Dietary products or proper nutrition in diabetes mellitus

Diabetes occurs as a result of a lack of insulin in the human body, which causes a metabolic disorder. The main indicator for diagnosing the disease is a high level of glucose in the blood - above 5.5 mmol / l, taken on an empty stomach.

There are several types of diabetes mellitus. The most common are:

• 1 type of diabetes, or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus( IDDM), is directly related to a lack of insulin as a result of a violation of its pancreas production. In this case, insulin is either not produced, or is produced in insufficient quantities to remove glucose from the blood. Most often, this type of diabetes affects children and people under the age of 30 who do not have excess weight. The main method of treatment is daily repeated injections of insulin and adherence to the diet in diabetes mellitus.
• 2 type of diabetes, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus( NIDDM).In this type of diabetes, insulin is produced in sufficient quantities, but the sensitivity of cells and tissues of the body is reduced, most often because of excess weight.

NIDDM occurs mainly in people older than 30 years. The main treatment is diet therapy, exercise, weight normalization and medications that increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin or stimulate the production of insulin by the pancreas.

Especially important role in the treatment is proper nutrition in diabetes mellitus of all types.

Nutrition for insulin-dependent diabetes

When planning diabetic patient nutrition, the following principles should be adhered to:

1. menu should be well balanced,
2. food should be divided - at least six times a day: breakfast, snack, lunch, afternoon snack, supper and snack before bedtime. This regimen compensates for the dose of insulin administered, which can have a duration of up to 6-8 hours.
3. with IDDM should control the composition and amount of food taken.
4. Proper nutrition in diabetes includes carbohydrates in the amount of 50-60% of calories from the total caloric intake, proteins - 15-20% and fats - 25-30%.

Excluded carbohydrates, which are quickly absorbed: all sweets, pastries, juices, sweet varieties of fruit. Such products with diabetes should only be used with physical exertion.

It is recommended to consume a large amount of plant food, which contains a lot of fiber: whole wheat bread, bran bread, undivided cereals, vegetables, fruits and legumes.

Before going to bed, the IDDM patient is recommended to eat food containing proteins. This will help prevent a drop in blood sugar at night.

To moderate cholesterol, a moderate intake of fat is recommended. For this purpose, skim milk and other dairy products, no more than 2-3 eggs per week, exclude animal fats, less beef, pork and lamb should be consumed, replacing these types of meat with poultry and fish.

Dietary nutrition in diabetes is based on the use of products with a low glycemic index( GI), which allows you to keep blood glucose levels at an acceptable level. It is believed that GI glucose is 100%, white bread - 80%, cabbage and lettuce - 10%.The lower the GI of the products, the more slowly the carbohydrates are cleaved and, consequently, the blood sugar level gradually increases.

Products with GI greater than 50-60% sharply increase the glucose level in the blood, and insulin injected before meals does not have time to turn around and dispose of it. As a result of often elevated blood sugar, dangerous complications develop that can lead to disability. There are tables of the glycemic level of products, due to which a patient with diabetes mellitus can make up the right diet.

Patients with diabetes mellitus can neither overeat nor starve. Overeating contributes to a steady increase in blood sugar, and starvation - to reduce it and poison the body with ketones. Both can lead either to hypo- or to hyperglycemic coma.

The peculiarity of nutrition in IDDM is the account of the carbohydrates eaten and the dose of insulin necessary for their utilization. For ease of calculations, tables of Cereal Units( XE) are used. So, for example, 1 piece of bread 1 cm thick and weighing 25 grams is 1 XE.Doctors do not recommend eating more than 7XE for one meal in order to normalize blood sugar levels. For each patient, the doctor chooses the individual amount of XE per day.

Men with diabetes mellitus type 2

Patients with NIDDM are prescribed a low calorie diet, at which 300-400 grams of weight per week are lost. It is not recommended to eat less than 1200 kcal per day, in order to maintain normal metabolism.

Foods for type 2 diabetes mellitus practically do not differ from the products recommended for diabetes type 1 .But it is completely necessary to exclude products with a high fat content.

It is necessary to increase vegetables( except beets and potatoes), fruits( except persimmons and bananas), whole grains and legumes in the diet. Cooking can be a couple, bake and cook. Fried dishes are excluded.

In addition to dieting, patients with type 2 diabetes are prescribed vitamin complexes, 1-2 times a week, a day of exercise, physical activity and massage.

When preparing their menu, patients should choose products with medium and low GI.Every day they need to count the caloric content of their diet with the help of calorie tables.

Nutrition of children with ailment

The nutrition of children with diabetes is practically the same as the principles of adult nutrition. The only difference is the increased amount of protein due to the rapidly growing body. The amount of carbohydrates should be limited.

It is necessary to adhere strictly to the diet prescribed by an endocrinologist. And that the child is easier to perceive the restrictions, all family members need to change their eating habits and try not to eat sweets in his presence.