Why is it important to eat healthy?

We're often told to eat health, but not all of us know exactly what that means, or why its important. In this blog, we hope to show you why and how you can get the most out of your diet, and how having diabetes can effect what you eat.

First off, what does eating healthy mean? Eating healthy means getting the right amount and balance of nutrients to keep your body working properly. There are many different things a health diet should include. Some of the most important are the macro nutrients, which build body tissue, provide energy, and regulate bodily functions. We'll talk more about them later. There are also micro nutrients: which function like macronutrients but in small quantities, minerals: which help your body perform the chemical reactions it needs to work, and vitamins: which perform a large variety of functions. There are many different sources for all of these nutrients, and we'll talk more about where you can find them later on.

Secondly, why is eating healthy important? Well as you can see, you need a lot of different things to perform a lot of different functions in your body. Eating right helps you feel good and perform well physically in general. Eating right also helps to prevent chronic diseases like high blood pressure, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and even diabetes.

Caloric Intake

The recommended caloric intake for most people is around 2000 per day. However, due to their condition, people with diabetes need to be more careful about how many calories they get per day. On average, a diabetic should have around 1500-1800 calories per day, depending on his or her target weight. To calculate your target weight, try this:

For women:
Start with 100 pounds for 5 feet tall. Add 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet. If you are under 5 feet, subtract 5 pounds for each inch under 5 feet. This will give you your ideal weight.
If you have a large frame, add 10%. If you have a small frame, subtract 10%. A good way to decide your frame size is to look at your wrist size compared to other women's.

For men:
Start with 106 pounds for a height of 5 foot. Add 6 pounds for every inch above 5 foot.
For a large frame, add 10%. For a small frame, subtract 10%.

These calculations are for adults, so teens may need to undershoot these goals a bit. You can also use the calorie counter down below.

Because diabetes effects the body's ability to process sugar, the body's main source of energy, carbohydrates, must be handled correctly. Unfortunately, there is still much debate as to what percentage of the calories in a diabetic diet should come from carbs. Some say it should be below 40%, while others say 70% is still healthy. The average percentage is 50-60%.

Its also important to get those carbs from the right places.

Different macro-nutrients provide different types of energy. Here is a list of what percentage of your energy should come from each macro-nutrient, and how many hours your body takes to process it.

10-20% protein (fish > poultry) 3-4 hrs
30% fats (no more than 10% saturated or transitional fat) 6-8 hrs
50-60% carbs 1/2-1 hrs

3-day Meal Plan

Day 1:
Breakfast:
Raisin-bran Cereal (3/4 cup)
Skim Milk (3/4 cup)

Lunch:
Brown Bread (2 slices)
Turkey (1 or 2 slices)
Lettuce (1 or 2 leaves)
Tomato (1 slice)

Snack:
Assorted Fruit (1 cup)

Dinner:
Brown Rice (1 cup)
Salmon (1/2 cup)
Broccoli (1/2 cup)

Day 2:
Breakfast:
Brown Rice (3/4 cup)
Ham (2 or 3 slices)
Eggs (1 or 2)
Skim Milk (1/2 cup)

Lunch:
Spaghetti (1 and 1/2 cup)
Tomato Sauce (1/2 cup)

Snack:
Trail Mix (1/2 cup)

Dinner:
Brown Rice (1 cup)
Beef (3-4 slices)
Green Beans (1/2 cup)

Day 3:
Breakfast:
Cheerios (1/2 cup)
Skim Milk (1/2 cup)
Orange or Grapefruit (1/2 to 1)

Lunch:
Brown Rice (1 cup)
Chicken (1/2 cup)
Soy Beans (1/2 cup)

Snacks:
Low-fat Yogurt (1 container)

Dinner:
Brown Rice (1 cup)
Pork (1/2 cup)
Salad (1 cup)

*This meal plan is in no way the ideal or recommended meal plan, it is a sample one. The types of food and the portions are all determined by the individual.

Foods to Avoid

Foods to Avoid (especially for people with diabetes):

The foods that a diabetic person should limit are nearly the same as people without diabetes. However, there are certain kinds of foods that diabetics should especially look out for. These foods are foods with/are:

• high glucose
  
• high sodium
• high fat
• processed
  

Specific foods that diabetics (and anybody else) should eat sparingly:

• Chocolate
• Cheese (esp. cottage cheese)
• White rice
• White bread
• White sugar
• Starchy vegetables (esp. potatoes)
• Certain types of fruit (dates, pineapple, cantaloupe, mango)
• Sodas
• High-fat dressings
  

These lists only provide a guideline for eating healthy for a diabetic person. This is in no way a perfect list. We are not telling you that you should never eat this type of food ever. If you remember eating the right foods and eating the right portions, eating some cake now and then isn't the worst thing in the world.

Source:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Diabetes-%96-Foods-To-Eat-And-Avoid&id=442464

Macronutrients

Now that we know why it is important to eat healthy, how exactly do we do it? The key to being healthy is having a balanced diet; in other words having a balanced intake of the three macronutrients, carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Each macronutrient plays a major role in our body, so it is important to get a sufficient yet not exceeding amount of each.


First off, we have carbohydrates, which are especially important to monitor for diabetics. Carbs are the main fuel for the body; they turn into glucose which is used for energy. Complex carbs (Carbs that get digested at a slower rate and contain fiber, therefore better for diabetics) can be found in various starches such as bread, pasta, etc. Diabetics should be extremely careful to count there carbs, so that they do not intake more carbs than there system can handle.



Next, we have the macronutrient fat. It might sound odd for fat to be a macronutrient but it is by all means necessary. Fats can be stored as extra energy, and acts as a cushion for your internal organs. However, everyone, including non-diabetics should try to limit there fat intake. This can be done by consuming foods such as lean meats, fish, etc. and cooking them without the use of oil which also contains fat.




Finally we have protein as our last macronutrient. Protein is vital, because it helps "repair" your body. Protein is used in red blood cells to create antibodies and helps to regulate fluid levels in your body. However, it is extremely important for diabetics to regulate the amount of protein they consume, because too much protein can lead to kidney failure. A common effect of having diabetis is a weaker kidney, and the kidney is the organ that eliminates the waste products protein makes.

Some Helpful Links/Bibliography

http://diabetes.webmd.com/eating-right
- Gives info on why each macronutrient is necessary and examples of foods to eat for diabetics.

http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/health/teennutrition.html
- Helpful tips for teens in general; looks at the "growing" aspect.

http://www.lifeclinic.com/focus/Diabetes/diet.asp
- General tips for diabetics.