Text-Only Version

Slide 1

Health Point: Managing Diabetes with Proper Nutrition

Slide 2

What is diabetes?
  • Diabetes is a health condition that causes sugar to build up in your blood, instead of being used by your body.
  • Your blood has insulin in it, to help use sugar from the food that you eat.
  • If you have diabetes, your body can not use sugar in the way that it should.
Slide 3

There are two types of diabetes.
  • If you have Type 1 diabetes, your body does not make any insulin.
  • If you have Type 2 diabetes:
  • Your body does not produce enough insulin, or
  • Your body does produce insulin, but it does not use it correctly.
Slide 4

A special diet can help people with diabetes to stay healthy.
  • If you have diabetes, a special diet can help you to have the right level of sugar in your blood.
  • Your supports or family members can help you follow your diet, by making sure that you eat the right foods in the right amounts.
Slide 5

A nutritionist or a certified diabetic educator can help you develop a diet that is right for you.
  • Two common nutrition plans for people with diabetes are the "exchange list" plan and the "carbohydrate counting" plan.
  • These are examples of nutrition plans used by people on insulin.
Slide 6

One special diet uses an "Exchange List."
  • Exchange lists separate foods into different groups:
    • For example, meats, fats and carbohydrates.
  • Your doctor or nutritionist will give you a personal meal plan that lists how much food you need to eat from each group every day.
Slide 7

You can use an exchange list to choose your meals.
  • Your personal meal plan will tell you how many meat, fat or carbohydrate "exchanges" you need to eat at each meal.
  • Suppose you planned to eat 2 meat exchanges: your exchange list will tell you what foods you can eat to make up the 2 meat exchanges.
Slide 8

Another diet is called "Carbohydrate Counting."
  • Carbohydrate counting means you, or somebody who supports you, counts the number of carbohydrates in your meal before you eat.
    • Most packaged foods list carbohydrate amounts on the label.
  • Your doctor will tell you how much insulin to take for the number of carbohydrates you plan to eat.
Slide 9

Talk to your doctor about how diet can help you manage diabetes.
  • If you have diabetes and do not have a special diet, ask your doctor or nutritionist if a special diet will be right for you.
  • Understanding your diet and following it every day can help you keep your diabetes under control and stay safe and healthy!
End of Presentation