Food Lists – with essential supplementary information
This site provides a link to the Food Lists on our companion blog-site, Diabetic Menu Guide, where the various categories of food items such as Vegetables, Meats, Fats, Fruits, Fish, Cereals, Dairy, Breads, Jams and spreads, and Drinks are shown together with nutrition details.
To access that information, click: The Food Lists,
The importance of carbohydrates
Foods are comprised mainly of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and fiber, and of course, water. One of the most important factors of our diabetic foods is the amount of carbohydrates in our meals. Carbohydrates are a primary source of the glucose that enters our bloodstream and every newly diagnose diabetic should become familiar with the effects of the carbohydrate portion of their meals.
The speed at which carbohydrates are broken down by the body into glucose varies with the individual food item, in some foods it is fast in others not so fast, and the slower it is the better it is for the diabetic.
The Glycemic Index
A widely accepted tool in diabetic food planning is the Glycemic Index, GI for short. The GI is a numerical ranking of how fast individual food items are reduced to glucose and enter the bloodstream compared to a reference standard such as sugar or white bread. The GI is another reference source for diabetics to learn about. In a companion post on this site we provide an explanation of the Glycemic Index and the Glycemic Load.
The Practical Value of the Food Lists Provided on this Site
Since there are few foods that are “off-limits” to the diabetic, it is the accompanying information regarding the nutritional content of the individual servings of the specific food items that is important.
From these values, the total nutritional content can be determined for selected food items that comprise a meal and it can then be seen whether they meet the objectives of the menu plan regarding calories, and the preferred ratios of carbohydrates to proteins to fats.
Although most food items are acceptable to the diabetic, some may require modest proportions and certainly some items are less desirable compared to others, for instance, whole wheat breads are a better choice that white breads.
The diabetic food list includes many food entries and a lot of supplementary information. Why it is necessary to know the nutrient and calorie content of foods is explained below.
If You Are Newly Diagnosed as Diabetic:
The following might be of interest: click on for details
About Diabetes, from my own experience
About Diabetes, a simple explanation
More is needed than just a list of foods
To feed yourself properly, you will need to include the right combination of Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats, the primary nutrients needed by the body to sustain life, the building blocks, so to speak, to maintain good health.
So as well as the basic food lists, we include the amounts of Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats in those foods, and will be adding the Glycemic Index values and the Glycemic Load values shortly.
And more is needed than just a list of foods and their nutrient content
Why? Because you need to know how much of those foods to include in your diabetic menu to provide the energy needed to carry out your daily activities in the workplace and to support your personal life style activities. Food energy is measured in Calories so the calorie content of the individual foods is also listed in our lists of diabetic foods.
Calorie content based on individual needs and a target weight
As well as calorie content, even more information is needed to plan and prepare foods for your daily meals. The total daily calories required for individuals varies and should be known at the beginning when first establishing a diabetic meal plan and that can be based on the weight you wish to maintain, or the weight you may wish to gain or lose.
Do not follow a quick weight loss diet plan if you wish to lose weight, we suggest that weight reduction can best take place in small increments over an extended time in that way the weight lost is likely to stay “off” – whereas it has been shown that weight loss through quick weight-loss diets almost always is regained. Visit our post on the role of weight-loss in diabetes.
Now in Preparation:
More details on specific food items such as Seeds, Nuts, Fats and Oils, Grains, Vegetarian and Vegan dietary approaches, Regional dietary habits: Mediterranean, Okinawan, etc. High and Low carbohydrate approaches to diabetic menu planning. Etc etc.
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