

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