HEALTHY LIVING: WHAT DIABETIC PATIENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CARBOHYDRATES

By Tonya Moore, Clinical Dietitian, Mainland Medical Center, a HCA Houston Healthcare facility According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 10 percent of Americans are living with diabetes, and for older adults, the percentage is even higher. Diabetes is common, but there is still much confusion among those that have the disease about what it is and how to manage it. One of the most common misconceptions about diabetes is that it forces people to completely eliminate tasty foods from their diets. This isn’t true, and is a recipe for failure. Yes, people who have diabetes usually need to pay closer attention to their diets, but by keeping some simple tips – like those below – in mind, they may find healthy living with diabetes requires much less sacrifice than they expected. 1. Diabetics can have orange juice: It’s a dangerous myth that diabetic patients can’t have carbohydrates. Not only can they, but in most cases, they should have a variety of carbohydrates with every meal. When someone consumes carbohydrates, their body breaks these compounds down into glucose – the body’s main energy source. Without a regular diet of carbohydrates, the body will start breaking down muscle to produce the glucose it needs to run. 2. Diabetic nutrition is (mostly) about portion control: That said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Give the body too many carbohydrates, and over time, it won’t be able to keep up with the process of breaking those compounds down into glucose. This is how most people develop type 2 diabetes. People worried about diabetes should focus on portion control. A good rule of thumb is to remember a serving is about the size of a hand. Most meals should consist of three to five servings of carbohydrates (or 30-60 grams). 3. Consistency is also very important: When living with diabetes, it’s not necessary to always make the best possible nutritional choices. That’s not sustainable. It’s more important to make consistently good choices. This is sage advice for everyone, but for diabetic patients, it’s particularly important as overindulging can raise their blood sugars to dangerous levels. Consistency is also why “fad diets,” particularly those which extremely limit carbohydrates and emphasize protein and fat, are problematic for people with diabetes. Sadly, a high percentage of diabetes goes undiagnosed (and unmanaged) until there’s a major problem. For this reason, it’s important to recognize the common symptoms of diabetes – extreme thirst despite ample fluid intake, frequent urination, extreme fatigue, or excessive hunger – and to stay on top of blood sugar checks. Patients should consult a physician and/or dietician before making any dramatic change to their diets as personalized advice will vary depending on a variety of factors, including other medical conditions.