Diabetic low salt diet?

[Spinning]

HELP! Quick! my FIL is getting out of the hospital and going to spend some time with us. He is on a low salt diabetic diet. This is all new. I don't have a problem with the low salt. That is fairly straight forward. But the diabetic diet? I know so many foods break down to sugar...any links? recipes? Help!

 

[piratesmate]

This is the "new" way of doing it:
http://gaga.essortment.com/carbcounting_rgkn.htm
I still do the old way - with counting servings of fat, carbs, protein/meat, etc.
www.perinatology.com/Nutrition/EXCHANGE LIST.pdf used with http://adam.about.com/reports/000042_5.htm

I find it easier to control my blood sugar when I make simple meals (everything separate) from scratch. But I'm a type I on an insulin pump. The whole carb counting thing is easier to do & allows more freedom to use prepared/packaged foods. Because it's easier to DO more people stick with this diet & in the long run have better blood levels.

I don't use "special" recipes - we all eat the same things here. We don't do dessert (except for company) etc. To me it's not much different than the way my mother cooked with the exception of the casseroles. (Those can be done in individual servings with the way I do it.)

 

[pumba]

a few weeks ago they put them basically on a low carb diet vs a diabetic diet ....it works out well and she did good on that one.......she is at an assisted living home and it is hard sometimes....so they do the sugarless stuff too but some nights she has to have more of the sugars and carbs to balance out her blood testing
Don't worry and all will be okey........we use a salt sub anyways and or do not cook with salt......no processed foods or ham or bologna and stuff like that.
low amounts of corn, or carrots, or peas ......these are carbs...good luck

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

That first link Piratesmate gave you is a good one. And if you have time and the inclination you might stop by a bookstore and see if the have the American Diabetic Association's book with all the breakdowns. It is a little green covered book with foods listed by category - even processed foods in there. I picked this up when I started eating moderated carb to lose weight by counting carbs. It is great. Sorry it is at home and I can never remember the exact title.

The biggest thing is that a lot of what we tend to think of as veggies are really starches and thus break down in to glucose in the system.
Deb

 

[Spinning]

Thanks everyone! The nurse is coming out tomorrow to check on him and i will find out exactly what he can and can not eat. I am basically doing the low carb thing and stuff from scratch...UGH! I really don't enjoy cooking!

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

If you see this before you see the nurse, the question to ask her is how many carbohydrates a day are they basing his treatment on. Once you have that the best approach is to break it over 3 meals and 3 snacks

Example:

Breakfast 30 grams
morning snack 15 grams
Lunch 30 grams
afternoon snack 15 grams
dinner 30-45 grams
bedtime snack 15 grams

That would be for around 1200 calories a day with protein, veggies, etc added in so if they aren't doing weight reduction it would be higher, but gives you an idea. This was the plan the nutritionist gave me in 2003 when we laid out a weight loss plan, and when my mom, who had been a really diabetic for years, started to follow it - her levels became relatively steady.

But bottom line is to understand what his health care group has planned. The nice thing about this newer approach is that you can actually balance things a little better with the use of some packaged items - although the low sodium consideration is a bit of a problem there.

GOOD LUCK!
Deb