What is Your Diabetes Diet?

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At times I wish I was an expert, then Irealize this is not something you can be educated for nor to bedesired. I enjoy being able to write about many topics and not bechained to an organization or profession. As a patient, I am able toadvocate and write about topics from a patient's perspective,applying what I experience and learn from others. When people thatwant us to believe they are experts, I sometimes need to stop andquestion if they are truly what they want us to believe.
Hence, when I saw this article with thetitle “Diabetes Diet” I had to read it to see what they weresaying. True the title is a misnomer as there is not a diet specificto diabetes. There may be people that think this or want to believethis, but there can only be suggestions that fit us as individuals,that we have found work for us, and what our blood glucose meter saysworks for us. The experts don't want us to use our meters.
This article starts with the properlead-in and is understandable. Let me back up and clarify that. Diet is the word used and we all understand that diets fail. Foodplan is a more appropriate description for what people with diabetesneed. The author starts the second paragraph right and I quote thefirst four sentences. “There is no prescribed diet plan forthose with diabetes. Rather, eating plans are tailored to fit anindividual's needs, schedules, and eating habits. A diabetes dietplan must also be balanced with the intake of insulin and oraldiabetes medications. In general, the principles of a healthydiabetes diet are the same for everyone.”
I may be reading something into the“plan must also be balanced with the intake of insulin and oralmedications;” however, I will try not to think this means that theinsulin or dosage of oral medications determines the amount of foodto be eaten. The last sentence in the paragraph above is whatdisturbs me, and the sentence that follows just confirmed mythoughts.
“Consumption of a variety of foodsincluding whole grains, fruits, non-fat dairy products, beans, andlean meats or vegetarian substitutes, poultry and fish is recommendedto achieve a healthy diet.” Yes, the high carbohydrate, lowfat mantra is again the saying of choice. The individualization ideais thrown out and it is the same one-size-fits-all mantra they havebeen preaching for years. This makes this author no different fromothers.
They all want us to think they arepromoting the individual (platitudes) but they eventually fall back to the sameapproach. The article is downhill after that and I will come backfor another point later. While reading and thinking about thisarticle, I have wondered why in discussing food plans, nothing isever mentioned about blood glucose testing. This would give meaningto the individualization as everyone would be different and foodplans would take on a more individual flair.
Yes, but I keep forgetting about theobvious collusion between government agencies and medicalorganizations and related groups of “experts” and the fraudulentintent of misleading diabetes patients. This lengthy list includesthree (no four) government agencies and four organizations. On oneside is the USDA, which sets the food policy and this, is promoted bythe American Diabetes Association, the American Association ofClinical Endocrinologists, the American Association of DiabetesEducators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. On the otherside are the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and theNational Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention funding studies to prove that patients do not need to testthat often and derive no benefits from testing. The goal ispreventing patients from knowing how foods affect their blood glucoselevels and finding out how bad the advice is, being promoted by our“experts.” This is probably the reason that self-monitoring ofblood glucose is discouraged by the four organizations.
The point that the author makes nextreally makes me vent and rant. It also gives me cause to never beconsidered an expert. I have to quote, “Many experts, includingthe American Diabetes Association, recommend that 50% to 60% of dailycalories come from carbohydrates, 12% to 20% from protein, and nomore than 30% from fat. People with diabetes may also benefit fromeating small meals throughout the day instead of eating one or twoheavy meals. No foods are absolutely forbidden for people withdiabetes, and attention to portion control and advance meal planningcan help people with diabetes enjoy the same meals as others in thefamily.”
The only good advice in the above quoteis about people with diabetes possibly benefiting from eating smallmeals throughout the day. Some of us call this grazing and this doesbenefit many people with type 2 diabetes. I am currently using afood plan of 10% to 20% carbohydrates, 20% to 35% protein, and 45% to60% fat. I am feeling better and all indications show positiveeffects in better diabetes management and lipid panel results.