When higher than normal blood sugars circulate in the body over a long enough period of time, it is very likely that type-2 diabetes will develop, a condition that is often associated with an inability of the cells of the body to absorb the circulating sugar molecules. For an explanation of why high blood sugars are dangerous check Dangerous to Health.
The cells of the human body require sugar, in the form of glucose, to use as fuel to enable them to perform their various and constant metabolic activities that sustain life. But when diabetes develops, the body system that aids the usual entry of sugar into the cells from the bloodstream become impaired. The result being that the glucose continues to circulate in the blood where it may damage other organs. An explanation of the process can be found at About Diabetes, a Simple Explanation.
The Diabetic Food List
The objective of a personalized diabetic diet plan and food list is to compile a list of appropriate food items that aid in the control over the higher than normal blood sugar levels that have caused diabetes. The diabetic food list will also incorporate the food preferences and tastes of the individual diabetic person to enable the choice of favored items for any particular diabetic menu.
Dietary fiber has also been shown to lower the risks of heart disease
Long-lasting studies in which tens of thousands of health-care workers participated over several years, were able to show that a high dietary fiber diet was involved in a 40 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease in comparison to a diet lower in dietary fiber. Heart disease is the primary cause of death in people with diabetes.
How much dietary fiber is needed for the diabetic food list?
At this time, scientists are not in full agreement regarding the amount of fiber necessary for optimum health
In publications of the American Diabetes Association, 20 to 35 grams of dietary fiber daily is recommended for all adults. For type-2 diabetes, clinical studies suggest that 50 grams of fiber daily leads to an improvement in blood sugar levels. Dietary fiber also helps lower cholesterol levels
In the United States, the Institute of Medicine recommends dietary fiber intakes based on age and gender as follows:
♦ 25 grams daily for women and 38 grams daily for men up to age 50.
♦ 21 grams daily for women and 30 grams for men who are over 51 years of age and older,
Recommendations from other nutritional sources state that dietary fiber intake should be referenced to the body weight of the individual with the following weights in pounds and amounts in grams specified:
♦ 125 pounds 25 to 30 grams
♦ 150 pounds 30 to 35 grams
♦ 175 pounds 35 to 40 grams
♦ 200 pounds 40 to 45 grams
But do not add too much fiber to the diabetic diet because excessive amounts can result in other problems. When adding fiber to the diabetic diet, water intake should be increased.
To convert grams to ounces and pounds to kilos use the following:
A gram is equal to about 28.4 grams.
A pound is a slightly less than half a kilogram, approximately 0.45 of a kilogram.
The source of dietary fiber
Dietary fiber has always been readily available and part of the American diet. But the problem in current times is that the amount of dietary fiber consumed by most people is not sufficient to provide optimum health benefits.
Fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, cereals, nuts and seeds, and whole-wheat breads, are ideal sources from which to obtain fiber and those foods have much more to recommend them than just fiber. Plant foods contain a lot of essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that are thought to provide additional health benefits. That is one of the reasons that vitamin pills, as effective as they may be in supplying certain vitamins, do not provide as many of the nutritional and health-giving substances that are found in plant foods.
There are also manufactured fiber supplements available in pharmacies and health food stores, psyllium for example.
In conclusion
There is no single diabetic diet or diabetic meal plan that suits every person with diabetes but quality nutritious natural foods that can help control blood sugar levels are always to be favored.