MyPlate is a great diet template for diabetics as it makes your choices much easier and more automatic.
What is the “MyPlate” diet?
MyPlate is a dietary plan developed by the USDA to replace the old food pyramid and it’s the perfect template for a diabetic. The emphasis on grains in the old food pyramid has not helped our country in the battle against obesity and diabetes. MyPlate represents a more balanced approach to eating where carbs and protein are eaten in equal amounts with a healthy helping of vegetables.
You basically look at your plate for each meal and snack and make sure that half of the plate is colorful vegetables, a quarter is a protein, and a quarter is a starchy carb. Colorful vegetables mean green, red, and yellow ones like lettuce, peppers, green beans, or tomatoes, not potatoes or corn which would be considered starchy carbs. The carbs would be rice, potatoes, corn, or beans. And protein would be meats, cheeses, and other dairies, or soy. Fat is assumed to be a part of most proteins or a dressing to a salad.
Why is MyPlate the best diet for diabetics?
For example in the US, pasta is eaten as a main dish with a plate full of pasta with some sauce on it that may or may not contain meat. In Italy, pasta is a side dish served with meat and vegetables (perhaps in the form of a salad). The Italian meal is more in line with MyPlate and healthier, especially for a diabetic.
By replacing some of the carbs you would normally eat with protein and fats you become more full. Also, a balanced meal helps to slow down the absorption of carbs into the bloodstream which lowers the blood sugar spikes after a meal. You feel more full with fewer carbs and keep your post-meal sugars lower and thus your average sugars. Keeping your average sugar lower leads to fewer diabetic complications.
The diet is ideal for diabetics
A balanced diet is the idea behind MyPlate. Diets that purposely cut macronutrients are difficult to maintain long-term and are of questionable health benefit. There are docs that recommend the keto diet, where carbs are almost completely eliminated. Others recommend the carnivore diet where even vegetables are minimized. These diets may be good for weight loss, but they are not diets that can be maintained long-term. You need glucose for your cellular energy systems. And you need vegetables for the micronutrients they add to your diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
MyPlate is a livable solution to the dilemma that many face every day of what and how to eat. It can be useful to help maintain lower average blood sugars for diabetics. And it is fairly easy to put in place.