Guide To Diabetic Cooking And Low Carb Meal Plans

If you or a loved one is a diabetic, you must know how preparing meals can be a real challenge since it is very important to keep the consumption of carbohydrates throughout the day to a minimum. Before you plan your diabetic menu, you should have a basic understanding of the types of diabetes to guide you in your diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans.

There are two forms of diabetes, simply called Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 diabetes usually affects children and young adults. This is the type of diabetes where the patient is insulin-dependent or in other words, they need to inject insulin every day because their body, specifically, the pancreas does not produce enough of it.

Only ten percent of patients have this type of diabetes and they manifest the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, unexplained loss of weight, exhaustion, constant extreme thirst, constant hunger and frequent urination.

In the case of Type 2 diabetes, there is adequate insulin production but the body cells are resistant to it, which means the body is not able to utilize the insulin. Hence, this form of diabetes is known as insulin-resistant. Type 2 diabetes symptoms include blurred vision, tingling or numbness in the feet, infections in the skin, slow-healing wounds or sores.

Eating during regular meal times, weight control, and lots of exercise are ways to control Type 1 diabetes. When planning diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans for these patients, you should remember that their intake of carbohydrates should conform to the amount of insulin that the doctor prescribed for them. Diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans as well as exercising are also effective ways of controlling insulin-resistant (Type 2) diabetes. Doctors may also prescribe medications to stimulate the body to utilize insulin.

For diabetics of normal weight, half of their daily caloric intake should come from foods that naturally contain carbohydrates. However, for overweight diabetics, it is important that their daily diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans limit carbohydrate intake to only 40 percent.

A helpful tool that you can use for diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans is the Glycemic Index, which contains a ranking of carbohydrate foods and their effect on the level of blood glucose. Some of the best foods to include in your diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans are cereals, rice, bread and pasta that all contain whole grains. Also, seeds and nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables, dried beans, soy-based products, and yogurt are also good foods for diabetics. Some of the foods that diabetics should avoid include white rice, low-fiber cereal, white potatoes, candies, and sugar-laden beverages. To learn more about diabetes cooking and low carb meal plans, talk to your dietician or healthcare provider.