Debunking The Sugar Myth

The most frequent of queries from people with diabetes concern food - what they can eat, and what they most definitely should not.

Unfortunately, the newer concepts on diabetes and nutrition are relatively unknown, both to patients who have lived with the disease for a while, and to those who have only just been diagnosed.

Research shows that with a proper plan and within the framework of healthy eating, a diabetic can eat anything a non-diabetic eats.

In November 1998, the Diabetes Center began a campaign to educate the general public, and particularly people with diabetes, about nutrition issues like diet, eating habits and food intake.

The Truth About Diabetes & Diet

In the Spring of 1994, the nutrition committee of the American Diabetes Association came up with new guidelines for people with diabetes to follow. These guidelines stated that it is okay for diabetics to substitute sugar-containing food for other carbohydrates as part of a balanced meal plan. This eased the eating guidelines that most people with diabetics had been following for most of the 20th century. The perception up then had been that people with diabetes should avoid foods that contain so-called simple sugars and replace them with complex carbohydrates, such as those found in potatoes and cereals.

Diabetes Care noted that there was relatively little scientific evidence to support the theory that simple sugars are more rapidly digested and absorbed than starches, and therefore more apt to produce high blood sugar levels. Instead, the emphasis over the years since these guidelines were issued has evolved, so that now, many patients are being taught to focus on how many total grams of carbohydrate they can eat throughout the day, at each meal and snack, and still keep their blood sugar levels under sound control.

Well-controlled blood sugar levels are a top priority. Research has shown conclusively that all people with diabetes can cut their risk of developing complications such as heart disease, strokes, kidney and eye diseases, nerve damage and more, by keeping their blood sugars as closely controlled as possible.

Carbohydrate Intake

Patients who have worked with dietitians and diabetes treatment teams to figure out how many grams of carbohydrate they can eat throughout the day, can decide, at any given meal, what they will eat. Those diabetics who are not on insulin need to focus on keeping the amount of carbohydrate they eat consistent throughout the day, at every meal. Those on insulin can decide both what and how much to eat at a given meal, as long as it doesn't exceed their daily allotment. They can then adjust their insulin accordingly. Research shows that there aren't any foods that are off-limits for diabetics. Rather, the patients just need to learn how to spend their allotted grams of carbohydrate wisely, over the course of the day.

Regular monitoring (which can be done at home) helps patients keep track of the effect of meals and activity levels on their blood sugars. Diabetics need to work with their health care team to make regular adjustments in their food intake, exercise program and medications, as it is of great importance that they keep their blood sugars as close to normal as possible.

A Do-It-Yourself Project

Obviously, using nutrition as part of an overall diabetes treatment plan is an entirely do-it-yourself project, and changes from patient to patient. That's why preprinted diets just don't work. A diabetic needs to work with a dietitian to determine whether carbohydrate counting, fat gram counting, a combination of both, or the older exchange meal planning system works best for him. Also, he needs to work with a dietitian to find out what his meal parameters are, and how many grams of carbohydrate, fat, etc., he can eat a day.

After setting a meal plan budget, the person can decide how he wants to spend it at each meal. Just as a non-diabetic can't eat cookies and cakes all day long and expect to be in the pink of health, a diabetic needs a balanced diet to remain healthy. But within limits, and with proper education, he can eat whatever anybody else does.