Nothing is more frustrating to my diabetic patients than diet. In a culture that doesn’t encourage healthy eating habits, it’s hard to know what a healthy diet looks like. I hesitate to even use the word “diet” because so many people will immediately think “Oh no! I have to go on a diet?” Well, no not that kind of diet. The healthy diet I’m talking about could best be described as the total of all nourishment you supply to your body. It includes materials for activity, growth, repair, and enough energy to complete that work. Simply stated, what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat are the factors that must be confronted if you are going to get control of your blood sugars. Let’s review some basic principles of nutrition first. All of the foods we eat fall into three categories; proteins, fats and carbohydrates. All edible foods are made up of one of these types or a combination of the three. Each has its own special purpose in the body, so finding a proper balance is very important. Carbohydrates are our “fuel foods” and are classified as either simple (sugars) or complex (starch). They provide most of our energy, about four calories per gram, and are proper and necessary for an active, energetic person. In fact, the more active you are, the more carbohydrates you need in your diet. Lance Armstrong, the famous bicycle racer, brings in 70% of his calories from carbohydrates. Clearly this is because he has enormous energy demands that must be met. Those of us with …
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August 25th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Very well presented.
I think Dr. Bernstein’s very low carb diet is essential for diagnosed diabetics. Unless very active, a diabetic can do very well with little carbohydrate in their diet. Maybe just enough to cover basal metabolic needs.
Normal non diabetics, like myself, need to restrict their carbohydrate intake, especially sugars. By doing this, I went from 12 stone to 11 stone over a period of 12 months and have remained there for 12 months.
Being 72, I only need one big meal a day