One of the biggest issues and misconceptions your clients with diabetes may raise is that they need to eat special diabetic foods, or eliminate certain foods and nutrients from the diet—especially dietary fats—in order to lose weight, improve health and manage blood sugar. Yet, simply following a healthy diet and eating pattern, like what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), can be appropriate for this population.
As health professionals, it’s important you help your clients understand the beneficial role good fats can play within a diabetes diet. Among several potential benefits, good fats can help enhance nutrient absorption, and do not raise LDL cholesterol levels.
Good fats include:
- Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs)
- Polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Omega-6 fatty acids
Good fats are predominantly found in:
- Fresh avocados
- Vegetable oils
- Nuts and seeds
Fats to limit include:
- Saturated fats
- Trans fats
Fats to limit are predominantly found in:
- Processed meats or other cuts with higher amounts of saturated fat
- Baked goods and foods that contain partially hydrogenated oils
To help your clients build a healthy diabetes-friendly meal plan, try following the recommendations from the DGA. The DGA recommends replacing saturated and trans fats with small amounts of oils—fats with a high percentage of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats—where possible and staying within calorie needs, rather than adding oil to the diet. Oils are naturally present in foods such as avocados, olives, nuts and seafood.
For instance, substituting a food containing mostly saturated fat on a sandwich with one serving of sliced avocado (1/3 avocado) can help an individual achieve the major dietary goal of reducing the amount of saturated fat in their diet. Avocados are cholesterol and sodium free and more than 75 percent of the fruit’s fat content is unsaturated, making them a great choice to include as part of a balanced meal or snack. In fact, the Hass Avocado Board is supporting research to improve understanding of the unique positive benefits of avocados to human health and nutrition. Clinical studies are currently underway to investigate avocados’ potential positive role in weight management and diabetes.
Science Snapshot
A research study on 11 adults who had an obese parent with type-2 diabetes and were themselves diagnosed as having insulin resistance—two risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes—showed that consuming a diet consisting of 38 percent of calories coming from good fats promoted a reduction in visceral fat, while a low-fat, high carbohydrate intake increased levels of this fat. Emerging research shows elevated levels of visceral fat may increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, therefore a diet containing good, unsaturated fats should be promoted. This is especially important among individuals with diabetes as their risk for heart attack and stroke can be four times as high as individuals without diabetes.
