What's in Food
The food we eat is made of six nutrients:
- carbohydrate
- protein
- fat
- vitamins
- minerals
- water
These nutrients feed your body and keep it healthy. Three of the
nutrients; carbohydrate, fat and protein, have calories and will affect your
blood sugar levels.
What is carbohydrate?
Starches and sugars in the food are called carbohydrates. Milk and
fruit contain sugar. Rice, cereal, bread, pasta and vegetables all contain
starch. All carbohydrate will turn to sugar in your blood. If you eat a
lot of carbohydrates at one time your blood sugar will go up. If you
spread the carbohydrates out over all your meals and snacks, your body can use
the sugar more easily, and your blood sugar levels will be more even.
Table sugar and foods made with sugar (cakes, candy, pies, cookies, soft
drinks) have very few vitamins and minerals and are high in calories. If
you limit these foods it will make your blood sugar easier to control and help
keep your weight down.
What is protein?
Protein is another nutrient in food. Protein is used to build and
repair muscles, skin and every cell in the body. Some protein will turn to
sugar, but much slower than carbohydrate. Protein is in
- meat
- dried beans and peas
- fish
- chicken and turkey
- milk and dairy
What is fat?
Fat is a nutrient that will give energy. Fat carries some vitamins,
helps keep skin healthy and ads flavor to the food. Fat takes the longest
to break down. Only a little of fat will change to sugar. Fat helps
you feel full longer after a meal.
Fat is found in
- margarine and butter
- oils
- dairy (cheese, milk)
- nuts
- meat
- peanut butter
- gravy
There are two main problems with eating too much fat. First, fat is
very high in calories, so eating too much will cause you to gain weight.
Second, some fats will increase your cholesterol which will clog your arteries.
This does happen sooner in people with diabetes.
What are the different kinds of fat?
There are three kinds of fat:
- saturated fat
- polyunsaturated fat
- monounsaturated fat
All fats are high in calories, but the saturated fats can clog your blood
vessels and increase your risk of heart disease. You can tell saturated
fats because they are usually solid at room temperature. They are in foods
that come from animals, meat, cheese, eggs, milk and butter. Some
vegetable fats are saturated too, examples are coconut oil and solid vegetable
shortening.
Other plant fats are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are found in corn,
safflower and soybean oils as well as in walnuts and sunflower seeds. The
polyunsaturated fats do not clog the blood vessels so much.
Monounsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and get thick when cold.
It is found in olive and canola oil and in peanuts, almonds, olives and
avocados. Monounsaturated fats do not clog the blood vessels and may help
to unclog them.
When you plan your meals,
What about vitamins and minerals?
Vitamins and minerals are nutrients that do not have calories and do not
break down into sugar. These are needed to keep your body running healthy.
Vitamins are small powerful nutrients. Your body needs many different
vitamins. Vitamins are used to
- heal cuts
- fight infections
- keep skin, nerves and eyes healthy
- help you break down and use protein and carbohydrate
Minerals are nutrients that help keep your body strong. Minerals are
important for
- building and repairing teeth and bones
- breathing and heart beating
- blood clotting
- keeping a proper balance of water in the body
Minerals and vitamins are found in most of the food you eat. If you eat
a variety of different foods you will not need to take a special supplement.
But many women will need to take extra iron and calcium.
What is fiber?
While fiber is not really a nutrient, it is an important part of the food you
eat. Fiber forms the shape or structure of plant foods, and the
outer husk. Fiber is not digested.
It is in foods like fruits, vegetables,
grain and nuts. The more unprocessed the food is the more fiber it
will have.
It is sometimes called 'roughage' and helps prevent constipation. High
fiber foods will help you feel full when you eat. There are two kinds of
fiber.
What are the two kinds of fiber?
Water-soluble fiber will dissolve in water and swell like gelatin. This
will help lower cholesterol and may slow down how fast sugar moves into the
bloodstream. Oatmeal, oat bran, dried beans and fruit have the most
water-soluble fiber.
Water-insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and gives bulk and helps
keep your bowel movements regular. Good sources of water-insoluble fiber
are whole wheat and wheat bran.
Both kinds of fiber has health benefits.
Most foods that are high in fiber have some
of both kinds.
What are some ways to eat more fiber?
- Instead of plain white bread and buns go for the whole-grain bread. Eat
oatmeal, oat bran and other bran cereals. Try adding oatmeal to dishes like
meatloaf. Sprinkle oat bran on yogurt and in casseroles.
- Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables with the peeling (or skin) on. Go
for fruit instead of fruit juice.
- Use beans more often as a side dish.
The fiber supplements can be ok for constipation but may not have the other
health benefits of fiber in the foods.
Does eating fiber cause any problems?
When you start eating more fiber you may have more gas, cramps or even loose
bowel movements. If you increase your fiber intake slowly this should be
mild. If you do not take in enough water the fiber may actually cause
constipation.
Why are fluids important?
Fluids and water help your body get rid of waste and help prevent
constipation. When your blood sugar is high you will loose more water
because you will need to urinate more often. So you are really drinking
more because you are urinating more, not the other way around.
So you can see that when you plan your meals and snacks you need to balance
the carbohydrates, fats, proteins and calories to keep your blood sugar in
range.