The Nutrient Factors

Often times we would like to find out the nutritional information of a specific food or perhaps analyze a recipe. Nutritiondata.self.com has an extensive database with thousands of foods allowing you a unique opportunity to select a food and query as to it's nutritional values.  By clicking on the food summary, you will see the ever familiar nutritional fact label, breaking down per serving calories and percentage of daily nutritional needs. There are colorful diagrams for Fullness & Nutrition Factors along with a Caloric Ratio. Included in the analysis is a Glycemic Index load and an Inflammation Factor for the food. The final two diagrams offer the visual impact of the percentage of essential nutrients in the form of proteins, fats, and vitamins  and the quality of the essential amino acids. Because this is such a colorful visual presentation, it is very impressive. Click on this link to view the nutritional value of an avocado: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1844/2

Another unique feature of Nutritiondata.self.com is the ability to enter a recipe and find out it's nutritional value. This helps to analyze the breakdown of calories, fats and carbohydrates. After entering your ingredients and the amounts, you can save and analyze the recipe. If you wish to make substitutions at this time you can go back and change ingredients, making healthier substitutions and then view the nutritional changes. Click here to see my (anti-inflammatory) recipe for Chicken Chile: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/2039662/2

A final enjoyable feature of the website is the "Topics" menu offering current articles on: Dieting & Weight Loss, Heart Health, Diabetes, Better Choices Diet, Glycemic Index, Fullness Factor, Fatty Acids, Food Additives, Effects of Processing Foods, Recipes and Nutrition News.

The Nutrition Data website is centered around making wise choices for eating healthier foods. You can choose to track your daily food journal and at the end the day view the complete analysis (as listed above) and see if the foods you are eating are a source of inflammation in your body. You can learn to explore new foods by selecting one of the epicurious recipes and immediately know whether it fits into your food plan or not, by the list of nutrients given with the recipe. You can make food planning fun again by visiting this website and clicking on the various buttons. Enjoy your day by treating yourself to this new tool.

Healthy Meal Planners

So many people with diabetes have trouble knowing how many carbs to eat, which food categories to choose them from and how to keep track of them. Why is this important? Because carbohydrates have the greatest impact on raising or stabilizing our blood sugars. Too much (or too little) sugar in the blood creates huge risks for diabetics. 

I was pretty excited when I found an online guide for a Type 2 Diabetes Meal Planner* (click here). This 2 page* planner shows 1,200 - 2,500 calorie plans with a defined number of exchanges for starches, fruits, milk, vegetables, meat (substitutes), and fats. It also has an extended food list for substitutions. Since I have followed a Weight Watcher plan in the past, food exchanges and substitutions make sense to me. Using the 1500 calorie diet*, I copied the basic guideline into an Excel document and added space for my own choices. (Sorry for the misalignment of the lines - it just won't format correctly in the posting section.)

1500 CALORIE DIABETIC MEAL PLANNER

1200 Calorie                                         1500 Calorie

 Exchanges        SAMPLE MENU      Adjustments          Write Down Your Food Choices

                                                                     (Per Page 1*)                     (Use Page 2* for Food Substitutions)

                                                               

BREAKFAST

1 Starch               1/2 English Muffin     Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

1 Fruit                  1/2 (med) Banana                                _____________________________

1 Milk                  1 pkg Hot Cocoa                                 _____________________________

LUNCH

1 Starch                1 oz Tortilla (6")       Add 1 Starch     _____________________________

2 Meat                  1 oz Chicken                                      _____________________________

                             1 oz Cheese                                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          1/2 cup Green Beans                          _____________________________

1 Fruit                   2" raw Apple                                     _____________________________

1 Fat                     2 Tbsp Lite Ranch Dressing              _____________________________

SNACK

Nothing                (Unless you save an item from lunch)      

DINNER

2 Starches             1/3 cup Rice            Add 1 Fat          _____________________________

                             1 oz Corn Chips                                _____________________________

2 Meat                  2 oz Ground Chicken                        _____________________________

1 Vegetable          Chopped Onion                                 _____________________________

1 Fruit                   1/2 cup Canned Fruit                        _____________________________

2 Fat                     2 tsp olive oil or butter                      _____________________________

SNACK

1 Starch                 3 cups Lite Popcorn                         _____________________________

1 Milk                   8 oz Low-Fat Rice Milk                   _____________________________

GOAL:          Starches: 7        Fruits: 3      Milk: 2       Meats: 4       Vegetables: 2       Fats: 4

YOUR

DAILY          Starches: ___   Fruits: ___   Milk: ___   Meats: ___   Vegetables: ___   Fats: ___

TOTALS

Nutrition is such a complex science. Carbohydrates are found in grains, nuts, fruits, milks and even vegetables. Simple and complex carbohydrates along with fiber play a key role in the management of diabetes. Understanding how to break down the carb count into the various food categories is one thing. Deciphering endless nutrititional information along with controversial food theories of researchers and physicians is quite another. Diabetics must coordinate their food choices along with their insulin dosage or glucose-lowering medications to best stabilize their blood sugars. It's a confusing mess that can leave one with glucose readings which are either too high or too low, and thereby we end up feeling like a failure for getting results which are less than what we strived for. Sometimes we just want to throw up our hands in defeat and hopelessness.

My online research proved difficult in finding a diabetic meal planner with nutritional exchanges. I found this online guide at the Huntsville Pediatric & Adult Medicine Associates webpage. The reviews for this clinic were favorable to outstanding, so I was hopeful this would become a valued guide and useful tool.  

The American Diabetes Association website offers no meal planners or breakdown of food exchanges for carbohydrates. It does define a carbohydrate exchange as 15 grams. The ADA recommends each meal contain 3-4 carb exchanges in the range of 45-60 grams but also says this varies from person to person. The conversion of grams to calories is 1 gram equals 4 calories*. By this general recommendation we would consume somewhere around 180 to 240 calories of carbohydrate per meal. Snacks are suggested to be 4 exchanges or 60 grams of carbohydrate equaling 240 calories.  Taking  into account the 1500 calorie diet would provide 13-16 carbohydrate exchanges equaling 195-240 grams or 780-960 calories.  The carbohydrate servings would make up 52.0-64.0% of the total diet.

My calculation of the "online planner" shows that the 1500 calorie diet includes 12 exchanges of carbohydrate (at 15 grams per exchange) which totals 180 grams or 720 calories, resulting in a percentage of 40.8% of the overall diet. I will check with my nutritionist to see whether I should increase the number of carb exchanges in this planner, and if so, in which of the food exchange categories would this addition be the most beneficial to my health and well-being.

It took a lot of research to get to this point. I'm tired - and perhaps you are too. But if you are a diabetic, I hope this provides some valuable information to you! Thanks for checking in today. Take good care of yourself and keep track of your eating habits and log them in a journal to share with your healthcare provider. Tracking your exchanges gives insight and opportunity to make educated changes.