Diabetic food pyramid

[Momof4gr8kids]

For those of you that do not restrict carbs, do you understand the sense of following the diabetic food pyramid?
Julia has never been restricted on the total amount of carbs eaten daily, or at meal and snack times.
The diabetic food pyramid is basically the same as the normal food pyramid except the grain/starch group is larger. Beans, legumes, peas, corn and potato are added here because they are about equivalent to a slice of bread in the amount of carbs they have.
I understand how this would benifit someone who had to watch carb intake and not go over a certain amount for their diet, but I do not understand it otherwise. I don't use it to count carbs (it seems to mimic the diabetic exchanges) so it is in no way helpful for that.
The servings on it is 6-11 with a reminder added in that most people eat closer to 6 then to 11. So nutritionally a potato is high in vitamins that other veggies are, and beans are a protein and a good source of it.
So whats the sense?
We did a project tracking food choices over the holidays and printouts of the food pyramid. I didn't make Julia use the diabetic pyramid because I thought it would be to confusing for her. I think I am going to stop using the diabetic food pyramid when planning meals. It just doesn't make sense to me to do so. I'm going with the everybody food pyramid instead.

[Isabelle's Mom]

Funny, I had forgotten that there was a Diabetes Food Pyramid! From the ADA website:

"The Diabetes Food Pyramid is a little different than the USDA Food Guide Pyramid because it groups foods based on their carbohydrate and protein content instead of their classification as a food. To have about the same carbohydrate content in each serving, the portion sizes are a little different too. For example: you will find potatoes and other starchy vegetables in the grains, beans and starchy vegetables group instead of the vegetables group. Cheese is in the meat group instead of the milk group. A serving of pasta or rice is 1/3 cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ½ cup in the USDA pyramid. Fruit juice is ½ cup in the Diabetes Food Pyramid and ¾ cup in the USDA pyramid. This difference is to make the carbohydrate about the same in all the servings listed...
...The Diabetes Food Pyramid makes it easier to remember what to eat."

I think that you, and probably most of the parents on this board, are beyond using this food pyramid as a guide. Maybe a bit more useful for Type 2's. We just do our best to eat three square meals a day and have somewhat healthy snacks (easier said than done with a toddler!).

We don't restrict carbs, either, though I think we tend to eat a bit lower carb than the average family, even before D.

[Lee]

I don't really go by the D Food Pyramid. I do try and ocunt my D's servings of fruits, veggies, and dairy, and that is really about it. I think that pyramid was meant more for Type 2's and is geared and doing the food exchange, like you suggested. So, 1/3 a cup of pasta is 15 Cs instead of 1/2 a cups being around 25ish (don't go by my #'s since I don't have my handy dandy calorie king book out!) So, that 1/3 c of pasta is 1 carb exchange...makes it easier if you do the exchange system, but most of us just ocunt the total carbs, becasue come on - what kid only eats 1/3 a cup of pasta!

[Boo]

Forgive my ignorance, I am not familiar with the "diabetic food pyramid". When you say that the grain/starch group is "larger" do you mean that it suggests more servings per day from that group, or do you just mean that it includes a wider variety of foods? (I assume the second)

I don't pay too much attention to that (obviously). I think most people (Americans at least...my own family included) are so carb-loaded it's ridiculous. I'm not advocating a "low-carb" or "high protein" diet, I'm just saying that portion control these days has completely gone out the window, and our children are growing up thinking that a Panera bagel is a normal serving size. (When in reality it probably counts for about 4 "serving sizes").

I think the "everybody pyramid" (as you say ) is fine to go from when planning your meals.

[Momof4gr8kids]

Beth, I meant that the grains had robbed the other groups and there is more variety
When Julia was dx'd I was handed a sheet with the diabetic food pyramid, and briefly told that the only differences was that potato, corn and peas were not vegetables any more. Since I count my kids fruit/veggie servings per day, and their dairy, I actually want it based on nutritional content, however for the longest time I have blindly used potatos and peas and corn as a free. It is neither. An extra serving of which ever because who really cares if their child eats 6 servings of fruits and veggies instead of 5? However some meals are extremely odd because it is like there are 4 veggies on the table through the regular pyramid, and there are 3 or 4 grains by the diabetic pyramid depending on how many grains I chose to serve that are normally grains.

I am glad that there are others that don't go by this. I really didn't want to get stoned.

[Mary Lou]

You know -- I also had completley forgotten there was a diabetic food pryamid and I've always been very careful in what we eat.

We follow the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension) at the suggestion of our nutritionist. I love it, to be honest. It's easy. They have a "pyrimid", too, but it is based on fruits and veggiesand some other things are different from the standard one. I don't know how it compares to the "diabetic" one. Overall, DASH is very close to how we were eating beforehand, and we find it a useful reminder to stay on track.

I agree that as a nation, we have some pretty messed up ideas as to what constitutes a proper meal or portion size.