Читать книгу Practical Carbohydrate Counting - Hope S. Warshaw - Страница 13

A common reaction, once a person realizes that carbohydrate raises blood glucose levels, is to eat less carbohydrate than is recommended for health and healthy eating. This belief is also cultivated by promises of low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets to improve metabolic control and produce weight loss. People often don’t know that sources of carbohydrate are not the same and carbohydrate-containing foods essentially fall into two groups—healthier and less healthy sources of carbohydrate. People also often think that the current American diet is high in total carbohydrate, which is untrue. Americans eat about 50 percent of their calories as carbohydrate. The concern is that a large percent of carbohydrate intake is from added sugars, as opposed to more desirable sources (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al. 2005).

Consider teaching the following points:

• Many carbohydrate-containing foods are among the healthiest foods to eat: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low- or fat-free milk and yogurt (Institute of Medicine 2002). Carbohydrate-containing foods are the body’s primary and preferred sources of energy and provide many essential vitamins and minerals. Also, whole grains and many fruits, vegetables, and starchy vegetables are the body’s main source of various types of dietary fiber.

• Delineate between healthier food sources of carbohydrate and less healthy sources. Today, Americans in general eat insufficient amounts of healthy carbohydrates and overconsume less healthy carbohydrates (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al. 2005).

Less than healthy sources to mention:

Sugary foods

Regular sodas

Fruit drinks and other calorie-rich, sweetened beverages

Sweets and desserts

Refined snack foods

• Reinforce that careful attention to the portion size of carbohydrate-containing foods is critical to achieving blood glucose control—even when eating healthier sources of carbohydrate.

• Many people ask when they need to start counting carbohydrate from nonstarchy vegetables. This question is often beside the point, since most people do not consume enough nonstarchy vegetables. For most, the amount of carbohydrate from nonstarchy vegetables at meals is likely <10 grams of carbohydrate. However, people who eat several servings (about 1 cup raw, 1/2 cup cooked) of vegetables at meals should count the carbohydrate once it equals 10 grams or more. Educators should certainly encourage people to eat more nonstarchy vegetables, but also note that large quantities of some vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes, can affect blood glucose.