A Diabetic Diet - The Traditional and New Approach

In the past, it was thought that any excess carbohydrates, especially sugars, would immediately cause the level of blood sugar to rise, causing high blood sugar problems for diabetics. Consequently for years, the dietary advice for all diabetics was to restrict the intake of carbohydrates - both starchy foods and refined sugar. While so much attention was paid to the amount of carbohydrate in the diabetic diet, there was little or no concern about the proportion of fat or protein eaten and the dietary fibre content was never even taken into consideration. The total energy content of the diet - expressed in calories - was only thought important for diabetics who were overweight and needed to control food intake to achieve weight loss.

However, all this is changing, and diabetics must switch from the traditional approach to the new diabetic diet. Study has shown that the right approach is to take sufficient calories every day to suit a person’s needs. Fibre-rich foods, providing nutritious, filling meals, are a preferred carbohydrate source and not refined starches and sugar. Fat content is best below 30% while protein intake must not be excessive. The amount of protein will depend on the current nutritional status of the individual but usually no more than 12% to 15% of total calories.

While, the new approach where diabetics are told to eat more carbohydrates, up to 55-60% of total calories, it is starches and not sugars that should be increased. One reason diabetics are recommended to eat more complex carbohydrates is that the long chains of glucose molecules, especially those encased in fibre, are more difficult to break up (digest) and therefore slower than simple sugars in releasing the glucose into the bloodstream. This is especially important for diabetics as blood glucose levels after a meal must not rise too high. Rice, noodles, potatoes, and bread are examples of complex carbohydrates.

Let us all equip ourselves with more and the right knowledge about diabetes, thus more effective in taking care of the health of our loved ones.

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