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.