How to read food labels when you have diabetes

When you are enrolled in diabetics’ range your life is completely changed. You must forget your old life with all sweetness and cookies. In these days there isn't a specific diet, but only to care of amount carbohydrates and fat. In my opinion we must learn to live with healthy principles and change as much as possible our routine.
No sweet beverages, especially those made from artificial ingredients, any more fat, cholesterol and sugars. We must learn and practice the new life till the end of our life. First of all, our diabetics’ grocery list must contain natural product, as much as it is possible and less processed products.

One century ago, if you are looking ago, the diabetes cases where less than today. People ate more natural, less and they knew how to cook. That’s right, you can say: “they had more time; today, we have time only for work, not for cooking or children”. But, you have time for TV show.

You can make a delicious meal in only 20 minutes max with a little imagination, a slice of meat, good veggies and fruits! I am not a so bad cooker and I will share with you some of my recipes, of course, the healthy ones, not those of my ancient life. Before the “new life”, as I like to name it, I didn't care about salt, fat or carbohydrates contained in the desired product. Now, I will help you with your groceries.

First thing which I learned in this new stage of our life as diabetics, was how to read the food labels and to choose the rights ones. For example look at this label for macaroni and cheese:

So, for start I look at:

1. how much is a serving? 1 cup, that mean 228g, there are 2 servings in container
2. Calories number is for one serving – less calories, better it is!

Generally, the amount of calories in a food per serving is for a 2,000-calorie diet, so:

·         40 calories per serving is considered low

·         100 calories per serving is considered moderate

·         400 calories or more per serving is considered high

3. "% Daily Value" shows how a food fits into a 2000 calorie/day diet. For diets other than 2000 calories, divide by 2000 to determine the % Daily Value for nutrients.

For example, if you are following a 1500 calorie diet, your % Daily Value goal will be based on 75% for each nutrient, not 100%.  2000 calories represent 100%, 1500 calories = ? %; (1500x100) / 2000 = 75%

• Compare side by side the products and choose the one with a low % Daily Value.
• LIMIT these:

Saturated or transgenic fat – don’t forget the fat will be transformed in glucose by your liver. Fatter you eat, more fat you will store on the belly.

No more than 56–78 grams a day including

no more than 16 grams of saturated fat

less than two grams of trans fat

Cholesterol – cause the narrowing of veins opening and the High Blood Pressure (HBP), stroke, heart disease.

- less than 300 mg cholesterol (for a 2000 calorie diet).

Sodium (mean how much salt per serving) – HBP, stroke, heart disease

Carbohydrates and special the sugars – diabetes

If you look for zero in on sugar content, you could miss out on nutritious foods naturally high in sugar, such as fruit and milk. And you might overdo foods with no natural or added sugar, but plenty of carbohydrate, such as certain cereals and grains. Sugar-free doesn't mean carbohydrate-free! Sugar alcohols contain carbohydrates and calories, too. Sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol aren't necessarily low in carbohydrates or calories.

There isn’t a real “FREE of” product. Here are some of the meanings:

If a food claims to be...	It means that one serving of the product contains...
Calorie free	Less than 5 calories
Sugar free	Less than 0.5 grams of sugar

Fat
Fat free	Less than 0.5 grams of fat
Low fat	3 grams of fat or less
Reduced fat or less fat	At least 25 percent less fat than the regular product
Low in saturated fat	1 gram of saturated fat or less, with not more than 15 percent of the calories coming from saturated fat
Lean	Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Extra lean	Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Light (lite)	At least one-third fewer calories or no more than half the fat of the regular product, or no more than half the sodium of the regular product

Cholesterol
Cholesterol free	Less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams (or less) of saturated fat
Low cholesterol	20 or fewer milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat
Reduced cholesterol	At least 25 percent less cholesterol than the regular product and 2 grams or less of saturated fat

Sodium
Sodium free or no sodium	Less than 5 milligrams of sodium and no sodium chloride in ingredients
Very low sodium	35 milligrams or less of sodium
Low sodium	140 milligrams or less of sodium
Reduced or less sodium	At least 25 percent less sodium than the regular product

Fiber
High fiber	5 grams or more of fiber
Good source of fiber	2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber

If you can’t remember the definitions of all of the terms, don’t worry. You can use these general guidelines instead:

“Free” means a food has the least possible amount of the specified nutrient.

“Very Low” and “Low” means the food has a little more than foods labelled “Free.”

“Reduced” or “Less” mean the food has 25 percent less of a specific nutrient than the regular version of the food.

• Search the dietary fiber be no more than 5%

If a food has 5 grams or more fiber in a serving, is recommended to subtract the fiber grams from the total grams of carbohydrate for a more accurate estimate of the product's carbohydrate content.

