Living with diabetes doesn’t have to mean living a life full of calorie counting and boring food. Diabetics can live a normal life and eat the same foods that everyone else needs to eat. The problem is that most of us don’t eat as well as we should. Diabetics have more serious motivations than the average person to establish and maintain a balanced diet and this can be considered an advantage.

The Food Pyramid

The FDA has come out with a new food pyramid, and the American Diabetes Association has produced a food pyramid specific to diabetics. In the ADA pyramid, foods are grouped according to carbohydrate and protein content. For example, the potato, as a starchy vegetable, is located in the Grains, Breads and Starches category. Cheese is not in the milk section but in the Meat, Meat Substitute and Other Protein section.

The ADA food pyramid recommends a range of servings and total calorie intake, from 1600 to 2800 calories per day. Exact servings vary as well, depending on your specific diabetic needs and goals. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, you would want to limit the amount of calories you consume each day. Maybe for more energy you would work to consume more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

There’s More to Life Than Food

While important, dieting should be just one aspect of your diabetes management. It’s impossible to improve your diabetes with diet alone, although balanced nutrition will go a long way in improving your well being. Consider these other lifestyle changes to ease your diabetes symptoms.

• Exercise – No diet plan is complete without regular physical activity. This doesn’t have to mean a gym membership however. Being physically active means taking the stairs rather than the elevator, or walking instead of driving.
• Stop Smoking – Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches your blood cells. It raises cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar levels, all of which are harmful to diabetics.
• Lower Cholesterol and Blood Pressure – Both can be detrimental to diabetics and can be reduced through diet and exercise.
• Alcohol – Alcohol should be consumed with caution. It contains a great amount of calories and can be detrimental to the diabetics system.

Following some simple, healthy steps can make a dramatic change in the diabetics” lifestyle and physical well being. Consider the use of a natural supplement to accompany a routine of diet and exercise.

http://www.diabetes.org/nutrition-and-recipes/nutrition/foodpyramid.jsp