Top tips on fats, carbs, calories and diabetes

Eating healthy and losing weight can be an important aspect in managing your diabetes. Your body mass index can help you figure out a little bit more about your weight. These tips will set you on the right track.

Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches, squared. Now divide your weight by this number and multiply your answer by 703. Anything over 25 means you are overweight; a number between 18.5 to 24.9 means a healthy weight.

As far as calories are concerned, women who are trying to lose weight are typically advised to consume around 1,400 calories a day, and men are advised to get 1,600 to 1,800. But when you eat lots of healthy soups, salads, fruits, vegetables, lean meats and filling whole grains, you'll eat plenty, feel full and still consume fewer calories.

For a long time, you've been told that fat is bad for you but current thinking is different. Certain types of fats are absolutely essential to your health and wellness. They are mostly plant-based fats, found in foods like olive oil, avocados and nuts. You want a small amount each day for your health.

The "bad" fats are those that tend to be solid at room temperature and come from animal sources. That would include butter, the skin on chicken and the fat that you see on beef or pork. These are "saturated fats," and people with diabetes should avoid them.

When it comes to carbohydrates it's all about portion control and the type of carbs you eat. Pasta has a notorious reputation. Contrary to popular believe, if wisely chosen, cooked to perfection and served in appropriate portions, pasta is a very good choice for people with diabetes. Here's what you need to know to make pasta work for you and your blood sugar:

• Select whole-grain pasta whenever you can. It's higher in fibre and digests more slowly.
• Don't load it with creamy, cheesy sauces. Instead, pile on the vegetables, tomato sauce or broth-based toppings.
• If you must eat "white" pasta, cook it only to al dente. This way it won’t spike blood sugar the way well-cooked, softer pasta does.
• Pay attention to portion size. An appropriate portion of pasta is just 125 grams.
• Plan to finish eating dinner at least four hours before bedtime to give your body time to digest your meal and use up most of those calories before your metabolism slows for the night.

Diabetes is a condition that you can regulate with your diet so it’s important to know what to eat and how to cook it. These guidelines will help you make the best choices for  diabetes-friendly diet.