Tools to Dish Up a Balanced Eating Plan
TOOL #1: Nutrition Facts Panel
You can learn a lot about the foods that you eat by checking
out the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label. Pay special attention
to the Serving Size listed as you may find that you actually eat
more or less than that. If you track calories and/or carbohydrate,
you’ll need to adjust those counts accordingly.
TOOL #2: Portion Estimation – Use Your Hand
A quick and handy way to estimate portion sizes is to use your own
hand for comparison. You’ve always got your hand with you so
you can estimate portion sizes at a glance.
Portion estimates based
on an average woman’s hand size are:
- The palm, not including the fingers and thumb, is about 3 ounces
of cooked,
boneless meat.
- A tight fist is about 1 cup of foods, such as pasta.
- The thumb is about 1 tablespoon of foods, such as salad dressing.
- The thumb tip to the first join is about 1 teaspoon of foods,
such as margarine.
Adapted
from Diabetes Spectrum, vol 12, no 3, p. 177
Since hands do vary in size, ask your registered dietitian or diabetes
educator to help personalize these estimates for
your hand.
Of course, weighing and measuring foods is the most accurate way
to figure out portion sizes.
TOOL #3: More Portion Estimation – Common Comparisons
Another easy way to estimate portion sizes is to use common items
for comparison. Here are a few to get you thinking...
A medium piece of fruit = a tennis ball
A medium baked potato = old fashioned computer mouse
3 ounces of cooked meat = a deck of cards
1 ounce of cheese = 1 domino
TOOL #4: How To Portion Your Plate Properly
Are you trying to figure out how to eat a balanced meal and keep
portions in check? Keep it simple by using this plate example as
a guide. Portioning a 9-inch plate in this manner will help ensure
you get foods from each food group and control portion sizes. Serve
up foods that are a variety of colors to maximize your nutrition.
Your plate should be bright and colorful like a rainbow.
Consult with a registered dietitian
or certified diabetes educator to
learn more about portioning your plate to best control your blood glucose
and weight.
TOOL #5: Glycemic Index & Glycemic Load...Taking It One Step
Further
Many
people with diabetes who
consult
with a registered dietitian or diabetes educator use the glycemic
index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) of foods as tools to help manage
their daily food intake and blood glucose levels.
What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of the effect of the
consumption of food on blood glucose levels. The GI ranks the blood
glucose response of a food on a scale of 0 to 100. High GI
foods (70+) are those that are rapidly digested into small sugar
molecules (mono and disaccharides) and rapidly raise blood glucose
levels after eating. Medium GI foods have indexes of 56 to
69. Low GI foods (55 or less) are digested slowly, releasing
glucose gradually into the blood stream. Dreamfields has a very low
GI of 13.
Dreamfields Pasta has a 65%
lower GI than traditional pasta:
- GI of Dreamfields Pasta = 13
- GI of traditional pasta = 38
The reason for the difference: Dreamfields’ unique fiber and
protein blend protects all but five grams of its 41 grams of carbohydrate
per label serving from being digested. That therefore lessens
its post-meal blood glucose rise as compared to traditional pasta.
While
each food has its own GI, we rarely eat foods alone, but rather with
other foods as a meal or snack. The GI of a pasta dish, for example,
depends on several factors, including how it is prepared, the other
foods eaten with it, the amount consumed, and a person’s individual
response to the food.
Read
about our GI testing procedure (PDF file) >>
What is the Glycemic Load (GL)?
The GL reflects both the type or quality (GI) of carbohydrate and the
quantity of carbohydrate for a serving size of a food.
How Glycemic Load is Calculated
GI/100 x total available carbohydrates = GL
How we determind Dreamfields' Glycemic Load
(13/100) x (41-5) = 4.68 or a GL of 5, as rounded
The GL of a label serving of Dreamfields pasta is equivalent in
value to its digestible carbohydrates. Dreamfields Pasta has a GL
of five, which is equal to 5 grams of digestible carbohydrate per
serving (2 ounces dry or about 5 ounces cooked).
Remember, you can always check your blood glucose 1½ - 2
hours after eating to see how the food affected your blood glucose
levels and if the response was as you expected.
To learn more about the glycemic index and glycemic load, consult
with a qualified health care professional, such as a registered dietitian
or certified diabetes educator.
