Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy. Hope S. Warshaw

life with diabetes.

Chapter 2

       The Nutrients Big and Small

       What You’ll Learn:

      • a definition of calories and how your body uses them

      • what the big nutrients are—carbohydrate, protein, and fats

      • what the small nutrients are—vitamins, minerals, and water

      As you set out to learn about healthy eating with diabetes and the ins and outs of meal planning, you’ll need to learn a few nutrition basics. Familiarity with these basic nutrition terms will help you understand your diabetes nutrition goals as well as how this book breaks foods into food groups.

       Calories

      Food supplies energy in the form of calories (units of energy), and the body uses calories to function and to move. Your body’s need for calories, or energy, never stops, even when you sleep. The number of calories you need each day depends on many factors. For starters, these factors include your sex, your size, what you do during the day, and how physically active you are outside of your daily activities.

      The calories in foods come from one of three macro—or big-nutrients. These are carbohydrate, protein, and fat. A fourth source of calories is alcohol.

      Your body needs insulin to be able to put the calories you eat to work. Insulin is a hormone that is made in and secreted from the beta cells of the pancreas. If you have diabetes, your body has trouble supplying insulin to your cells. With type 1 diabetes, your body is no longer able to make any insulin. In type 2 diabetes, your body may not make enough insulin to manage your blood glucose (insulin deficiency) and/or may not effectively use the insulin made in the pancreas (insulin resistance). Both situations make it harder to manage blood glucose levels.

       QUICK TIP

      Think of foods as “packages” of varying amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. For example, a slice of bread contains mostly carbohydrate with a small amount of protein. A piece of turkey contains mainly protein with a small amount of fat.

       The Big Nutrients

      Carbohydrates

      Carbohydrates are the main source of calories that provide your body with energy They are your body’s preferred source of energy because they provide energy in a form that’s easy for your body to break down and use. After you eat, your body breaks down carbohydrate into glucose that travels to your blood stream. To help the cells use this glucose, the body normally releases insulin from the pancreas.

      Carbohydrates fall into three general categories: sugars, starches, and fibers. Carbohydrates contain 4 calories of energy per gram. They are the main source of energy that raises your blood glucose levels.

      Carbohydrate Sources

      These foods contain most of their calories from carbohydrate:

      • starches, such as breads, cereals, pasta, and starchy vegetables

      • sugars, such as regular soda, gum drops, and syrups

      • sweets, such as desserts, ice cream, and candy

      • vegetables (nonstarchy), such as lettuce, broccoli, and carrots

      • fruits, such as apples, oranges, fruit juices, and raisins

      • dairy foods, such as milk and yogurt (cheese contains just a small amount of carbohydrate)

      Proteins

      Proteins are a source of calories from foods that provide energy, but unlike carbohydrates, they aren’t your body’s preferred source of energy. Proteins are made up of chains of amino acids—the building blocks of protein. Different sequences of amino acids create different proteins. Once you eat protein, the body breaks it down into amino acids, which are used to build, repair, and maintain the body’s tissues. Protein contains 4 calories of energy per gram.

      Protein Sources

      These foods contain most of their calories from protein:

      • red meats (beef, lamb, pork, and veal)

      • poultry (chicken, turkey), seafood, fish, and shellfish

      • cheese

      • eggs

      These foods contain moderate amounts of their calories from protein:

      • dairy foods, milk, and yogurt

      • legumes, beans, and peas

      • nuts

      These foods contain small amounts of their calories from protein:

      • starches, such as breads, cereals, pasta, and starchy vegetables

      • vegetables (nonstarchy), such as lettuce, broccoli, and carrots

      • fruits, such as apples, oranges, fruit juice, and raisins

      Fats

      Fats are a source of calories from foods that provide energy, but they aren’t your body’s preferred source of energy. Calories from fat are used for energy if the body doesn’t have enough calories from carbohydrate. Insulin plays a role in helping your body store fat in your cells.

      Fat provides a concentrated source of calories at 9 per gram. That’s more than double the calories per gram for carbohydrate and protein. There are four different types of fats—saturated, trans, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Fat-containing foods have varying amounts of these fats. Some of the fat you eat is in the food itself, like the fat in meat, chicken, and cheese. Some fat is added to foods, such as margarine on a potato, cream cheese on a bagel, dressing on a salad, or the fat from oil used in frying.

      Fat Sources

      These foods contain nearly all of their calories from fat:

      • oils (all types)

      • margarine, butter, and cream cheese

      • salad dressings, mayonnaise, and sour cream

      These foods contain many of their calories from fat:

      • nuts and seeds

      • sausage and bacon (regular)

      These foods contain varying amounts of their calories from fat, depending on several factors, such as the cut of meat, whether the poultry is eaten with skin on or off, and whether the food is regular, low-fat, or fat-free:

      • red meats (beef, lamb, pork, and veal)

      • poultry

      • seafood, fish, and shellfish

      • cheese

      • eggs

      • milk and yogurt

      Alcohol

      Alcohol is obviously not a nutrient that the body needs to function, but many people choose to include alcohol in their eating plan. It is important to understand that alcohol contains 7 calories of energy per gram. It falls midway between the calories of energy per gram of carbohydrate and protein at 4 and fat at 9. Clearly, the calories from alcohol can add up. Another downside of alcohol is that the hefty dose of calories provides no nutritional value. You’ll learn more about the use of alcohol with diabetes in chapter 17.

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      Try to limit your consumption of alcohol to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

       The Small Nutrients

      Vitamins and Minerals

      Vitamins and minerals provide no calories. They are contained within foods