Toby Smithson

Some foods are just big-time healthy, and with diabetes so closely connected to food and nutrition, these are the foods you want to incorporate into your daily eating habits.Oats are a whole grain, so they are a great start toward healthy right off the bat.Oats are most noted for bringing a specific soluble fiber called beta-glucans to the rescue.

Much about managing diabetes can be costly, but food doesn’t need to be one of them. A diet that’s right for diabetes is a diet that’s right for virtually anyone, and there are enough foods that fit the bill for blood glucose control and heart health that your budget can remain flexible, and your choices are still many.

An elevated body mass index (BMI), where body weight to height falls into the overweight, obese, or even higher category on that scale, is very common among people with type 2 diabetes, and it isn’t just a coincidence. Excess weight is a distinct risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, and excess weight makes blood glucose more difficult to control after diabetes is diagnosed.

Healthcare professionals could probably put together a list of 1,000 myths and inaccuracies surrounding diabetes, and new ones pop up regularly in patient interactions. Nutrition inaccuracies may not rise to the level of mythical, but in this information age there is a self-proclaimed expert around every turn.

Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile diabetes and as insulin-dependent diabetes, is what many people think of as real diabetes. The familiar image is one of an exceptionally thin child taking insulin injections, and that’s a fairly accurate image. Type 1 diabetes does tend to occur at a younger age, and insulin injections are a routine part of having type 1 diabetes.

Cholesterol is the C in the diabetes ABCs, but this subject can be a little complicated. Cholesterol is essential for a number of cellular functions, playing important roles in building and maintaining cell membranes, synthesizing bile for fat digestion, manufacturing vitamin D, and building certain hormones. Cholesterol is ferried around in your bloodstream by special carriers called lipoproteins, and these lipoproteins come in assorted varieties.

Eat more whole foods for a diabetes-friendly meal plan. Whole foods is a term often defined as unrefined and unprocessed foods, or foods that are refined or processed as little as possible before consumption. Frankly, terms like processed, natural, organic, and even whole can be confusing, and because you hear them used in many different ways it’s best to think about examples.

The advertising behind sports drinks is slightly different than for soft drinks. Sports drinks actually do provide benefits in carbohydrate replacement and in electrolyte replacement. But the need to quickly replace carbohydrates and electrolytes comes as a result of intense exercise. If you’re not a marathoner, or participating in some other high intensity exercise for an hour or longer, chances are that you don’t need a sports drink.

One trick to eating healthier is keeping diabetic-friendly choices available at all times. You can fight the urge to hit the fast-food drive-through and instead whip up a convenient and healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack if you keep the right foods handy. Some healthy foods to always have on hand in your pantry include: Olive oil or canola oil for healthy, unsaturated fats Egg substitute for the high-quality egg white protein without the fat and cholesterol Frozen fruits and vegetables for healthy choices at every meal Herbs and spices, fresh or dried, to replace salt with intense flavors Whole-grain, high-fiber tortillas for sandwich-like lunches without the full amount of carbohydrates in bread Canned tuna (in water) to have healthy seafood available anytime — aim to eat seafood twice each week Almonds, walnuts, or peanuts for healthy fats Black beans (or your favorite beans) for healthy carbohydrate, protein, and soluble fiber Buy no-added-salt varieties of canned beans Low-fat dairy products, including 1 percent or skim milk, and no-fat regular or Greek yogurt.