Question of the Week: Sugar & Carb Free Diets?

The following question was submitted for discussion on this week's blog post, " I was recently diagnosed with Pre-Diabetes and was wondering how strict my diet really needs to be?  Does every meal and snack need to be completely sugar and carb free?"

First, I want to say that's it is great that you want to make some positive changes to your diet.   Start with small achievable changes and master those as longtime habits are sometimes difficult to break. 

Your meals and snacks should not be carb-free.  Carbohydrates play an important part of everyone's diet no matter who you are.  Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for your body.   The important point that needs to be made is the carbohydrates that you consume should be  those considered "healthy carbohydrates" such as fruits and vegetables, low or nonfat dairy products, and whole grains (i.e. quinoa, brown rice, wheat pasta, multigrain bread).

Unhealthier choices of carbohydrates are those that should be limited or eliminated.  This category consists of items that are usually calorie dense yet lack the proper nutrients.  These "unhealthier" carbohydrates include choices such as baked goods, white rice, white pasta, and white bread.

Healthy carbohydrate choices should consist of approximately 45-65% of your total daily caloric intake.  For example,  if your intake was 1800 kcals for the day, calories from carbohydrate should range from between 810 kcals and 1170 kcals.  Keep an eye on portion sizes to keep your calories in check.