Diabetes - The A to Z Guide

A-Z Guide to Diabetes

An invaluable guide packed with tips for sufferers of Diabetes and their families. You can view the A-Z Guide to Diabetes on this site.

Some of these useful tips and definitions are displayed below. Come back and visit this page again to see some new ones.

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Menus

A diabetic eating plan should follow healthy guidelines but it is important that variety and flavour are incorporated into daily eating. In the first place you may want to work a plan out with the help of a dietician. However, below is a sample of a week's menus that will ensure you have a variety of delicious, diabetic-friendly food.

Remember that the carbohydrate a diabetic must eat will be individually tailored to his or her needs, and you should take this into account when planning meals. The amounts of food a diabetic requires, and the combinations that can be chosen, will depend also on current blood sugar measurements. Speak to a doctor for further advice.

The suggested meals in the plan are moderate to low in fat and are suitable for weight reduction and control. People who need to put on weight may need to add healthy fat choices such as olive oil.

Several suggestions in the Menu Plan are in bold: this indicates that a recipe appears at the end of this book.

Sample Menu Plan:

DAY ONE

BREAKFAST

* Fruit porridge
* Navel orange

LUNCH

* Multigrain roll with lean gypsy ham, mustard & lettuce
* Fresh fruit

DINNER

* Steamed or microwaved fish
* Capsicum stuffed with risotto
* Strawberry fool

SNACK IDEAS

* Banana shake
*Raisin toast with honey melon

 

DAY TWO

BREAKFAST

* Wholegrain egg burger
* Vegetable or tomato juice

LUNCH

* Fast fried rice (cook extra rice for dinner)
* Fresh fruit salad

DINNER

* Mango chicken with steamed basmati rice, green beans
* Baked pear with dates

SNACK IDEAS

* Crunchy cookies
* Red apple
* Sultanas
* Dates
* Crispbread with low-fat cheese

 

DAY THREE

BREAKFAST

* Apples with muesli
* Fresh orange Juice

LUNCH

* Multigrain bagel filled with stir-fried vegetables, chicken strips and fruit chutney
* Almonds

DINNER

* Asparagus fish parcels with golden cous cous
* Tossed salad
* Apricot yoghurt ice

SNACK IDEAS

* Mandarins
* Apple and oat slice
* Crumpet with scrape of jam
* Popcorn (unsalted)

 

DAY FOUR

BREAKFAST

* Best baked beans with crumpets
* Melon

LUNCH

* Pita pizza
* Dried apricots

DINNER

* Savoury mince with spaghetti
* Steamed broccoli
* Wholemeal crepes with stewed apple and fromage frais

SNACK IDEAS

* Canned fruit
* Tropical scones
* Grapes
* Ricecakes with mashed banana and peanut butter

 

DAY FIVE

BREAKFAST

* Tomatoes and mushrooms on wholegrain toast
* Strawberries

LUNCH

* Polenta sandwich with strawberry chilli sauce
* Diet yoghurt

DINNER

* Warm beef salad with Asian noodles
* Fresh lychees

SNACK IDEAS

* Carrot and pineapple muffin
* Nashi pear
* Low-fat crackers with light cream cheese & fruit spread

 

DAY SIX

BREAKFAST

* Pizza crumpets
* Fresh orange juice

LUNCH

* Warm tuna and pasta salad
* Crunchy apple

DINNER

* Grilled chicken fillets
* Pumpkin and potato toss
* Baked berry cheesecake

SNACK IDEAS

* Cereal with low-fat milk
* Corn on the cob
* Rye crispbread with ricotta and tomato
* Mandarins

 

DAY SEVEN

BREAKFAST

* Wholemeal crepes with banana and low-fat yoghurt
* Fresh apple juice

LUNCH

* Chunky minestrone with parmesan cheese
* Crusty bread roll
* Featherlight blueberry roll

DINNER

* Singapore-style noodles
* Lightly cooked Asian cabbage
* Custard with mango puree

SNACK IDEAS

* Figs – fresh or dried
* Noodles
* Multigrain muffin with scrape of peanut butter
* Orange

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

BREAKFAST

* Mixed bran cereal with stewed fruit

LUNCH

* Turkey with herbed apple stuffing, rice and colourful vegetable stir-fry
* Small slice plum pudding with brandied custard sauce

DINNER

* Sliced smoked salmon
* Raita (cucumber and yoghurt salad)
* Small slice festive fruit cake

SNACK IDEAS

* Pita chips
* Christmas fruit truffles
* Fresh summer fruit

Diabetics should include plenty of fluids in their diet every day. Suitable choices include water, plain mineral water, soda water, low-fat milk, tea and moderate amounts of 100 per cent fruit juice, low-joule cordial, soft drinks and coffee.

Regular exercise in conjunction with a healthy eating plan is recommended for good diabetes control. Speak to a doctor or diabetes educator for further advice.

Meals

Meal and snack times are important in order to maintain good blood glucose level control. Ideally these should be spaced every 2–3 hours. So a diabetic should eat breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper.

Morbidity Rate

The number of cases of a particular disease occurring in a single year, often expressed as 'x cases per 1000'.

Mortality Rate

The rate of people who die from a specific illness in relation to the total population. Mortality rates are usually expressed as the number of deaths per 1000, 10,000 or 100,000 persons.

 


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