How Latino Diabetics Can Eat Healthier

You don’t have to be obese and have a terrible diet to become a diabetic. Lea Contreras is a 55 year-old woman who moved to the here from Mexico a few years ago to lend her daughter a hand in caring for her new grandbaby. Given that she was only slightly overweight, Contreras was very surprised when she found out she had Type 2 diabetes; her eating habits that included fast food, fried foods, and excessive sweets had raised her blood sugar to unhealthy levels.

Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are two important health concerns for both Latinos and Americans, in general. More than 60% of Latino adults are overweight (including more than 25% who are obese). Being overweight increases your chances of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.

The good news is that you can lower your risk for developing these health conditions or manage existing conditions, by altering your lifestyle, which means eating healthfully and being physically active. In this article, I will discuss how you can eat healthfully and control your diabetes.

You can reduce your risk of developing diabetes naturally by limiting your intake of fat, increasing your intake of fiber and doing exercise, according to various studies in the U.S. and England. Simple lifestyle interventions of losing 5-7% of body weight and engaging in an average of 30 minutes of daily exercise, like walking, produces a reduction in the risk of developing diabetes.

Here are some tips to get you started on the road to a healthier life:

• Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Reduce or eliminate your intake of “bad” carbohydrates such as sugary sweets and starchy grains, breads and potatoes. Buy at least one different fruit or vegetable every time you shop and eat at least one of them at every meal.
• Read food labels. Choose foods with less fat, calories, and salt. Cut down on fried foods.
• Ensure that each meal contains lean protein. Trim fat off meats, take the skin off chicken and turkey. Be mindful of certain “bad” fats (animal fat is bad). A rule of thumb for protein (in the form of lean meat) is a serving about the same size as a deck of cards.
• Use reduced-fat salad dressings, mayonnaise and cheese. Use skim or low-fat milk, cheese, and dairy products such as yogurts.
• Carefully plan out your portion sizes at meals and snacks. Too much or too little food can dramatically impact the fluctuations of your blood sugar levels. A dietician can show you how to properly measure your portions.
• Choose healthy snacks such as: fruits, veggies, or nuts instead of chips. Drink plenty of water — always.
• Cook ahead and freeze food portions. This will help you have healthy and easy meals ready on days when you are too busy to cook and help you avoid fast food.
• If you’re going to eat out, plan ahead before you go. This is especially true if you are taking insulin or diabetic pills. Avoid fried foods and extra salt. Ask for any sauces to be served on the side. Avoid starchy carbohydrates and sugary sweets. Before drinking alcohol, discuss it with your doctor.

Here are some healthy cooking tips for diabetics:

• Choose liquid oils instead of solid fats like lard and butter. Any fat that turns to solid when cooled should be avoided.
• Whenever a recipe calls for oil, use canola or olive oil.
• Trim fat off meats, take the skin off chicken and turkey.
• Use skim or low-fat milk, cheese, and dairy products such as yogurts.
• Bake, grill, broil or roast meats, fish, and vegetables instead of frying.
• Use spices and fresh herbs to season foods instead of salt.
• Serve water or skim milk with meals instead of soft drinks.
• Look for 100% fruit juices when selecting juices.

For some tasty recipes for diabetics, download your copy of “Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families” and en español. Thankfully, most of us don’t worry about our blood sugar levels, confident that our bodies will do it automatically for us. However, this is not true for diabetics. With lifestyle changes like changing her diet, Contreras was able to control her blood sugar levels without medication.

Managing blood sugar is a matter of life or death for diabetics. Diabetics must learn how to work with their bodies to help it maintain a balanced blood sugar level. For diabetics, healthy eating is a life or death matter.

References:

• http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DiabetesAndLatinos/
• http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM200105033441801
• http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/
• http://www.edietstar.com/Meet_The_Experts/Healthy_Nutrition/Diabetes/index.html
• http://ndep.nih.gov/publications/PublicationDetail.aspx?PubId=73
• http://www.kraftbrands.com/sites/KraftNutrition/PDF/2005-hispan.pdf
• http://EzineArticles.com/3317980