0:01 hello and welcome to interior health's adult type 2 diabetes video series my name is jackie and i am a registered dietitian and diabetes educator this video is about nutrition basics and healthy eating for diabetes just a few reminders as you watch this video series we encourage you to watch the videos in order and just remember you can go back and watch the videos as often as you'd like fraser health on the road to diabetes health is a great resource to accompany this video series and remember you can pause the video at any time if you would like to spend a little bit more time reviewing the
0:47 information we would like to acknowledge that our work occurs on the beautiful traditional ancestral and unseated territories of the first nations of the interior region we also recognize the metis nation and the contributions of the metis peoples to the indigenous ways of being and knowing on this land today we're going to discuss the basics of nutrition and diabetes what are carbohydrates how do other foods affect your blood sugar and finally some ideas around meal planning and portion sizes let's get started
1:33 remember that diabetes is a condition in which your body cannot properly use and store food for energy the fuel that your body needs is called glucose which is a form of sugar when you have diabetes keeping your blood sugar levels within a target range is important you'll need to work with your doctor to set a blood sugar range that's right for you now let's look at this chart about how food affects blood sugar if you would like to spend longer looking at this chart remember you can pause the video or view the chart in the on the road to diabetes health booklet which is a resource we recommend to accompany this video
2:18 as you can see on this chart the left side are foods that increase your blood sugars and on the right are foods that have little or no increase to your blood sugars so let's look a little bit more closely at the sections together carbohydrates or carbs as many people call them are what cause your blood sugar to rise the most tortillas rice potatoes corn and beans are all examples of foods that are high in carbs other high carb foods include fruits milk and yogurt and sugar sweetened foods and drinks [Music] even though carbs raise your blood sugar that doesn't mean you can't eat them
3:04 it just means that you need to eat the right amounts at the right times in another video we will help you figure out how many carbs to eat each day you'll also learn how to balance your carbs among your meals so that you don't eat too many at one time not only can this help you feel better it also helps prevent future problems with your eyes nerves heart kidneys and other parts of your body let's first talk about some strategies to choose our carbohydrates foods high in fiber may help you feel full and may lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels try to choose carbohydrates that are high in fiber such as whole grain breads and cereals lentils dried beans and peas
3:52 brown rice and fruits vegetables are also an excellent source of fiber a good amount of fiber to aim for is 30 to 50 grams per day it is important to remember that when choosing your carbohydrates you should limit the amount of sugars and sweets such as regular pop desserts candies jam and honey as the more sugar you eat the higher your blood sugar will be artificial sweeteners may be useful substitutes if you find it difficult to limit your sugar intake now that you know which foods contain carbohydrates and how they affect your blood sugar let's talk about the other foods found on this chart first let's look at protein
4:40 protein foods break down into only small amounts of glucose when you include protein foods with your carbohydrates it helps to slow down how fast the glucose is absorbed so we sometimes say that it helps to stabilize your blood sugars although some types of fat are important to include in our nutrition plan you may also need to limit the amount of high fat food you eat such as fried foods chips and pastries as high fat foods may cause you to gain weight a healthy weight helps with blood sugar control and is healthier for your heart
5:26 now let's talk a bit about vegetables the good news is that most vegetables won't increase your blood sugars so you can eat as much as you want the only exceptions are the starchy vegetables like potatoes corn yams and sweet potatoes those are now considered carbohydrate foods and you will want to watch the portions of these lettuce cucumber onions mushrooms broccoli cauliflower bell peppers and zucchini these vegetables will not only help keep you full they offer many important vitamins and minerals to your diet as well as fiber the last section on this page are the extras water
6:12 plain coffee or tea and diet pop will not cause your blood sugars to increase now that we have discussed foods and how they affect your blood sugars let's move on to discuss other basic tips for healthy eating and diabetes meal timing can play a big role for healthy eating and diabetes try to aim for eating three meals a day and spacing meals no more than six hours apart this is because eating at regular times helps your body control blood sugar levels we will talk about snacks later but keep in mind that not everyone needs to eat snacks but for some people they can help
6:58 with keeping your blood sugar stable if you tend to space your meals far apart now that we know how specific foods affect our blood sugars let's review a few strategies to understand portion sizes and what a balanced meal looks like when you have diabetes using the plate method can make healthy eating something you do and not something to count the plate method helps you find the right balance of carbohydrate protein and fat that can help you keep your blood sugar at a target level the plate method is a way to build your plate with food it uses healthy portion sizes of foods you like to create a meal that's balanced for your health
7:44 your plate should be about 9 inches or 22 centimeters across this may seem smaller than you're used to but you get to fill it up now let's check what's on the plate a healthy plate has balance about 50 percent is non-starchy vegetables 25 percent is protein and 25 are starchy vegetables or breads grains or even fruit or yogurt here's what that means put the non-starchy vegetables such as a green leafy salad or broccoli on half the plate the protein like eggs chicken fish or tofu goes on one fourth of the plate and the other fourth
8:30 put a grain like brown rice or a starchy vegetable like corn or some sweet potato [Music] maybe you're wondering if you will still be hungry for some people you may be able to add more carbohydrates to this meal but try to choose a variety of carbohydrates for example if you eat rice with your meal then you can add a piece of fruit or milk or dairy alternative another tool you can use to measure portions are your hands the size of your hands can help determine the right portion for you so make a fist and have a look this is the right portion for you when choosing your carbohydrates whether it is rice pasta or fruit
9:16 next look at the size of your palm without considering your thumb or your fingers this is a good serving of protein food like meat chicken or fish consider the thickness of your protein to be the same as the thickness of your little finger your thumb tip one to two thumb tips is the added fat this would be salad dressing gravy mayonnaise or butter the great news here is look at your hands all your two hands can carry that's how much non-starchy vegetables you can aim for at your meals so there are two simple ways to look at serving sizes to help you build healthy meals thank you for watching the nutrition
10:02 basics video we hope that this video has given you some ideas to get started on managing your diabetes with nutrition we encourage you to view the remaining videos for more information about living well with type 2 diabetes
