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Eating Well

As a person with diabetes, you make important decisions every day about food. What you eat has a greater impact on your blood glucose than anything else you do.

You can meet this daily challenge by meal planning. With a meal plan, you can make choices when eating at home, grocery shopping and dining out. By working with your healthcare professional and learning about nutrition and the effect of food on blood sugar, you can turn meal planning into a pleasurable experience.

Most food turns into sugar—or blood glucose—before entering the bloodstream. Insulin then helps blood glucose move from the bloodstream into your body’s cells—from your brain to your muscles—where it is used for energy. Without insulin to unlock those cells and let glucose in, your body does not get the nourishment it needs, and excess glucose stays in the bloodstream.

When you eat, you put fuel into your body. That is why your blood glucose rises after you eat and why many people with diabetes need to use insulin near mealtimes. The insulin moves the blood glucose from the bloodstream to the cells, where it can be used.

Planning what, when and how much you eat plays a key part in keeping your blood glucose levels in the range that works for you.

Glycemic Index

Studies show when considering the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose, it is not just how many carbohydrates you eat but their source as well.¹ Some foods cause a quick rise in blood glucose after a meal, while others cause a smaller peak and more gradual decline in blood glucose levels. The measure of how fast a food causes blood glucose to peak is called its glycemic index, or GI.

What a Glycemic Index (GI) Number Means

High-carbohydrate foods are ranked on a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 representing the effect of pure glucose on the body. The lower the GI of a food, the slower its peak. The way the food is cooked (for example, frying vs. baking) can also determine the GI level of the food. The GI breaks foods into 3 levels:^2,3

• Low: less than 55
• Intermediate: between 55 and 70
• High: above 70

A few low-GI foods include:

• Whole-grain breads and cereals
• Brown rice
• Dried beans and lentils
• Old-fashioned oatmeal
• Sweet potatoes
• Dairy products
• Apples and oranges

Meats and fats are low in carbohydrates and do not have a GI ranking.

Used in combination with carbohydrate counting, looking at food GI levels may help you stabilize your blood glucose throughout the day. The rule of thumb is that the higher the GI, the smaller the portion you should have. Conversely, you can eat more of lower-GI foods without overloading your blood glucose.

You can choose foods from the low-GI category more often and see if it helps you maintain closer-to-normal blood glucose levels.

¹ Archives of Internal Medicine 2006;166:1466-1475 'Comparison of 4 diets of varying glycemic load on weight loss and cardiovascular risk reduction in overweight and obese young adults: a randomised controlled trial.' Available at http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/166/14/1466. Accessed on November 17, 2008.

² International Diabetes Institute. Glycemic Index. Available at http://www.diabetes.com.au/about.php?regionID=254. Accessed on November 17, 2008.

³ Canadian Diabetes Association Glycemic Index

 

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• Planning Your Meals
• Glycemic Index
• Maintaining A Healthy Weight

Hypoglycemia and Exercise
Physical activity or exercising for a prolonged period can lower blood glucose, but there are several measures you can take to treat it.

Learn more »

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