Eating Habits Of Diabetic Patients

You can make one of your own choices. A homemade sandwich will be the perfect one. You can take small amount of noodle, sprouts, a medium size apple or two non-sweet biscuits. Remember soft drinks have a very high sugar in it, so if you are fond of them take the diet one.

Will my blood sugars be normal if I do not eat?

No, it won"t. This is essential to realize, stopping eating is the worst possible thing to do when your sugar is not well controlled. Remember, whatever the blood sugar is, your body needs a balanced diet otherwise you will become malnourished and weak.

What if I skip meal?

Not a good idea at all, when you skip meals your blood sugar fluctuates and that is not good for control. Particularly in the teenagers, this is common and make sure you do not do this. Remember when you eat is as important as what you eat.

My job does not allow me to eat in fixed time, what should I do?

Most of the cases, this is an excuse for not being planned. You need to know how to organize your day. Days are changing and all of us are in much more stressful life than our forefathers. Competitions are increasing day by day but we need to look after ourselves so that we are in the best physical and mental state to be successful.

Do I need to stop eating out?

Certainly not, as long as you are not planning to eat out everyday! You need to know what is the right food and correct amount. Remember Alcohol has empty calorie and also with a drink we tend to eat more.

What to eat when I am not well?

If you cannot manage to eat your normal diet you need to match them with liquids. Please see the section on Sick day rule.

Can I have ice cream? Can I take artificial sweetener?

Occasionally yes, but do not make a habit of eating ice cream regularly. There are certain ice cream available now with no added sugar, but do not forget they have calories.

Certainly yes, artificial sweeteners are safe. Do not put them in cooking, they break down when heated. So they will not be sweet any more if you boil or fry them.

Can I eat fruit?

Yes, not only can, you should eat fruit regularly. This is a very old concept that in Diabetes you cannot eat fruit. You should know what fruit and how much you should eat. You should take 3 to 5 portions of fruit every day (One portion of food is 1 medium apple or 1 guava or 1 pear or 1 orange or 1 small banana or 12-15 grapes or 1 slice of pineapple or 1 small bowl of papaya, etc); you can choose what you like. It is better to avoid dry fruits as they have very high calories.

What are the food items I should avoid?

Foods to avoid - Direct sugar, jam, honey, and chocolate as they contain refined carbohydrate and blood sugar rises very quickly. Also it is better to avoid food with high saturated fat such as cheese, butter, ghee, solid cooking oils and hard margarine.