Starches are bread, grains, cereal, pasta, and starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. They provide carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Whole grain starches are healthier because they have more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Eat some starches at each meal. Eating starches is healthy for everyone, including people with diabetes.
Examples of starches include
bread
potatoes
tortillas
pasta
rice
beans
corn
crackers
yams
pretzels
cereal
lentils
How much is a serving of starch?
If you have more than one serving at a meal, you can choose several
different starches or have two or three servings of one starch.
Print out this chart. Then fill in the blanks with how many servings
of starch to have at meals and snacks.
1. How many servings of grains, cereals, pasta, and starchy
vegetables (starches) do you now eat each day?
I eat _____ starch servings each day.
2. Check how many servings of starches to have each day in
the section on "How much should I eat each day.
I will eat _____ starch servings each day.
3. I will eat this many servings of starches at
Breakfast______
Snack ______
Lunch______
Snack ______
Dinner______
Snack ______
A diabetes teacher can help you with your meal
plan.
What are healthy ways to eat starches?
Buy whole grain breads and cereals.
Eat fewer fried and high-fat starches such as regular tortilla
chips and potato chips, french fries, pastries, or biscuits. Try
pretzels, fat-free popcorn, baked tortilla or potato chips, baked
potatoes, or low-fat muffins.
Use low-fat or fat-free yogurt or fat-free sour cream instead of
regular sour cream on a baked potato.
Use mustard instead of mayonnaise on a sandwich.
Use the low-fat or fat-free substitutes such as low-fat
mayonnaise or light margarine on bread, rolls, or toast.
Eat cereal with fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk.
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition characterized by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. The two types of diabetes are referred to as type 1 (insulin dependent) and type 2 (non-insulin dependent). Symptoms of diabetes include increased urine output, thirst, hunger, and fatigue. Treatment of diabetes depends on the type.
Insulin resistance is the diminished ability of cells to respond to the action of insulin in transporting glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into muscle and other tissues. Causes of insulin can include conditions such as stress, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and steroid use. Some of the risk factors for insulin resistance include fatty liver, heart disease, strokes, peripheral vascular disease, high cholesterol, and smoking. Treatment for insulin resistance are lifestyle changes and if necessary, medication.
The major goal in treating diabetes is controlling elevated blood sugar without causing abnormally low levels of blood sugar. Treatment for type 1 diabetes is with insulin, exercise, and a diabetic diet. Treatment for type 2 diabetes is first treated with weight reduction, a diabetic diet, and exercise. When these measures fail to control the elevated blood sugar, oral medications are used. If oral medications are still insufficient, insulin medications are considered.
The main features of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities, and an increased risk for clotting. Patients are most often overweight or obese. Lifestyle modification such as the Mediterranean diet, exercise, and quitting smoking are the preferred treatment of metabolic syndrome.
Diabetes-related foot problems can affect your health with two problems: diabetic neuropathy, where diabetes affects the nerves, and peripheral vascular disease, where diabetes affects the flow of blood. Common foot problems for people with diabetes include athlete's foot, fungal infection of nails, calluses, corns, blisters, bunions, dry skin, foot ulcers, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, and plantar warts.
The risks for developing type 2 diabetes include family history, ethnicity, birth weight, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Warning signs pointing to an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes include irregular menstruation, impaired fasting glucose, inflammatory markers, and other risks. Gestational diabetes is also a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Prevention of type 2 diabetes can be achieved through a healthy diet (Mediterranean diet), exercise, weight control, not smoking, and medication.
Managing your diabetes is important. The goal of diabetic therapy is to control blood glucose levels and prevent the complications of diabetes. Information about exercise, diet diet, and medication will help you manage your diabetes better. Blood glucose reagent strips, blood glucose meters, urine glucose tests, tests for urinary ketones, continuous glucose sensors, and Hemoglobin A1C testing information is also provided in this article.
Taking care of a disease such as diabetes is a life-long process. Learn how to care for yourself or loved one with diabetes in situations such as illness, work, school, travel, or a natural disaster.
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