According
to the European Federation of the association of Dietitians, a dietitian is a
person with a qualification in Nutrition & Dietetics recognised by a
national authority. The dietitian applies the science of nutrition to the
feeding and education of groups of people and individuals in both health and
disease.
There are
several reasons why a dietitian is important and can help you manage your
diabetes. First, since diet is so key to helping you manage your diabetes, a
dietitian can help in this by assisting you devise a meal plan tailored to your
needs. In doing this, the dietitian will ask you how active you are and what
you like to eat. If need be she/he can also make adjustments to the meal plan
if you have taken up or increased the intensity or duration of exercise.
Secondly,
the dietitian will teach you the effective technique of carbohydrate counting,
why it is important and how to track the amount of carbohydrates in each gram
of food. S/he will equally tell you how many carbs is appropriate for you at
meal and snack times so as to enable you keep your blood sugar within the
target range.
Part of
carbohydrate counting entails being able to properly read food ingredient lists
and food package labels. A dietician will also teach you how to do this. This
will enable you make an informed decision for the healthier food on offer.
Again if
you are Type 2 diabetic, a dietitian can help you in the all-important area of
losing weight. Since being overweight is a risk factor for diabetes, losing it
actually improves prognosis for recovery or management. Your dietitian can show
you how to assess the amount of energy you consume in a day through food as
against the amount that you expiate through daily activity.
In
addition, the dietitian will tend towards choosing foods for you that will not
cause big swings in your blood sugar levels. This is will therefore reduce your
chances of becoming either hyperglycemic (having too much sugar in the blood)
or hypoglycemic (having too little sugar in the blood).
The
dietitian can also suggest foods to be eaten and what to do during either one
of these episodes.
In addition
to this, a dietitian can also show you how to monitor your progress by keeping
a food journal and noting the effects of the food you eat on your system.
All of
these when done well will definitely go a long way to helping you effectively
manage and even in some cases reverse your diabetes.
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