By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD 

November is American Diabetes Month, a time to raise awareness about diabetes. Since diet can have a big impact on diabetes prevention and management, we’re sharing information about this condition and its connection to food choices. 

Read on to learn more about diabetes and how Healthy For Life Meals is a great choice if you’re looking for a diabetic meal plan. 

Facts about Diabetes 

Just over 1 in 10 Americans has diabetes, which translates to over 34 million people. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder that destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Family history of type 1 diabetes, exposure to certain viral illnesses, and injuries to the pancreas can increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes. 

Type 2 diabetes, which affects 95% of people with diabetes, occurs when the body’s cells no longer respond to insulin. Family history, age, and race can influence your chances of getting type 2 diabetes. Other risk factors include overweight or obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, and low HDL (good) cholesterol. Since these factors can be influenced by diet to some extent, food choices may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes. 

Diet and Diabetes 

Diet can be a huge part of diabetes management. Since insulin is necessary to take up sugar from the blood into cells, high blood sugar is a common concern for those with diabetes. Consistently high blood sugars that are left unmanaged can lead to serious complications over time. Therefore, it’s important to achieve good blood sugar control through diet, exercise, and possibly medication. 

HFLM and the ADA Guidelines 

One of the most effective ways of controlling blood sugar through diet is to eat balanced meals and choose healthy carbs over refined ones. Healthy carb sources include fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. On the other hand, cakes, cookies, sweetened beverages, candies, and white breads and other products made with white flour are considered refined carbs. 

Building a balanced plate with plenty of non-starchy vegetables, a source of lean protein, a healthy fat, and a serving of healthy carbs can help prevent spikes in blood sugar. In addition, eating roughly the same amount of carbs at each meal can help.  

These suggestions are in line with what the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends for managing diabetes through diet. The cornerstone of their guidelines is eating more non-starchy veggies, limiting refined grains and added sugars, and choosing minimally processed foods. In addition, the ADA suggests modest weight loss and dietary changes to prevent complications like heart disease. For example, they recommend replacing foods that are high in saturated fat with options that contain unsaturated fat instead and cutting back on salt. 

At Healthy For Life Meals, we follow the ADA guidelines and create delicious meal plans that are nutritionally balanced, contain healthy carbs, use better-for-you-fats, and don’t have too much sodium. Check out the nutrition information for our plans to see the impressive stats for our meals. 

Note from Healthy For Life Meals: Managing diabetes can be overwhelming, so let us help you! Our freshly prepared meals are created with the ADA nutrition guidelines in mind. They’re nutritionally balanced and so tasty! Get started today.