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One of the most important aspects of caring for your diabetes is making healthful food choices. What you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat all have an impact on blood glucose, and following an individualized meal plan can help you improve blood glucose control. Check out the articles in this section to learn about meal planning, measuring food portions, carbohydrate counting, and other nutrition-related topics.
Anti-Inflammatory Diets by Monica J. Smith
A quick perusal of the Web or the health and diet section of any bookstore will turn up a number of articles and books with the word “inflammation” in the title. Authors blame the insidious condition for everything from hay fever and depression to crow’s feet; many assure readers that adherence to their specialized, anti-inflammation diet plan will help them shed pounds, banish pain, and reverse the clock…
Antioxidants by Robert A. Jacob, Ph.D.
Oxygen is a Jekyll and Hyde element. We need it for critical body functions, such as respiration and immune response, but the element’s dark side is a reactive chemical nature that can damage body cells and tissues. The perpetrators of this…
Are You Label-Able? by Belinda O’Connell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.
Eating healthfully and following a meal plan are key components of good diabetes care whether you use oral medicines, insulin, or diet and exercise to manage your diabetes. Knowing how to read a food label can help you choose healthful foods, figure out…
Being Supermarket Savvy by Patti Geil, MS, RD, CDE, FADA, and Alissa Heizler, RD, CDE
Downsizing, layoffs, and frozen salaries mean challenging times for even the most cost-conscious penny pinchers. The current Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator estimates that what we could buy with $100 five years ago now costs $113.21…
Calories: The Key to Weight Control by Laurie Block, MS, RD, CDE
Nutrition is an ever-changing science with one consistent message: If you are above a healthy body weight, lose weight. The World Health Organization, the National Academy of Sciences, and many other organizations consider weight loss to be the first…
Carbohydrate Factors by Dana Armstrong, R.D., C.D.E., and Jan Chait
Meal-planning is one of the cornerstones of diabetes management, and carbohydrate counting is one of the basics of diabetes meal planning. Keeping track of the amount of carbohydrate you eat is important because carbohydrate (rather than protein or fat…
Choosing a Multivitamin by Marie Spano, M.S., R.D.
A good diet can supply most if not all of the vitamins and minerals you need. But maintaining such a diet day in and day out can be a challenge, which is why many people take a daily multivitamin–multimineral supplement as a form of insurance…
Cooking Oils by Lea Ann Holzmeister, R.D., C.D.E.
Fat plays many important roles in a healthful diet. It provides energy and essential fatty acids, which are necessary for good health. It helps to maintain healthy skin and to regulate cholesterol metabolism, and it contributes to substances in the body…
Cooking With Herbs and Spices by Marie Spano, M.S., R.D.
Herbs and spices are a healthy cook’s best friend. They are excellent for enhancing the flavor of food without the addition of extra fat, sugar, or salt. But herbs and spices have other benefits, as well: They exhibit antimicrobial (germ-killing…
Counting Carbohydrates Like a Pro by Gary Scheiner, MS, CDE
Let’s get this straight: There is no such thing as a “pro” when it comes to carbohydrate counting. There is no master’s degree or Ph.D. in Carbohydrate Science at any major university, nor is there a course focusing on carbohydrate counting in any…
Dealing With Meal Plan Blahs by Kelly Van Horn, R.D., C.D.E.
Have you ever felt blah about your diabetes meal plan? Eating healthfully for diabetes control demands time, thought, and emotion. People who are new to diabetes often have a lot to learn about planning healthy meals for blood sugar control, and figuring…
Diabetes Nutrition Bars and Shakes by Patti Geil, MS, RD, FADA, CDE
“Clinically shown to help manage blood glucose levels.” “Helps reduce excessive food consumption.” “Nutritional support for blood-sugar stability.” “Avoid blood sugar lows and highs.” “May help you lower A1C levels.”
Wouldn’t it be great if a specially formulated snack bar or shake could do all that?
Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Disease by Alisa G. Woods, PhD
Maybe primitive humans had it better than we think. Sure, they had to forage and struggle just to eat, but what they ate was actually more nutritious than what many modern humans consume daily in industrialized countries like the United States. Even the food in many developing countries today, usually grown locally without advanced agricultural techniques, is more nutritious than the typical American diet…
Food Scoring for Better Nutrition by Rita Carey, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
Choosing the healthiest foods from the thousands of items available at your local supermarket can be one of the most challenging aspects of learning to eat well with diabetes. Consider the fact that a medium-size U.S. grocery store sells 45,000 different…
Functional Foods by Amy Campbell, MS, RD, LDN, CDE
Chances are that you’ve heard the phrase “functional foods,” but maybe you aren’t sure just what it refers to. Rest assured that most functional foods are not foods created in a laboratory somewhere, but instead are many of the foods you probably eat every day.
