Type 1 Diabetes Diet

When someone is diagnosed with diabetes, the first and most important thing that the individual must change is his or her diet plan. Choosing the right food and planning a diet is one of the most difficult parts in managing type 1 diabetes, because there is no specific diet for diabetic patients. Every patient has to follow his or her own unique diet to keep the diabetes in control. However, there are a few common and important points that you can keep in mind when you are planning out a type 1 diabetes diet for yourself or your loved one:

• Type 1 diabetes patients are required to consume insulin at regular periods. The diet plan for type 1 diabetes is meant to maintain the balance between the insulin level prescribed and the blood sugar level, so that the latter stays within the acceptable range.
  
  
• Whole fruits, rather than their juices, are a very effective part of a type 1 diabetes diet plan. The fiber present in the fruit adds to the effectiveness of the citric acid. The best fruits that can be added to the type 1 diabetes diet plan are oranges, grapes or tangerines. However, if you have to add a juice into your diet, make sure that you don't add any additional sweeteners.
  
  
• The portions of food in a type 1 diabetes diet plan need to be controlled in order for the patient to maintain a healthy body weight. Thus, a person suffering from diabetes needs to eat normal three meals a day. Breakfasts have always been considered to be the most important meal of the day, and this holds true especially for type 1 diabetes patients.
  
  
• Along with simple carbohydrates, protein is another very important element that always needs to be controlled in a type 1 diabetes diet plan. This is because if the patient consumes too much of protein, the extra amount will be stored as glucose in the body, which raises the blood sugar level.
  
  
• Each food type has its own level of carbohydrates, and it is important for you to properly assess the level of carbohydrates in them before adding them into your type 1 diabetes diet plan. Reading the nutrition labels of different food packages is a very good idea that you can inculcate in your diet in order to keep your type 1 diabetes in control.
  
  
• Every type of carbohydrate has a glycemic index, which tells you how quickly the carbohydrate can raise your blood sugar. The index ranges from 1 to 100 on an ascending scale of processing speed. Monitoring the glycemic index of the carbohydrates in your type 1 diabetes diet plan can help you keep a check on the intake of sugar into your blood stream.
  
  

A type 1 diabetes diet plan depends on the patient's activity level, gender, age and a lot of other different factors. Type 1 diabetes patients need to consult a good dietician so that they can find out the right type diabetes diet plan for their lifestyle.