Diabetes is on the rise, yet most cases are preventable and some can even be reversed if necessary steps are taken on time. A healthy diet is most crucial for a diabetic. A healthy diabetic diet is not complicated and can also be quite tasty and balanced, boosting energy and improving health. Losing about 5- 10% of the total weight as well as weight around the belly more than from thighs and hips will lower blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. The belly fat surrounding the abdominal organs and liver is closely linked to insulin resistance, where cells fail to respond to insulin and cause diabetes. There is an increased risk of developing diabetes if the waist circumference of woman’s is 35 and man’s 40 inches and more.
A healthy and balanced diet is essential to lose weight and control diabetes. A special attention on the food choice – most notably the carbohydrates since they have a great impact on blood sugar levels – more than fats and proteins is required. Smart choice would be whole grain carbs instead of starchy carbs. Choose whole grain, because it is high in fiber which makes digestion slow and keeps blood sugar levels more even, preventing body from producing too much insulin.
Those on the left side of the table are of high glycemic index (GI) foods spiking the blood sugar rapidly, while whole grain food is low in GI having the least effect on blood sugar.
|
CHOOSE |
|
| Instead of… | Try these High-fiber options… |
| White rice | Brown/ wild rice, quinoa |
| Potatoes (fried and mashed) | Cauliflower mashed (baked) |
| Regular pasta | Whole-wheat pasta, mueslis |
| White bread | Whole grain bread/ porridges |
| Cornflakes | Bran flakes, oats |
| Corn | Raw sprouts |
| Soda | Green tea/herbal decoctions |
| Fruit juices | Smoothies |
| Sweeteners | Steviacheese |
| Cheese | Peanut butter |
Healthy diet includes food from all the five food groups which are to be in balance i.e.
- whole grains. for carbohydrates,
- legumes and soya for protein,
- vegetables for minerals and fibre
- fruits for vitamins and anti-oxidants,
- nuts & seeds for essential fats.
By this most of required body nutrients are fulfilled. Eating regularly at set times as far as possible with a consistent meal size (small meals-up to 6 per day) will help you keep portions in check.
Maintaining a food diary, helps record what is being eaten and the calories consumed in aday. Studies found that people who kept a food diary lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t. It helps identify problem areas – such as your afternoon snack or your morning coffee where you’re getting more calories than you realized.
It increases your awareness of what, why, and how much you’re eating, which helps you cut back on mindless snacking.
Exercise like walking, swimming, biking, etc that makes you slightly sweat and breathe harder, with dieting will help manage weight and improve insulin sensitivity.
If you are a little overweight, it is encouraging to know that you only have to lose 7% of your body weight to cut your risk of diabetes in half.
Restrict in your diet, trans-fats found in deep-fried chips, desserts, packaged and fast foods etc. Also restrict in particular soft and alcoholic drinks, sweeteners, soda, and instant coffee etc. Eliminate all meats & processed red meat in particular, from animals. In meat business, animals are generally fed with antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified food for their rapid growth, but these will definitely interfere with your sugar levels and insulin.
Studies have proved that vegans are about 60% less prone to developing diabetes mellitus as compared to meat eaters. Food is an important medicine for diabetics. Healthy diabetic eating includes using less salt & drink sufficient water which actually perform wonders.
A few anti-diabetic foods are vegetables like, bitter gourd, okra, beans, mushroom, onion, tomatoes, green leafy-vegetables like spinach, broccoli, kale, green-cabbage, amaranth, lettuce, tender’ guava leaves, mango leaves, aleo-vera, mint, coriander & curry leaves, grains like ragi, buck wheat, barley, rye, brown-rice,’ fruits like strawberry, blue berry” goose berry, avocado, oranges, grape-fruit, nuts and seeds like walnuts, almond, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, alfa-alfa, £lax and chiaseeds, herbs like fenugreek, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, ginseng, cumin, pepper, all are excellent nutritional sources to fight the disease.
Prevent diabetes, if not, at least stop its progress by all means.