The Key to Diabetic Food Exchanges

Managing your diabetic food exchanges doesn't have to be difficult any longer. Most people at first glance feel that food exchanges are extremely complicated but it's not true reality. To start off with you need to know that the food exchange system has three main categories or food groups. They are:

Fats

Protein such as meats, eggs, and cheese.

Carbohydrates

The Carbohydrates Exchange. We'll start with the Carbohydrates group since it's the most common and familiar. You can break this group down further into a few other categories. For instance Carbohydrates can be broken down further into milk/dairy, fruit, and breads/starches and other carbohydrates such as vegetables and sugar. A recipe or meal plan might refer to 3 1.2 carbohydrates, in than case it mean several different types of carbohydrates like those above. You will need to look at a food exchange list for the specific food they are measuring. Thankfully they are listed in every cookbook for diabetics as a standard practice.

Let's take an example that for those 3 /12 exchange you choose 2 slices of bread and a one apple and 1/2 cup of milk. You could have instead had 1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti, or 1 cup of peaches, or been a 1/2 cup of yogurt. Typically a single carbohydrate exchange of bread, milk and fruit provides around 15 grams of carbohydrates. Since a single serving of vegetables only has around 5 grams of carbs, it takes 3 vegetables to take a single carbohydrate exchange.

The Proteins exchange are also broken down into several groups. The protein groups are very low fat, low fat, medium fat and yes, high fat protein. Each protein exchange provides you with 7 grams of protein and varying amounts of fat. You can find the exchanges at the end of each diabetic recipe you use. I's important to track your protein exchanges since very high fat can contribute to heart disease and higher cholesterol. As a diabetic your risk for heart disease, heart attack and stroke may become elevated. As a side note you should also be careful to track your sodium intake, you may find that many foods and ingredients that you use that are low in carbs may be processed foods that are high an sodium and fat which can be harmful to your long term health.

The Fats exchange group has three separate sub categories, one is called saturated fats which you are probably familiar with or have heard about in the past. The others are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. Each fat exchange provides you with 5 gram of fat and approximately 45 calories. In the fat exchange list all exchange are done evenly. For instance a stick of butter for margarine (reduced fat of course), or 1 slice of bacon for a tablespoon of cream cheese.

By learning the food exchanges and using the lists in the back of diabetic cookbooks you'll find you can open up a whole new world of foods, and take the concern and frustration out of cooking. Now when you are missing an ingredient you won't have to scramble or panic. Now you'll be able to spice up your recipes the way you like them.

Even if you decide to just count carbs, it's a good idea to learn the serving sizes of various foods in the exchange. It will help you learn how much food you can eat to get to 15 grams of carbohydrates when no menu or nutritional information is around. This is especially helpful when you go out to restaurants and decide to eat that baked potato, you'll know exactly which exchanges and how many to use. I know it can seem overwhelming, but with a little practice you'll be a pro in no time and perhaps see your condition not as a curse but as a blessing to better health and diet.

Additional Resources on Diabetic Food Exchanges:

Meal Planning Exchange List of Diabetic Exchanges