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Why Should I count Carbohydrates?
Why should I count carbohydrates? Diabetes interrupts the delicate balance of glucose regulation. If you use insulin, carbohydrate counting will help you manage your blood glucose levels by matching your mealtime insulin dosage to the amount of carbohydrates you are consuming. What is Carbohydrate Counting? Carbohydrate counting (carb counting) means tracking the amount of carbohydrates…
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Pre and Post Activity Glucose Levels
Checking Glucose Levels Before Activity It is important to check your blood glucose levels before beginning moderate-to-intense strenuous activity. If your blood glucose is below 100 mg/dL, you cannot start activity safely. You should eat a small snack with 15-30 grams of carbohydrates to avoid your glucose levels falling too low. If your blood glucose…
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What are Active Lifestyle Choices?
What are Active Lifestyle Choices? Lifestyle choices are conscious behavior choices that affect overall health and wellbeing. Healthy lifestyle choices, such as increasing activity lead to improved health and wellbeing. Unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking, leads to a decrease in health and wellbeing. Active lifestyle choices mean creating opportunities for yourself to include more…
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How Does Sugar Affect My Health?
How Does Added Sugar Affect My Health? Added sugars provide no nutrition, and are therefore referred to as “empty calories”. A good rule of thumb is to avoid products that have a lot of added sugar. What food items contain added sugars? Major sources of added sugars are: regular soft drinks, all kinds of desserts…
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Unhealthy Fats
Fats to Limit Saturated fats and trans fats should be limited in your diet. Aim for less than 10% saturated fats in your caloric intake for the day. What are saturated fats? Saturated fats are more likely to be solid at room temperature. Examples include lard, butter, ghee, full fat dairy, and marbled meats. Saturated…
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Healthy Fats
Healthy Fats Your body needs some fat for energy, absorption of vitamins, and to protect your heart and brain health and to support immune function. Fats add flavor to foods and come in many forms. All fats are calorie dense. For example, a single tablespoon of oil has about 135 calories. Which foods contain fats?…
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Dairy and Your Health
Dairy and Your Health Milk naturally contains all the three macronutrients: carbohydrate, protein and fat. It’s also rich in calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and vitamin D. How do dairy products affect my blood glucose? Milk and yogurt both contain carbohydrates, which has an effect on your blood glucose levels. Cheese is made from fat and protein…
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Grains, Starchy Vegetables, and Your Health
Grains, Starchy vegetables and your health Grains and starchy vegetables are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet when chosen correctly and consumed in reasonable portions. Many of them are also excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (health beneficial substances). What are starchy food items? Starches occur naturally in a large range…
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How Carbohydrates Affect Your Health?
How do carbohydrates affect your health? Carbohydrates are the body’s most important energy source. They can be divided into three main types based on their chemical structure: sugar, starch, and fiber. Sugars and starches get broken down for energy usage and storage in our cells, tissues, and organs. Fiber passes through the body mostly undigested,…
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How Does Protein Affect Your Health?
How does protein affect your health? Protein foods provide amino-acid building blocks. These are the materials the body uses to build and repair cells and tissues. Where are protein foods found? Meat, poultry, seafood, legumes, eggs, milk, cheese, processed soy products, nuts, and seeds are part of the protein food group. Legumes like beans, peas,…