Give your food some thought

Diabetes doesn’t mean giving up all the foods you love. But it does mean having to pay attention to how food choices affect your blood glucose. Testing blood glucose before and after meals is a great way to learn what’s working for you. It helps you see if you’re too high on a regular basis — so you can work with your healthcare professional to adjust your eating habits (portion sizes, types of foods, etc.) to help you stay in range.

Discover that staying in range doesn’t have to be boring
• Start by knowing your carbohydrates (carbs) and understanding how much you should eat.

• Carbs are the starches and sugars in food such as grains and fruit. Your body uses carbs for energy, but they raise your blood glucose higher and faster than any other kind of food.

• To keep your blood glucose from going too high it’s important to find the right balance of carbs for you.

How much should you eat?
Your hands can be very useful in estimating appropriate portions. They’re always with you, and they’re always the same size!

When planning a meal, the Canadian Diabetes Association sgests using these portion sizes as a guide:

Grains, Starches & Fruits: Choose an amount up to the size of your fist.

Meats & Alternatives: Choose an amount the size of the palm of your hand and the thickness of your little finger.

Vegetables: Choose as much as you can hold in both hands. Choose low-carbohydrate vegetables (e.g. green or yellow beans, broccoli, lettuce).

Fat: Limit fat to an amount the size of the tip of your thumb.

Milk & Alternatives: Drink up to 250 ml (8 oz) of low-fat milk with a meal.

Did you know?
Testing around some meals can help you see the impact of food and portion choices on your overall blood glucose control.

Target blood glucose levels as recommended by the Canadian Diabetes Association*
	BEFORE MEAL	TWO HOURS AFTER MEAL
Targets for most people with diabetes	4.0 – 7.0 mmol/L	5.0 – 10.0 mmol/L

Normal range
(if it can be safely achieved) 4.0 – 6.0 mmol/L 5.0 – 8.0 mmol/L These targets are intended to be guidelines only. You and your healthcare team should set targets that are specific to you.
• Testing just before a meal can help you decide what to eat and how much.
• Testing two hours after a meal can help you understand if your meal choice helped keep your blood glucose within your target range.
*Canadian Diabetes Association 2003 Clinical Practice Guidelines

Monitoring the effects of your menu choices will put you in charge of what you eat
• How are your results before meals? Are they above or below your target range?

• How much do they rise after a meal?

• Look for patterns. For example, are your results always high after supper but in range after other meals?

Before making any changes in your regimen, talk to your physician or diabetes educator.

With OneTouch® Ultra® just a 5-second test before and after some meals can help you make make better food choices.**

** Test according to your healthcare professional’s recommendation.

OneTouch® Ultra® are trademarks owned by Johnson & Johnson and used under license. AW# 086-552 04/06