Think Before You Eat: 15 Foods to Avoid with Diabetes

Think Before You Eat: 15 Foods to Avoid with Diabetes
I'll be showing 1 of the 15 foods to avoid for the next 15 days along with an healthier alternative recipe. Another of many great artcles and recipes from one of my favorite web sites, Diabetic Living On Line.

Think Before You Eat: 15 Foods to Avoid with Diabetes

By Lori Brookhart-Schervish
These top food offenders contain high amounts of fat, sodium, carbohydrate, and calories that may increase your risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, uncontrolled blood glucose, and weight gain. The good news is you can indulge in your favorite foods and still eat healthfully with our satisfying and delicious alternatives.

#2 Hamburgers and Chicken and Fish Sandwiches

Big, cheesy hamburgers, and fried chicken and fish sandwiches can be high in saturated fat, the leading factor in high cholesterol levels. However, there is no need to cut out saturated fat completely -- the American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat to 7 percent of your total daily calories.

Most restaurant chains post their nutrition information online or at their business locations. It's a good idea to check out a restaurant's web site before eating there so you'll be better prepared to make smart food choices. If a restaurant's nutrition information isn't available, ask the staff about lighter menu options.

Here's a look at the nutritional breakdown for a basic hamburger from three fast-food chains:

Burger King*
291 calories
12 g total fat
5 g saturated fat
554 mg sodium
30 g carbohydrate
33 mg cholesterol

Hardee's*
310 calories
12 g total fat
4 g saturated fat
560 mg sodium
36 g carbohydrate
35 mg cholesterol

McDonald's*
250 calories
9 g total fat
3.5 g saturated fat
520 mg sodium
31 g carbohydrate
25 mg cholesterol

*Nutrition information from restaurants' Web sites


Healthy Tips for Hot Dogs and Hamburgers

Yes, you can enjoy hot dogs and hamburgers on your diabetic diet. Just follow a few tips and tricks, and start enjoying these barbecue favorites guilt-free.

By Hope S. Warshaw, R.D., CDE
Social Staples

During warm-weather months, your social calendar is likely to be sprinkled with cookouts, visits to street fairs, and pool parties where the grill is a-sizzle. And the main course, of course, is hot dogs, sausages, or hamburgers.

"Nothing tastes better than a hot dog downed during an inning of baseball or a brat at the Polish polka festival," says Patti Urbanski, M.Ed., R.D., CDE, a dietitian and diabetes educator at the Duluth Family Practice Center in Minnesota who also has type 1 diabetes. Fortunately, you can relish these rituals without ruining your diabetes meal plan.
Where's the Beef?

Hamburger meat, by government standards, is fresh or frozen ground beef without anything else added and can contain no more than 30 percent fat by weight. At the supermarket, hamburger meat is labeled with its percentage of lean meat and percentage of fat, such as 80/20 or 93/7. Not so at a friend's barbecue or a ballpark grill. Here are some good rules of thumb:

    * A 3-ounce serving of cooked meat is just right -- there's no need to pile on extra patties or order a large burger unless you share.
    * Get your hamburger cooked how you like it (as long as the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F for safety) because the fat content doesn't differ much based on doneness.
    * Spread condiments gingerly, but feel free to use a generous amount of this low-calorie flavor enhancer: mustard.