My mother in law has diabetes and was told to eat small meals through out the day instead of 3 big meals. This way she can keep track and stableize her blood sugar better.

An example of a diet plan for diabetes is as follows:


UPON RISING: A glass of lukewarm water with freshly squeezed lemon juice.




BREAKFAST: Any fresh fruit juice (except banana and mango) a small quantity of whole meal bread with butter and 1 cup of fresh milk.




LUNCH: (a) Bread or chapati (made of wheat, bengal gram, soyabean, barley, or maize)

(b) Salads consisting of carrots, cucumber, radish or cabbage.

(c) Boiled Vegetables: Except potato, arbi, zimitcand, and jackfruit.

(d) 50-100gm of cheese.





TEA( 4-5PM): A glass of fresh fruit or vegetable juice.




DINNER: As of lunch.




AT BED TIME: A glass of warm milk.




AVOID: Sweets, excess spicy, tinned or processed food, cold drink, alcohols, rice.

true - the problem with the big meals is like, with everyone, your levels of everything spike right afterwards as you digest it - it's also encouraged for those seeking to lose weight to do this "grazing" type of eating, spreading it out over the day instead of three specific meals.

I eat several small meals throughout the day. It helps keep my blood sugar in check and it also helps me from over eating at any one meal. By pretty much constantly eating (small meals and snacks) I never really feel hungry. I also exercise so if I do happen to have to much in a day I really don't seem to notice. I always keep a small snack with me too. Like at work, shopping, or out with friends that way I won't have a dip in levels and I won't over eat at the next meal.

That's a nice tip, Star. Molly, that is true. Small frequent meals helps that way. Distributing the calories throughout the day lowers the risk of postprandial hyperglycemia, that is, increased blood glucose levels 2 hours after a meal.

I've always heard about the "small meals" too... how many? Did I hear six? I'm gathering information for a dear aunt who's now facing diabetes after facing the death of her husband just a few months ago. I hope there's *something* I can do or learn here to help her.

Additionally there's a brother in law who has known he's diabetic for quite some time now and decided to basically ignore it until it got way out of control which is where he is now. So I'll definitely be keeping my ears and eyes open on these threads.

Thanks for all the info so far!

- Des

It is safe to say that a day's worth of calories may be distributed into 6-8 meals. Your aunt should learn how to carb count so she would know when she is running high or low on carbs.

Thanks, Joanne. Okay so divide the calories up between those meals... gotcha. I don't suppose she'll want to actually call it a "meal" but it sounds very beneficial.

- Des

I also eat several times a day. I am on the road a lot so instead of stopping off a fast food place I always try and carry snacks with me at all times. Very rarely do I forget to bring something along with me. I hate to be stuck with the only option of fast food and having to resort to something that is horrible for me.

I've found dried fruit to be a good snack along with most trail mixes... of ocurse, it depends on what works for you!