Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Diabetic Recipes: Low Carbohydrate Diets

By Irene Maseko

Enjoying good food is not just the province of those lucky people who do not have diabetes, today there are plenty of excellent diabetic recipes to make this condition more bearable. Controlling your diet can be the key to reducing the risk of diabetes as well as improving your symptoms if you are already affected by this disease people often refer to as "the silent killer". Using approved and regulated diabetic recipes; the task of staying on top of the condition becomes less of a burden.

One of the hardest things to do will be to stick with your diabetic diet to shed those unnecessary pounds as maintaining your weight is extremely important when you're a diabetic. Eating food from the four main food groups and sticking to your diabetic diet will help you with your diabetes.

For patients, having a healthy diabetic diet plan means eating in a way that reduces the risk for complications that are commonly associated with their condition, including heart disease and stroke. A diabetic diet using specially formulated diabetic recipes which are essentially a healthy, low-fat, balanced eating plan that helps the patient feel better and more energetic, and achieve some control over the symptoms like fatigue, thirst, blurred vision.

A healthy diabetic menu is concerned with eating a balanced diet of non-fat dairy foods, lean meat, poultry, fish, whole grains, fruit, vegetables and beans. The low-carb diabetic dietary plans are a little different and only certain vegetables are allowed such as kidney beans, carrots and avocados as well as fish, meat, poultry, cheese and eggs. Diabetic recipes should include foods that are low in saturated fats and cholesterol, such as skinless poultry, fresh fruit, and vegetables as previously mentioned.

Weighing your food when you're on a diabetic diet is as important as the foods you consume, so that you receive the correct amount of calories. Using the food labels in the supermarkets will also become second nature when you are preparing your diabetic recipes as they contain useful information, usually based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day.

For example, your breakfast on 2,000 calorie diabetic diet plan might consist of something like this, a cup of skimmed milk or sugar free yoghurt, a couple of slices of bread, rice cakes or pasta if you prefer, an egg prepared your favorite way and a serving of fruit. However, if a lower 1,800 calorie per day has been advised for your diabetic diet plan then your diabetic recipes book might suggest something like a cup of skimmed milk, a tablespoon of cheese, a couple of slices of bread and a serving of fruit.

In the afternoon a snack might consist of a half cup of tea or coffee with artificial sweeteners a couple of crackers and some more fruit. Knowledge of your diabetic diet will mean that even small meals like this can be varied so that instead of tea or coffee, sugar free yoghurt or a cup of fat free milk could be a suitable replacement. There is no reason for you to believe that you can no longer enjoy your food if you're restricted to a diabetic diet, because diabetic recipes are designed to have plenty of variety.

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