Glycemic Index Update
The term glycemic index was coined by researchers more than 25 years ago, and it offered a new way of classifying foods containing carbohydrate according to their effect on blood glucose level following a meal. Up until that point, for the purposes of…
Going With the (Whole) Grain by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
Grains provide many nutrients that are vital for the health and maintenance of your body. But not all grains and grain products are equally nutritious. Whole grains and grain products contain all of the parts of the grain—including the germ, the…
Healthy Eating on a Budget by Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E.
“Healthy food costs too much money” is a common meal-planning myth and one that could be preventing you from enjoying the benefits of eating healthfully while spending less. It may be true that sugar-free and fat-free versions of certain…
Is Going Organic the Way to Go? by Amy Campbell, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.
As a person with diabetes, you’ve most likely given some thought to what you choose to eat. Perhaps you’re counting carbohydrates or following a tailored eating plan; maybe you’re careful to make heart-healthy food choices or are trying to incorporate…
Lifestyle Habits for Lipid Management by Heidi Mochari, MPH, RD
It is no secret that abnormal levels of fats and cholesterol in the blood are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease. These fats and cholesterol are called blood lipids, and the good news is that there are effective ways to manage them. In fact, dramatic improvements in lipid levels can be achieved through simple lifestyle changes…
Mindful Eating by Megrette Hammond, M.Ed., R.D., C.D.E.
A diagnosis of diabetes changes everything. It frequently changes a person’s perception of himself and of his health. The demands of diabetes care can also change a person’s daily routine. A diabetes diagnosis is almost always accompanied…
More Food, Less You by Betty Kovacs, MS, RD
If you want to lose weight, you need to eat less food, right? Wrong. When you cut back on the amount of food you eat, you may actually stimulate your appetite, causing you to eat more than usual rather than less. Obviously, this makes losing weight difficult if not impossible. So how is it possible to lose weight without eating less food? The answer is to eat fewer calories, not less food, and this article shows you how…
Tips And Tricks For Halloween by Diane Fennell
Halloween—the very word can send a shiver up the spines of children and parents alike, albeit for very different reasons. While the kids are probably looking forward to costumes and trick-or-treating, the parents are likely more concerned about…
Top Tips for Healthier Eating by Julie Lichty Balay, MS, RD
It’s November — New Year’s is long gone, and most likely so is your resolution to eat right and lose a few pounds. If it makes you feel any better, you are not alone. It is estimated that 40% to 50% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and losing weight is among the most popular, along with quitting smoking and exercising. Unfortunately, even the most favorable research on success rates of resolutions shows that by June, only 4 out of 10 people are still making good on their promises to themselves…
Trans Fat Begone! Julie Lichty Balay, M.S., R.D.
If you’ve read a newspaper in the past 40 years, you’re probably already aware that not all fat is created equal. There are three major categories of fat in the diet: unsaturated fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Unsaturated fats are considered…
Treating Gastroparesis by Kathryn Feigenbaum, R.N., M.S.N., C.D.E.
Although the term gastroparesis may be new to some, the symptoms of this ailment, in which the stomach’s ability to move food into the small intestine is impaired, can be all too familiar, as up to 50% of people with diabetes will develop…
What Really Determines What We Eat by Brian Wansink, PhD
Most of us believe that how much we eat is mainly determined by how hungry we are, how much we like the food, or what mood we are in at the time of eating or food selection. While we might acknowledge that others could be influenced by colorful food packages, special lighting, or the size of the plate, we all think we are too smart to be swayed by such gimmicks. But that’s where we’re wrong…
What You Should Know About Celiac Disease by Judy Giusti, MS, RD, LD, CDE
After years of living with Type 1 diabetes, you’re a pro at counting carbohydrates and adjusting insulin doses. Over the past year, however, your diabetes has become difficult to control. You’ve experienced weight loss, frequent bouts of diarrhea, and fatigue. You’ve also had fluctuating blood glucose levels — both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia — and needed frequent insulin adjustments. You don’t know what’s wrong, and what’s worse, your doctor — make that doctors — can’t explain your symptoms, either. They’ve suggested everything from irritable bowel disease to depression, but nothing seems to help…
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