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After recovering from the initial shock of being diagnosed with
diabetes, it is time to get to start on your diabetes diet plan.
Most people don’t try to change everything at once and with the
healthy eating plan suggested by the American Diabetes Association,
that approach is not necessary. You do not have to toss out your
sugar canister and load up on expensive sugar-free or prepared diet
foods and you don’t have to give up everything you love.
What you do have to do is develop a plan and stick to it. And you
have to start exercising if you don’t already do so. Exercise is the
best way to reduce insulin resistance, often a result of excess body
weight and a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise strengthens your muscles,
including your heart. You are twice as likely to develop heart
problems or have a stroke as a person with diabetes than you were
before you developed the disease. Exercise helps the cells to use
the insulin that is necessary for them to absorb the sugar that is
in the blood. The sugar provides energy to the cells so they can
grow.
While sugar is necessary for energy and cell growth, too much
sugar is dangerous. An excessive amount of sugar over an extended
period of time can result in heart disease, stroke, renal failure,
liver problems, neuropathy, blindness and limb amputation. That is
why early detection and a diabetes diet plan are so necessary.
Your doctor or health care professional will send you to a
nutritionist or a registered dietician, someone who will work with
you to create a diabetes diet plan structured around your likes and
dislikes. A personalized diet plan will result in success, so many
diets don’t work because they are restrictive or bland or the
grocery list reads like a nursing home menu.
Today’s healthy eating plans for people with diabetes allow for
freedom in choosing what to eat. Once you have established a
schedule and have an idea of how many carbohydrates a day you will
eat, you are free to move around the market. Stay close to the
perimeters, though, that’s where all the healthy items are.
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