Nutrition & Meal Planning :: Diabetes Self-Management

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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.

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…

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…

Also inside: Burning Calories, How Many Calories Do You Need?

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…

Also inside: Carbohydrate Factors at a Glance, Where to Find Carbohydrate Factors

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…

Also inside: Do Try This at Home, Seasonings by Cuisine

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…

Also inside: Estimating Portion Sizes, Resources

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…

Also inside: Shopping Tips, Tools for Meal Planning

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…

Give a Man a Fish 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…

Also inside: Omega Bites

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…

Also inside: High, Low, and Intermediate, Tips for Meal Planning

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…

Also inside: Adding Whole Grains to Your Menus, Identifying Whole Grains

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…

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…

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…

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…

Also inside: Recipes for a Liquid Diet

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1. Insulin
2. Blood Glucose Monitoring
3. High Blood Glucose
4. Nutrition & Meal Planning
5. Diabetic Complications