4. Total Vitamins and Minerals range must be less than 20%.

Vitamin A
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
vision problems increase susceptibility to infectious diseases	birth defects poisoning can occur when an adult takes several hundred thousand units of vitamin A supplements per day.	Meat, eggs, cheese, milk, cream, kidney, liver, and cod liver oil, all these, except for skimmed milk are high in saturated fat and cholesterol

Vitamin B1
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
fatigue weakness nerve damage psychosis	Excessive consumption of alcohol impairs absorption of this vitamin, which can lead to the development of a disease called beriberi (may affect cardiovascular or nervous system)	Cereals, breads, pasta, lean meats (especially pork), fish, whole grains (especially wheat germ) dry beans, soybean, and peas

Vitamin B3
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
pellagra inflammation of the skin mental deterioration digestive problems	peptic ulcer disease liver damage skin rash even normal doses can be associated with reddening of the skin	Poultry, dairy, fish, nuts, lean meat, eggs, cereals

Vitamin B6
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
convulsions irritability concentration problems sore tongue skin inflammation nervousness memory lLoss muscle weakness anemia depression confusion	neurological disorders weakness numbness	Nuts, beans, legumes, meat, eggs, fish, enriched breads and cereals, and whole grains

Vitamin B12
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
occurs when the body is unable to absorb it from the intestinal tract, which may be caused due to pernicious anaemia (decreased red blood cells) anaemia numbness tingling in the arms and legs weakness loss of balance	imbalance of kidney function  itchy sensation and numbness in different parts of the body  giddiness  headache  abnormal functioning of heart tingling sensation in the body	Beef, poultry, eggs, seafood, and milk and derivatives

Biotin(called vitamin H, is one of the more recently discovered B-complex vitamins)
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
brittle nails and hair hair loss (alopecia) dry scaly scalp or face, especially in infants (cradle crap), and in adults in various parts of the body (seborrhoea dermatitis) mental depression insomnia loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting fatigue or extreme exhaustion muscle pain or cramps nervo-muscular symptoms like seizures, numbness and tingling of arms, legs, hands or feet, and hypotonia (lack of muscle tone) or ataxia (lack of muscle coordination)	Diarrhea There are no reports of significant biotin toxicity, even at doses as high as 100 milligrams	organ meats such as liver, carrots, romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, tomatoes, almonds, raspberries, strawberries, cooked egg yolk, dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt) oats, poultry, salt-water fish like halibut, soybeans,  walnuts, vegetables like cabbage, cucumber, cauliflower, onions, whole grains, yeast

Vitamin C
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
skin spots bleeding gums loss of teeth slow healing wounds depression jaundice death increased risk of atherosclerosis smokers experience higher risk of infection by airborne diseases soft gums	diarrhea face flushing fatigue sleeping problems nausea kidney stone skin rashes mouth ulcers bloating foot cramps joint pains increase the stomach acid increase urination PMS headache insomnia hypoglycaemia	Citrus fruits and juices, green locote, tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, sweet potatoes, papaya, cantaloupe, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, raspberries, red locote, blueberries, and pineapple

Vitamin D
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
colon cancer osteoporosis skin disease joint pain muscle weakness, can be felt in muscle tones and in legs and arms melanin breast cancer weight gain depression sleep disorder	vomiting  weight loss  nausea  general weakness  constipation  nervousness  fatigue  irritability,  dehydration  muscle weakness  malfunction of various organs  heart risk  high blood pressure  complete renal failure for pregnant women can lead to mental retardation of babies.	Sunlight Fish, dairy products, fortified cereals, oysters, margarine, eggs, liver, yolk and cod liver oil

Vitamin E
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
mild anemia neurological deficits (usually untraceable.) reproductive or fertility issues decreased sex drive age spots cataracts fragile red blood cells muscle, liver, or bone abnormalities slow healing processes muscle weakness and fatigue dry hair loss of hair	400 International Units / day or more than that may increase risk of death blurred eye fatigue headache diarrhea weakness	Corn, wheat germ, seeds, nuts, spinach, olives, vegetable oils, asparagus, sunflower, corn, soybean, and cottonseed

Vitamin K
Deficiencies	Overdose side effects	Where find it
when our body is unable to absorb vitamin K from the intestinal tract, which increases the chances of uncontrolled bleeding bruising	Those who take   anticoagulant medications such as Warfarin (coumadin) may have: blood clot stroke jaundice anemia flushing sweating	Cauliflower, cabbage, corn, spinach, soybeans, and other green vegetables

 You should consult with your family physician, dietician, or doctor of naturopathy for accurate of details.