"Diabetes mellitus is not a sentence, but a way of life", - endocrinologists constantly repeat this phrase. Adherence to a therapeutic diet is one of the fundamental points in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, allowing the patient a full life.
Diet with diabetes is the leading component of treatment. This disease lacks insulin - a special hormone of the pancreas that regulates carbohydrate metabolism. The main sign of diabetes mellitus is an increase in blood sugar, however, the violation of carbohydrate metabolism does not remain isolated, but leads to an imbalance in protein and fat metabolism.
Dietary diet is not just a restriction of carbohydrates. The patient's diet includes those products that contribute to the normalization of other organs and systems, which are usually affected by this endocrine disease. So, for example, with the accompanying obesity, which occurs quite often, the menu includes as many vegetables that contain a small amount of calories, but gives a feeling of satiety: cucumbers, tomatoes, spinach, peas, cabbage, lettuce. Since diabetes in many cases also affects the liver, extracts (meat and fish soups) are limited in the diet, but necessarily include cottage cheese, soy and oatmeal, which have a beneficial effect on liver function. And damage to the cardiovascular system requires a restriction of salt in the diet for patients with diabetes.
The existing two types of diabetes mellitus require a different dietary approach. In type 1 diabetes, diet is not so important - the emphasis in treatment is on giving insulin, which makes the diet of such patients less restrictive. But in type 2 diabetes mellitus, diet is of the utmost importance - in the initial stage of the disease, in many cases it is possible to control blood sugar levels only by following medical dietary recommendations without prescribing antihyperglycemic drugs.
However, the diet for any type of diabetes has general principles, adherence to which allows to stabilize carbohydrate metabolism to one degree or another.
Diabetes Diet: Basic Principles
- Meals are frequent, regular, at the same time - at least 4 times a day.
- Equal distribution of caloric content and nutritional value of the child by main meals.
- Variety, including a wide range of products recommended for diabetics.
- Eating xylitol or sorbitol to sweeten food.
- Calorie control in the daily diet using special tables.
- Limit fluids to 1200 ml, including first courses.
- Inclusion of foods rich in vitamins in food: rosehip soup, yeast, etc.
- Regular monitoring of blood sugar content with dietary correction, depending on the results obtained.
Type 2 diabetes diet
All therapeutic diets in modern medicine are usually numbered for ease of use. In the case of diabetes, the classic diet has the number 9 - otherwise they say "table number 9".
What is diet number 9 for diabetes?
Recommended meals:
- bread (with emphasis on rye pastries) 200-300 g;
- vegetable soup soups;
- meat and poultry cooked or steamed;
- cooked or steamed non-fat foods;
- vegetables: white cabbage or cauliflower, lettuce, rutabagas, cucumbers, radishes, beets, carrots, potatoes;
- eggs - 2 pieces per day;
- unsweetened fruits and berries: Antonov apples, oranges, lemons, cranberries, cranberries, red currants;
- kefir or yogurt - 200-400 ml per day;
- cottage cheese up to 200 mg daily;
- mild sauces, including milk sauces;
- snacks: vinaigrette, salad, fish jelly;
- drinks: tomato juice, milk tea, unsweetened juices, sugar-free compotes;
- butter and vegetable oil - 40g per day.
Restricted use:
- cereals, legumes and pasta are taken in limited quantities, while reducing bread consumption;
- soups based on weak fish or meat soup - no more than 2 times a week;
- sugar and sweets for diabetes - according to the doctor's recommendation;
- milk - according to the doctor's recommendation;
- cheese, cream, sour cream - limited;
- coffee.
Forbidden:
- chocolate, confectionery, cakes, pastries, honey, jam and the like;
- lard and lamb fat;
- spicy, salty and smoked dishes:
- sweet fruits: bananas, raisins, grapes;
- alcohol in any form.
Table 9 is the diet for diabetics in the period of disease stabilization. If the patient's condition worsens for some reason, the diet usually becomes more restricted. In any case, only a doctor can give final dietary recommendations for type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes diet
In type 1 diabetes, the diet is determined by the use of insulin, so the same recommendations are usually followed in patients with type 2 diabetes who need insulin injections.
As for the composition, such a menu does not differ much from the diet for type 2 diabetes, but sugar is completely excluded. Despite this ban, patients receiving insulin are warmly advised to always carry a piece of sugar or sweets, which may be necessary in the event of a threat of a hypoglycemic condition - a condition of low blood sugar, the severity of which is possible and a serious condition - coma.
Modern glucometers and carbohydrate tables allow such patients a more nutritious lifestyle. The existing concept - a unit of bread (XE), equal to 12 g of carbohydrates - allows diabetics who receive insulin to occasionally eat even foods that are not recommended or eat more carbohydrates. However, for this, the patient needs to measure his blood sugar before each meal and, based on the upcoming menu, expressed in XE, inject himself with the required amount of short-term insulin. A special table is used to calculate bread units.
All of the above does not mean that a patient with type 1 diabetes can eat everything and in any quantities: one meal should not have more than 7-8 XE. For overweight patients, these restrictions are even stricter.
A characteristic of a diet with type 1 diabetes is its high protein content. This requirement is especially important for patients with infectious complications and manifestations of trophic disorders of the extremities.
Compilation of a detailed diet, alternating meals and administration of insulin per hour may be performed only by the attending physician.
Diet for weight loss in diabetes
Patients with diabetes mellitus, especially type II, are often overweight. Therefore, the issue of limiting the caloric content of the diet for such patients may be particularly important. However, in this case, none of the "fast" mono diets should be used. Such a ban is explained by the high risk of developing a severe hypoglycemic condition (critical reduction in blood sugar) in the case of a balanced diet violation, and in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and moderate type 2 diabetes it is almost inevitable.
If you are overweight, the diet for weight loss in diabetes involves the correction of the usual therapeutic diet no. 9 with a reduced content of refined carbohydrates (sugar) and a certain fat limit. However, such decisions should not be made without the advice of a doctor: only together with the doctor will the patient be able to put together a safe diet with reduced calorie content.