For a diabetic, healthy food and nutritious diet is very important. The American Diabetes Association Diet has been recommended for all the diabetic patients all over the country by the ADA. These diet guidelines are very helpful to the patients as they ensure that they are eating healthy foods. The detailed information of the required vitamins and minerals are also provided by the ADA diet.
The American Diabetes Association has noticed that the food taken by the diabetic patients in their routine diet consists from the 4 groups of food items. One of the groups is proteins containing food such as eggs, fish, meat, nuts, poultry, dried beans and peanut butter. The other group is of the dairy products like skim milk, low fat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese. There is another group of breads, whole grains and cereals. The last group contains fruits and vegetables.
If all the diabetic patients follow their daily diet according to the American Diabetes Association Diet as mentioned above, then they can receive maximum nutrients which help to maintain good health. Most of the food items contain important nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats and minerals.
As suggested by the American Diabetes Association Diet, the carbohydrates are the best sources that provide good amount of energy to the body. There have been two types of carbohydrates – good and bad. The items like lentils, beans, cereals and whole grains are included in the good carbohydrates.
The intake of proteins is also very essential for proper and healthy growth of the body. They help in maintaining the blood glucose level. If a person is having low level of blood glucose, then intake of proteins as well as carbohydrates is advisable. The carbohydrates help to increase the level of blood glucose whereas the proteins maintain the level of glucose in the blood and do not allow falling down.
As per the American Diabetes Association Diet, the fibrous food products as well as the food containing low index of glycemic are considered to be healthy for the diabetic patients. Peas, beans, whole grains and many such are included in the fibrous foods which help to reduce the levels of blood glucose and blood fats. The diet recommended by ADA also contains fats but in appropriate quantities.
There are certain things to be avoided which have been listed in the ADA diet. The food products containing high amount of fats should be avoided. Try to choose the meat that has low level of fat content. Olive oil and flax oil are advisable to be used for cooking. The diabetic patients should drink milk having low fats rather than drinking the whole milk. Make sure to remove the chicken skin before eating.
Try to avoid the diet that contains high amount of salt. The considerable amount of sodium in the diet is useful. While using the canned soups, ensure the ingredients of salt. The intake of sugar is totally eliminated from the ADA diet. The diabetic patients should not consume sugar coated cereals, syrup, table sugar, soda packed in cans etc.