Diabetes Burnout? Be Empowered For Control: Back to the Diet Basics

No two people with diabetes eat the same way and, everyone responds to food differently. So, ask your Doctor for a referral to a Dietitian. Dietitians are the ONLY qualified experts to provide guidance on diabetic diets. Your Dietitian will educate you on essential diet fundamentals and, work with you to personalize your eating plan to suit your lifestyle, personal eating preferences and, the state of your health so you can sustain the changes and achieve good glucose control. Remember that your body’s ability to manage blood glucose will diminish overtime. So, do attend planned follow-up sessions to tweak the plan along the way.

A healthy and well-balanced diet is what everyone needs to eat each day to meet daily nutrition goals and stay energized. So, do people battling with diabetes. Designed by the Health Promotion Board, My Healthy Plate can help everyone get the proportion of food from each food group right at each main meal. There’s more to the recommendation than the plate infographic. Study the accompanying resources in detail to get very familiar with the basic food groups, number of servings recommended each day as well as the quantity of each food item that makes up a serving. Knowledge is power. Once you know it well, then plating up a well-balanced meal becomes easier whether you eat at home, a restaurant or a hawker stall.

Carbohydrates (carbs in short) raise blood glucose more than protein or fat. You need to include carbs in your daily diet to stave of blood glucose lows as well as to ensure you are not overeating proteins or fats. Keep ‘added sugar’ to a minimum as it can cause sugar spikes and, use up precious calories without delivering any essential vitamin, mineral or fibre. But, all carbs are not evil. Every main meal and snack should include some starchy carbs, preferably of the wholegrain variety, as they provide energy for daily tasks but, the quantity at each meal and snack needs to be adjusted and spaced through the day to suit your lifestyle and medications to achieve glucose control.

All carbs are not the same. So, while counting carbohydrates is one way to get very basic control of your diet or to estimate your insulin jab dose (for patients who use insulin only), you may be surprised to know that by exchanging equal portions of carbs from different foods, you will get very different blood glucose results. Low GI foods are food items or meals that cause lower blood sugar surges that are sustained for longer periods compared to High GI foods. For example, replacing white rice with a low GI rice portion may give you better glycemic results. Some food items at the supermarket are labelled as ‘Low GI’ and, they can be a part of your regular shopping basket. To learn more and find out the GI of other foods, you can visit the Home of Glycemic Index.

Take charge of your diabetes. Don’t make it just your doctor’s problem. To sustain essential lifestyle changes, keep on learning, keep on asking questions and always evaluate your treatment and progress. Monitor key health parameters such as weight, blood glucose, blood pressure and blood lipids. While most of these can be effectively done at your medical reviews, consider including more frequent self-blood glucose monitoring to provide immediate feedback. With wearable technology easily available, blood glucose feedback may help you stay in the know. Knowing how your body responds to foods, meals and snacks will help you make better choices and control portions.

Speak up to your healthcare team and family when you feel upset and angry about the demands diabetes is placing on your food choices and lifestyle. It is natural to feel upset about diabetes. But, never give up, rework your goals and, allow for some balance. Small wins each day are better than completely rejecting all dietary guidance.