Nutrition, diet, and weight control are the three basis of diabetes management.  To control the total caloric intake of a diabetic patient is the most important goal in the dietary and nutritional management.  This is to attain or maintain a reasonable body weight and control of blood glucose level.  However, achieving this goal is not simple.  Since dietary and nutritional management of diabetes is so complex, members of health team especially the dietitian has a major role and responsibility in dealing with therapeutic and weight management plan.

As mentioned, one nutritional management for diabetes is achieving and maintaining a reasonable weight.  A patient with Diabetes Mellitus Type I or Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus must maintain essential amount of calories and carbohydrates.  This prevents them from any hypoglycemic reaction due to decrease blood glucose level in the body.

For obese diabetic patient, under the category of Diabetes Mellitus Type II or Non Insulin Dependent, weight loss is number one treatment.  As we know, weight loss may reduce the need of taking maintenance medication.  10 percent weight loss from total weight is significant enough to control blood glucose level.

Challenging it is, as it is crucial for diabetic patient to have long term obedience to the meal plan.  It is not necessary to totally get rid of calories because it is still important in our body, but at least have a moderate caloric intake restriction.  Weight loss is easy to attain. You can lose a pound in a span of a week or two but maintaining your desired body weight loss is the real challenge.  So we need to help diabetic patient and as well as ourselves to understand weight management.  Indulging to a healthy dietary habit, lifestyle, diet education, regular dietary consultation and counseling to registered dietitian or any health team members are encouraged.

Just a minute reminder! Think twice before indulging yourself with chocolates, pasta, burger, ice creams or even soft drinks.  You may not be able to realize that you already have the signs and symptoms of diabetes mellitus such as blurring of vision known as glaucoma, weight gain or weight loss depending on type, or even worse, kidney complication and other complication that you’ll surely regret.  Remember, it takes a minute to satisfy your food craving but it takes years to treat diabetes. So start guarding your diet.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 8:30 pm and is filed under Health News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.