Fighting Diabetes: Proportion of Main Nutrients, Food Exchange Lists

• Diabetics who can restrict their daily calorie intake to 1500 or less and follow a diet comprising of approximately 60 % carbohydrates, 25 % fat and 15 % protein are able to control blood sugar level successfully.

• The carbohydrate food should be natural, slow digesting and unrefined. Whole grains like oats, and millets are good examples.
• Diabetics usually have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. These can be brought back to normal by decreasing fat intake, increasing fiber rich foods.
• Individuals consuming high fiber diet rarely suffer from diseases.

• Fats that we consume can be from either visible or invisible sources.
• Fats from oils, butter are visible fats. While, Fats from milk and milk products, meat, eggs, cereals and pulses are invisible fats.
• Both the quantity and type of fat, influences the body and cholesterol levels.
• Intake of saturated fats (animal fat) in diabetics should be controlled because their cholesterol level is usually high.
• Most vegetable fats are polyunsaturated and are healthy.

• About 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is Recommended Dietary Allowance.
• Children, pregnant and lactating women require more protein for growth, development and psychological needs.

• Nuts, pulses and legumes, meat and meat products are all rich sources of protein.
• But proteins from vegetable source add fiber and do not contain cholesterol so they are better than animal sources.

Food Exchange Lists – How much of each food can you eat?

• Diabetic food is not as boring as it is anticipated.
• There is a wide variety of food that can be well planned and made into interesting, tasty, rich and satisfying food.
• Food Exchange Lists help classify different foods into groups.
• Vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses and legumes, milk and milk based products; fats, oils and meat can all be classified.
• Each group contains foods with similar amounts of carbohydrates, proteins,fats and approximately the same number of calories.
• As the proportion of the nutrients and number of calories is the same, food item in any group can be exchanged or substituted with other food in the same group.
• This provides wide variety in food and diet planning for diabetics. This explains the concept of food exchange.
• But this concept is beneficial only when all the groups work together to supply nutritional needs for good health.

LEAFY VEGETABLES EXCHANGE LIST
These vegetables can be used in any quantity because their carbohydrate and calorie content are almost negligible.

Vegetable Exchange List

ROOT VEGETABLES EXCHANGE LIST
These vegetables provide  Carbohydrates: 10 grams       Calories: 50

Root Vegetable Exchange List

FRUITS EXCHANGE LIST
These Fruits provide       Carbohydrates: 10grams             Calories: 50    

Fruits Exchange List

MILK EXCHANGE LIST
These Milk Products provide Protein: 5grams                Calories: 100

Milk Exchange List

CEREAL EXCHANGE LIST
Within this list one food item can be exchanged with other. A portion of 30 grams each Provides:
                                   

Cereals Exchange List

FAT EXCHANGE LIST
Any food item in this list can be exchanged with another in the same list.
These Products provide  Fat: 11grams              Calories: 100        

Fat Exchange List

LEGUME AND PULSES EXCHANGE LIST
One food item can be exchanged with another in the same list. But it cannot be exchanged with cereal exchange list.
A portion of 30 grams each Provides:

Legume and Pulse Exchange List

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