Diabetics who follow a diabetic diet can greatly increase their quality of life, and in certain cases even reverse the disease. If you're a diabetic then it's wise to cut the amount of fats and carbohydrates you consume.

The diabetic diet can help people who suffer from both major types of diabetes. Type I, called juvenile diabetes, is often diagnosed in children while type II usually starts in adulthood and is more common. With type I diabetes the body produces overly low levels of insulin, while with type II the problem is with cells that don't absorb insulin. A diabetic diet addresses both types, but type II can actually be avoided or reversed with the proper diet.

The diabetic diet revolves around maintaining an ideal body weight. It's easy to calculate ideal body weight for men or women. In females it starts with 100 pounds at five feet, then adds five pounds for every inch over and subtracts five pounds for every inch under five feet. At 5'6" a woman's ideal body weight is 130. Males begin with 106 pounds at five feet and add 6 pounds for every inch over five feet. So for a 6 foot tall man ideal weight would be 178 pounds.

Many people have different opinions on the perfect diabetic diet, however some general elements are in common. For type I diabetics, the ideal diet includes about 16 calories per pound. As an example, someone who weighs 170 pounds would eat 2720 calories daily. Type II diabetes requires approximately 1500 to 1800 calories per day for loss, then differing amounts of calories to maintain ideal body weight.

In a general a diabetic diet carbohydrate intake should be about 50% of the daily caloric intake. Some argue that less carbohydrates are better, but there are advantages to cutting down the fat. People who avoid saturated fats, even if they take in overall more mono and poly unsaturated fats, also do well.

Diabetic diet control Type2 diabetes is one of the most common health conditions we see in the society today. A number of reasons lead to the development of diabetes. These include:

A family history of Type 2 diabetes

Obesity or being overweight

Lack of sufficient physical activity

Unhealthy eating patterns