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In grade school everyone was taught the actual food pyramid and the various food groups that
make it up.  It is actually recommended for a balanced and healthy diet to vary your diet plan and
stick to the food helping suggestions in the pyramid.  As adults, individuals rarely spend as
much heed into it if any kind of at all.  But after you have been identified as having diabetes it is time to
take a refresher program on the various food groups.

There is a food pyramid that is available specifically for diabetics known as the Diabetes
Food pyramid.  It is split into six food groups similar to the standard version.  The way
both pyramids differ would be that the diabetic edition lists meals together that have the same
or even similar carb content rather than the regular edition that does it by food groups
alone.  This construct makes it easier with regard to diabetics to create food choices based on
information that may have a damaging impact on blood glucose levels.

A few of the differences you will notice are that cheese is positioned in the beef group
instead of the dairy team as a proteins and the serving size will be equal to other
proteins in the same group.  You will discover starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn within
the breads and grains section because they act in the same way by increasing blood sugar.

Another distinction is the real serving sizes, especially in the actual bread as well as grains team.  A
diabetic person has to monitor the carbohydrate intake each and every meal and contains been discovered that
smaller portion sizes are a good way to manage this.

You can aquire a copy from the Diabetic Food Pyramid from your diet professional, doctor, or diabetes
instructor.  It is a good reference material to possess on hand when you plan your
meals. Get more recipes at http://diabeticdietzone.com/.



When you use a free carbohydrate counter, there are several things that you need to keep in mind. The most basic charts are typically a listing of food items and how many carbohydrates are in certain serving sizes of those foods. However, aspects such as calorie intake and fat intake are often neglected on the free carbohydrate counter. While some diets only care for carbohydrate counts, it is your responsibility to make sure you are providing your body with the nutrients that it needs to function properly.

While many of the carbohydrate based diets focus only on the carbohydrates, calorie consumption, fat consumption, and vitamin consumption should also be watched. However, as the base for a carbohydrate diet is the removal of carbohydrates, these factors are almost always removed from the education about the diet. When you use your free carbohydrate counter, try to remember that no matter which diet you are on, you want to lose weight and still be healthy.

In order to get the most use of your free carbohydrate counter, there are several things you want to do. First, every food item that you consume should be checked against the free carbohydrate counter to see just how many carbohydrates you are consuming. Most counters are done by gram, which is accordance with most carbohydrate based diets. A good free carbohydrate counter will include all common sources of food. However, it is also important to recognize that even the more advanced counters may not have all of the food items that you consume.

If you want to make the most of a free carbohydrate counter, you need to record every single type of food you eat and get a carbohydrate count from those foods. If you have a cheeseburger, you will need to count the carbohydrates from the bun, the meat, the cheese, as well as any other condiments that you have on the burger. The more pieces to an item of food, salads included, the more work that you may have to do. In some cases, restaurants may include counts of carbohydrates to make it easier on you. In others, particularly higher end restaurants, you will have to do your best to consider the different foods you are eating.

A free carbohydrate counter is only useful if you are consistent in tracking the amounts and types of foods that you eat. If you want to succeed at your diet, you need to maintain your dedication and put in a lot of effort.