Managing a Healthy Diet for Diabetes Patients

Series Summary

Diabetes is a disease characterized by the body’s inability to absorb glucose concentrated in the blood. This is a result of low insulin or the body’s resistance to the effects of insulin. Symptoms include increased thirst and urine production as well as blurred vision. Water is not properly absorbed by the kidney, which produces an excess of urine. Other symptoms may include weight loss (in spite of normal eating habits) and chronic fatigue. If not kept in check, diabetes can lead to high blood pressure and thus cardiovascular disease. But with careful monitoring and proper guidelines, people can continue to live full lives.

In this series of healthy living videos from our professional dietitian, you will learn tips to keep diabetes in check. Brenda Thompson tells you how to regulate your blood sugar and control intake of carbohydrates, fiber, protein, fat, sodium and cholesterol. She discusses the food pyramid and how the needs of a diabetic affect the main food groups. Learn about sugar substitutes as well as the glycemic index. Our expert even includes exercise guidelines and gives you suggestions for how to manage your meals while eating at restaurants. Watch these videos and get a thorough overview of diabetes, starting with how to diagnose it and then telling you how to live a full and healthy life if you are a diabetic.

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Brenda Thompson. I'm a registered dietitian and a professional chef. Today, I am going to talk about diet and diabetes. I am a registered dietitian who owns a company called Life Skills Nutrition, and we offer over the phone nutrition consultations. You can find out more about that information on our website. It's very important before you start an exercise or a diet regimen, especially if you have diabetes, to consult your doctor and a diabetes educator, and also a dietitian. In this segment, there are a list of healthcare professionals that you should seek advice for. This segment is only provided for tips on getting started with diabetes. This segment explains what is diabetes. It goes over explaining the digestion process of a healthy individual, as well as somebody who has diabetes. It gives great examples of what carbohydrates, fibers, proteins, sugars, fats, and things like that are. There are some great examples of how to obtain a diet method, and then also incorporating exercise into your diet."