Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Dietary Goals for Type 1 Diabetics

In the past, people with type 1 diabetes had to plan meals around a set schedule of insulin injections. Now, the emphasis is on tailoring insulin doses around your eating habits. This approach is more flexible but still requires effort.

Frequent monitoring of blood sugar levels allows you to adjust your insulin dose to match glucose levels and make "mid-course" corrections, if necessary. To keep blood glucose levels from fluctuating too much, however, it’s important to maintain a consistent eating pattern. Erratic habits make tight control particularly difficult. You may also find that it’s important to have a snack just before bedtime to prevent a hypoglycemic reaction during the night.

Planning Your Diet
No matter which type of diabetes you have, the foods emphasized in your eating plan are good for everyone in your family. A diet low in saturated fats, cholesterol, and sweets, but high in fiber, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help you sidestep many common ailments, such as heart disease and high blood pressure, and can go a long way in helping you live a longer, healthier life.

Diet therapy is crucial to treating diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, your diet must be coordinated with your insulin regimen. Because the goal is to match insulin delivery to insulin requirements, which are largely dictated by meal size and content, understanding the impact of specific foods on your blood sugar levels is key.

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