Читать книгу Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy - Hope S. Warshaw - Страница 8
ОглавлениеWhat You’ll Learn:
• a definition of calories and how your body uses them
• what the big nutrients are—carbohydrate, protein, and fats
• what the small nutrients are—vitamins, minerals, and water
As you set out to learn about healthy eating with diabetes and the ins and outs of meal planning, you’ll need to learn a few nutrition basics. Familiarity with these basic nutrition terms will help you understand your diabetes nutrition goals as well as how this book breaks foods into food groups.
Calories
Food supplies energy in the form of calories (units of energy), and the body uses calories to function and to move. Your body’s need for calories, or energy, never stops, even when you sleep. The number of calories you need each day depends on many factors. For starters, these factors include your sex, your size, what you do during the day, and how physically active you are outside of your daily activities.
The calories in foods come from one of three macro—or big-nutrients. These are carbohydrate, protein, and fat. A fourth source of calories is alcohol.
Your body needs insulin to be able to put the calories you eat to work. Insulin is a hormone that is made in and secreted from the beta cells of the pancreas. If you have diabetes, your body has trouble supplying insulin to your cells. With type 1 diabetes, your body is no longer able to make any insulin. In type 2 diabetes, your body may not make enough insulin to manage your blood glucose (insulin deficiency) and/or may not effectively use the insulin made in the pancreas (insulin resistance). Both situations make it harder to manage blood glucose levels.
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Think of foods as “packages” of varying amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. For example, a slice of bread contains mostly carbohydrate with a small amount of protein. A piece of turkey contains mainly protein with a small amount of fat.
The Big Nutrients
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the main source of calories that provide your body with energy They are your body’s preferred source of energy because they provide energy in a form that’s easy for your body to break down and use. After you eat, your body breaks down carbohydrate into glucose that travels to your blood stream. To help the cells use this glucose, the body normally releases insulin from the pancreas.
Carbohydrates fall into three general categories: sugars, starches, and fibers. Carbohydrates contain 4 calories of energy per gram. They are the main source of energy that raises your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrate Sources
These foods contain most of their calories from carbohydrate:
• starches, such as breads, cereals, pasta, and starchy vegetables
• sugars, such as regular soda, gum drops, and syrups
• sweets, such as desserts, ice cream, and candy
• vegetables (nonstarchy), such as lettuce, broccoli, and carrots
• fruits, such as apples, oranges, fruit juices, and raisins
• dairy foods, such as milk and yogurt (cheese contains just a small amount of carbohydrate)
Proteins
Proteins are a source of calories from foods that provide energy, but unlike carbohydrates, they aren’t your body’s preferred source of energy. Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids—the building blocks of protein. Different sequences of amino acids create different proteins. Once you eat protein, the body breaks it down into amino acids, which are used to build, repair, and maintain the body’s tissues. Protein contains 4 calories of energy per gram.
Protein Sources
These foods contain most of their calories from protein:
• red meats (beef, lamb, pork, and veal)
• poultry (chicken, turkey), seafood, fish, and shellfish
• cheese
• eggs
These foods contain moderate amounts of their calories from protein:
• dairy foods, milk, and yogurt
• legumes, beans, and peas
• nuts
These foods contain small amounts of their calories from protein:
• starches, such as breads, cereals, pasta, and starchy vegetables
• vegetables (nonstarchy), such as lettuce, broccoli, and carrots
• fruits, such as apples, oranges, fruit juice, and raisins
Fats
Fats are a source of calories from foods that provide energy, but they aren’t your body’s preferred source of energy. Calories from fat are used for energy if the body doesn’t have enough calories from carbohydrate. Insulin plays a role in helping your body store fat in your cells.
Fat provides a concentrated source of calories at 9 per gram. That’s more than double the calories per gram for carbohydrate and protein. There are four different types of fats—saturated, trans, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Fat-containing foods have varying amounts of these fats. Some of the fat you eat is in the food itself, like the fat in meat, chicken, and cheese. Some fat is added to foods, such as margarine on a potato, cream cheese on a bagel, dressing on a salad, or the fat from oil used in frying.
Fat Sources
These foods contain nearly all of their calories from fat:
• oils (all types)
• margarine, butter, and cream cheese
• salad dressings, mayonnaise, and sour cream
These foods contain many of their calories from fat:
• nuts and seeds
• sausage and bacon (regular)
These foods contain varying amounts of their calories from fat, depending on several factors, such as the cut of meat, whether the poultry is eaten with skin on or off, and whether the food is regular, low-fat, or fat-free:
• red meats (beef, lamb, pork, and veal)
• poultry
• seafood, fish, and shellfish
• cheese
• eggs
• milk and yogurt
Alcohol
Alcohol is obviously not a nutrient that the body needs to function, but many people choose to include alcohol in their eating plan. It is important to understand that alcohol contains 7 calories of energy per gram. It falls midway between the calories of energy per gram of carbohydrate and protein at 4 and fat at 9. Clearly, the calories from alcohol can add up. Another downside of alcohol is that the hefty dose of calories provides no nutritional value. You’ll learn more about the use of alcohol with diabetes in chapter 17.
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Try to limit your consumption of alcohol to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
The Small Nutrients
Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals provide no calories. They are contained within foods and are essential for the body to function properly They help your body use the food you eat to make your body function. Each vitamin and mineral that your body needs performs a unique task to keep your body working and keep you healthy. In fact, beyond the known vitamins and minerals that foods offer, there are also hundreds of naturally occurring substances in foods that may protect against chronic health problems.
A key message about healthy eating in this book is to look to food first to get most of your essential nutrients. In the pages ahead, you’ll learn more about the importance of eating a wide variety of foods to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. Learn more about vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements in chapter 7.
Water
Water makes up about 60% of your body weight. Water is considered an essential nutrient, and a constant supply of water is vital to the proper functioning of your body. Water contains no calories. You get water from the liquids you drink and the food you eat. Foods like vegetables, fruit, and milk contain a high percentage of water. People need about 8 cups (64 ounces) of fluids per day. This varies greatly with the climate you live in, the type of work you do, and your level of physical activity. It’s important to keep yourself properly hydrated and to use thirst as an indicator of how much water or other liquids you need. By far, water is the best beverage to choose to quench your thirst. You can learn more about choosing healthy beverages in chapter 16.
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Water makes up 60% of your body weight. Make sure you drink at least 8 glasses (64 ounces) of fluids per day.
The next two chapters describe the general healthy eating guidelines and the specific diabetes nutrition recommendations. This information will help you put the nutrition puzzle together.
