Diet for Health And Well-being

An information packet on a health-promoting diet and how to incorporate it into daily life is provided below. The composition of one's diet as well as the frequency with which one eats have an impact on one's health. At the same time, eating choices that help to prevent and cure diabetes are also good for heart health.

A regular meal schedule aids in the attainment of a healthy diet. This entails eating every 3-5 hours 4-5 times during the day. Breakfast, lunch, supper, and 1-2 snacks are included in this diet.

Meal rhythms can be set up in a number of ways. The rhythm of a shift worker, for example, may change depending on the shifts. The most important thing is that meal intervals and quantities are adhered to.

Weight loss requires a consistent meal schedule. Weight loss is an important element of the therapy of type 2 diabetes in overweight people. Insulin resistance can be exacerbated by being overweight in a type 1 diabetic. As the time between meals lengthens, hunger can easily become overwhelming.

This makes it difficult to control the amount of food consumed and the rate at which it is consumed, making it easier to consume more food. While hunger remains at an appropriate level, extra mental actions are also avoided. The diabetic also benefits from regularity in managing postprandial blood sugar and coordinating food and medication. Eating often enough during the day also allows for varied eating, such as a pound of vegetables a day - to happen - something small for each meal.

Grease appropriately and from soft sources

Everyone needs fat to fit their diet - however, special attention should be paid to the sources of fat. Soft or unsaturated fat is needed for the normal functioning of the body. Adequate intake e.g. treats cardiovascular health, nourishes the brain and nervous system, and helps prevent memory disorders. Most, at least 2/3 days of fat intake should be soft fat. These include, for example, vegetable oils running at room temperature, vegetable fat spreads, running margarine, nuts, seeds, and almonds. Avocado and fish fat are also soft fats.

Here's how to get the right amount of soft fat every day:

Vegetable fat spread with 60% fat for bread
As a salad dressing or among warm vegetables 1–1.5 tablespoons oil or oil-based salad dressing
2 tablespoons seeds, nuts, or almonds

For example, rapeseed oil, box spread, or bottle margarine as cooking fat

The rule of thumb for choosing any food for everyday use: no more than 1/3 of the fat is hard, or saturated fat. This is easy to check in the package leaflet.

A generous hard or saturated fat intake is a risk factor for many diseases. It impairs insulin sensitivity, so replacing hard fat with soft fat is also a cure for diabetes. The fat composition of the diet is especially important for cardiovascular health. Hard fat is often obtained by so-called. hidden fat. Meat and meat products, fatty dairy products, and pastries are examples of such. Other sources of hard fat are butter and butter spreads. Of the vegetable fats, coconut, palm, and palm kernel oil are also rich in hard fat. Switching, for example, low-fat meat products, dairy products, and cheese is a healthy act. Reducing fat intake also reduces daily energy intake, i.e. promotes weight management.

Trans fats are counted as hard fats. They are obtained in Finland in very small quantities on average and the sources are mainly the same as the sources of saturated fat.

Fiber has been proven to be good

Fiber-rich foods have many health benefits. Fiber prolongs the feeling of satiety that comes from eating, so it helps with weight management. In addition, fiber seems to dilute the energy content of food because fiber does not contain energy, even if it fills the stomach.

Fiber smooths out the rise in blood sugar after a meal. It slows down the absorption of food carbohydrates into the bloodstream, among other things, by slowing down gastric emptying.

Fiber also strengthens the intestines well. It is known to prevent and treat constipation. A high-fiber diet reduces the risk of colon cancer. Good-doing intestinal bacteria also ingest high-fiber reed.

Fiber-rich foods also have other good effects: it prevents type 2 diabetes and helps control cholesterol levels.

On average, Finns get too little fiber from their food. A minimum of 25 g per day is recommended for women and 35 g per day for men. The diabetic benefits from an even greater amount; 40 g / day. Adequate fiber intake is guaranteed by eating a wide range of whole grains and half a kilo, ie 5-6 servings of a handful of plants, berries, and fruit a day. The recommended dose of cereal is 6 servings per day for women and 9 servings per day for men. One serving means one slice of bread or 1 dl serving of rice, pasta or cereal. The porridge plate already corresponds to two portions of cereal products.

Labels help in the selection of fibrous bread. High-fiber bread has a fiber content of at least 6 g / 100 g. Rye bread always contains at least 10 g / 100 g of fiber. The number of high-fiber options is growing all the time and high-fiber white bread is also available in abundance.

The following foods eaten during the day contain a total of 40 g of fiber. The target of 25-35 g will be met even less. The amount of fiber in each serving is indicated in parentheses.

Deep plate (3-4 decilitres) of oatmeal porridge (4 g)
6 pieces of wholemeal rye bread (total 18 g)
2-3 dl warm root bean topping with the main meal (6 g)
2 dl fresh vegetable salad with 2 tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce (3 g)
2 apples, oranges, or pears (6 g)
2-3 dl berries (3 g)

If the bread of the example day had been less fibrous, the difference in the amount of fiber would have been staggering.

Salt in moderation Maintaining heart health is especially important for a diabetic because diabetes predisposes to arterial disease. The treatment of blood pressure, therefore, goes hand in hand with the treatment of diabetes. Moderate, minimal salt use is encouraged. Excessive use of salt also has other side effects, e.g. increases the risk of osteoporosis and gastric cancer.

Sodium is a harmful ingredient in salt. When the diet is varied, no added salt is actually even needed to meet your daily sodium needs. Nevertheless, the recommended intake is a maximum of 5 g of salt per day, equivalent to one teaspoon. This is more of a goal that should be pursued, as Finns get an average of 1.5-2 times the amount of salt in their diet.

The salt should be selected iodinated. However, ensuring iodine intake should not be the reason for high salt intake; iodine is obtained from the diet e.g. dairy products, fish, eggs. For example, iodized salt is currently used in bread. Special salts do not contain iodine but contain the same amount of harmful sodium as regular salt. So they are not a better choice. Mineral salts, on the other hand, contain less sodium and are supplemented with iodine, making them suitable for more heart-friendly cooking.

The taste buds quickly get used to less salt - on the other hand, it also quickly gets used to more salt. At home, you can easily reduce the use of salt in cooking by choosing mineral salt or completely salt-free cooking. Herbs, peppers, lemon juice, vinegar, and unsalted spice blends bring flavor to food. By choosing products with less salt (eg bread, cold cuts) from store shelves, you can also significantly reduce your salt intake. A heart sign directs such choices.

The choice of drinks is also important

Water is the best thirst quencher. Sugar-free and salt-free versions of mineral water suitable for everyday use. Fruit sugar is also sugar. However, sugar-free and artificially sweetened soft drinks and juices are a good choice if water alone doesn’t taste like a thirst quencher. However, sugar-containing juice is needed to treat hypoglycemias. More about the treatment of hypoglycemias here.

Skimmed milk and buttermilk or water are recommended as a food drink. Calcium-fortified herbal milk drinks can replace dairy products. It is good to remember that skimmed milk products also contain energy and are therefore not suitable for thirst-quenching drinks.

About 1 to 1.5 liters of drinks are needed during the day. Physical activity and temperature can increase the need. Coffee and tea are counted in the amount of liquid in the day in addition to thirst drinks and food drinks.

The use of alcohol is not prohibited for anyone with diabetes. Alcoholic beverages are high in energy due to either the alcohol itself or the sugar added to the beverages. Cream-based liqueurs also contain fat. The weight manager should use alcohol with special care. A maximum of 1 single dose is recommended for women and 2 single doses for men. Alcoholic beverages should not be consumed daily.