Food For Thought

One of the most challenging tasks for someone newly diagnosed with diabetes is learning how to find a good ratio between their intake of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. It can be a struggle to balance the desire for tasty meals with minimizing added sugars, salts and refined grains, adding in non-starchy vegetables and choosing whole foods over heavily processed, prepackaged meals. That’s where collaborating with registered dietitians (RD) and certified diabetes care and education specialists (CDCES) to personalize nutrition, exercise and stress management plans can help. These professionals work with patients to teach them the long-term benefits of blood sugar control and lifestyle adjustments.

On Saturday, March 21, Washington Health registered dietitian Nancy Liu, RD, CDCES, will present a seminar on nutrition therapy for diabetes management. She will focus on creating eating patterns to manage blood glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol, aiming for long-term health and preventing complications of diabetes. One of a team of diabetic educators and RDs at the WH Outpatient Diabetes Education Center, Liu said diabetic education can help prevent, delay or even reverse complications through effective self-management.

“Managing diabetes starts with understanding how food affects your body,” Liu said. “In the seminar, I will offer practical strategies and supportive tools to take control of diabetes through nutrition with a focus on American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) guidelines for medical nutrition therapy, emphasizing flexible, culturally tailored dietary approaches."

Sub: A balanced approach

There are no “good” or “bad” carbohydrates, proteins, salts and fats. Liu teaches her patients the more nutritious options to add to a healthy eating pattern, and helps patients create menus that still satisfy taste buds while balancing blood sugar levels.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ in diabetes management,” Liu noted. “This is why monitoring your diet is so important. Creating a low-carb eating plan can be challenging, especially when taking various ethnic foods into consideration, but learning about the variety of foods you can choose from and add makes it easier.”

Liu helps her patients focus on high-fiber, high-quality, nutrient-dense carbs, while minimizing the use of those with added sugars, fats and salt. She teaches them to be mindful of the type and amount of carbs they eat to maintain a healthy blood sugar level, while preventing complications.

Monitoring and managing carbohydrate intake is a key strategy. She advocates using the plate method as a simple start, where half of the plate is filled with nonstarchy, nutrient-dense vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers or green beans. The other half is divided into lean protein and carbs, such as brown rice, whole-wheat bread, potatoes or beans. The meal is completed by a low-calorie drink, with water being the drink of choice to avoid added sugar.

“This method helps with blood sugar management by controlling portion sizes and balances carbs with vegetables and protein,” she said. “It simplifies the process, so patients who don’t prefer to count carbohydrates can more easily control their intake and allow for cultural preferences.”

Sub: Keys to the kingdom

Healthy eating is the number one key to diabetic self-management.

“It’s important to understand that gradual improvement in daily eating habits, not perfection, is the goal,” Liu explained. “The most important factors are adding more nutritious foods over time, to strive towards a better dietary pattern, and having consistent meal times and carbohydrate intake.”

It’s also important to maintain a healthy level of activity, monitor your food, take medication as prescribed and find healthy ways to cope with stress. Some ethnic groups have a greater predisposition to developing type 2 diabetes, including African Americans, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, so it’s crucial to develop culturally diverse daily eating patterns, adapting food choices with an emphasis on low-fat, low-salt options.

“What we hope to teach our patients is that treating diabetes requires a true lifestyle change.” She concluded, “We want to maintain the pleasure people have in eating foods they enjoy, while also reducing certain foods when indicated by scientific evidence. Our goal is to provide practical tools for developing healthy eating patterns.”

Following Liu’s presentation on Saturday, March 21, Nutrition Therapy for Diabetes Management will be available on the WH video library at www.YouTube.com/@Washington_Health.