Senior Citizens Can Manage Their Diabetes By Following The ADA Diet
Healthy eating habits and attention to nutrition is important for everyone, however it is even more important for the elderly that have diabetes. Millcreek Home Health and Hospice understands that you or a loved one might not know what the ADA diet is about, so here is more information on what food groups a diabetic can choose from for a healthy diet. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends an ADA diet that is suitable for diabetics. The ADA diet provides a nutrition guideline to help a diabetic person eat vitamin and mineral rich foods that a healthy body needs.
Here are the ADA diet food group guidelines:
Food Group One: Proteins such as eggs, fish, poultry, lean meats, nuts and dried beans
Food Group Two: Dairy products such as low fat milk, skim milk, cottage cheese & yogurt
Food Group Three: Cereals, whole grains and breads
Food Group Four: Vegetables and fruits
By following the ADA diet guidelines, your body should receive all of the nutrients it needs in order to function well. The ADA diet includes the necessary building blocks a healthy body needs: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet. “Carbs” are the building blocks that create energy for your body. But keep in mind that not all carbohydrates are good for the diabetic diet. Focus on including the following good carbohydrates into your diet: beans, lentils, cereals and whole grains. Whether you eat “good carbs” or “bad carbs” any type of carbohydrate, when broken down by the body, will produce sugar. Diabetics are used to calculating and managing their carb intake. Make sure you calculate correctly no matter what types of carbohydrates you add to your diet.
Proteins are another source of energy for the body and are a critical part of the body’s growth. Proteins can help maintain steady blood glucose levels. When diabetics have low blood glucose level, eating a carbohydrate and a protein is recommended. The carbohydrate gives the body with the sugar which raises the blood glucose level. The protein will help maintain a steady blood sugar level. So carbohydrates and proteins work together in the ADA diet for diabetics.
The ADA diet also encourages a diet that has high fiber, low glycemic index foods. High fiber foods includes: beans, whole grains, etc. High fiber foods can help reduce high blood glucose as well as high blood-fat.
The ADA diet does have healthy fat as part of their diet, however keep in mind that there are healthy fats. Fats of any kind should be included in a person’s diet in the right proportions. The ADA diet recommends that lean cuts of meat, flax seed oil or olive oil can be used as examples of healthy fats.
Here are other tips from the ADA diet guidelines that diabetics should follow:
- Remove the chicken skin when preparing chicken.
- Use skim or low-fat milk
- Eat foods that are low in sodium
- Check food nutrition labels for fat, sodium and carbohydrate amounts
- Eliminate refined sugars from your diet such as table sugar, sugar coated cereals, canned soda
Diabetics can eat right and be healthy by following the ADA diet.If you have questions about the ADA diet for elderly diabetics, please feel free to contact Millcreek Home Health and Hospice.
Want to find out more about caring for the elderly, home health or hospice care by visiting Millcreek Home Health and Hospice.
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