What is a diabetic diet? Is there only one or many? What does a diabetic diet consist of? Today in this article we are going to discuss the do’s and don’ts that you need to follow while you are into a diabetic diet.
Recommended for people with diabetes mellitus to assist them in controlling their blood sugar, a diabetic diet is an eating plan or diet.
In such diets, the importance of eating dietary fiber is emphasized and carbohydrates eaten with dietary fiber results in a lower glycemic status (level of sugar in the blood) than the same amount of carbohydrates otherwise consumed alone is what is generally said.
Taking a cue from the fact that a diet high in dietary fiber has been shown to be very beneficial, studies have been made on vegan diets (diets of vegetarians).
These studies show that such a diet not only also helps to lower hemoglobin A1C and LDL levels but also advanced glycation end products.
Glycated end products are proteins or lipids which having been exposed to sugars becomes glycated (covalently bonded with a sugar molecule without the controlling action of an enzyme).
There are places where you are sure to get the Eat Well Plate and it consists of the following:
- Milk and other dairy products – 15%
- Fruits and vegetables – 33%
- Bread, rice, potatoes, and other starchy foods – 33%
- Foods and drinks were high in fat or sugar – 7%.
- Meat, fish, egg, beans, and others – 12%
It is noteworthy that the second group thought should be the whole grain-that and not refined grains like white bread and white rice and they must contain whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc..
It can be said that it is also a good diet for diabetics, where this is so and bearing in mind that the diet falls within the bounds to be obtained from carbohydrates of the recommended stipulation of between 40 to 65% calorie.
In the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate, this plan was revised by the Harvard School of Public Health. Their revision features an additional percentage increase of vegetables over fruits whilst at the same time balancing healthy protein and whole grains as equal quarters of the plate.
On the other hand, it is recommended that you create your own plate by following these simple steps;
Put a line down the middle of the plate using your dinner plate. Cut it again so you will have three sections on your plate on one side.
1.) Use the non-starchy vegetables that require to be filled within the largest section of the plate and they include:
- green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes,
- spinach, carrots, lettuce, greens, cabbage, bok choy
- mushrooms, peppers, turnips
- vegetable juice, salsa, onion, cucumber, beets, okra,
2.) Now put grains and starchy foods in one of the small sections, such as:
- whole-grain pieces of bread, such as whole wheat or rye
- cooked beans and peas
- cooked cereal
- potatoes, green peas, related others
- whole grain, high-fiber cereal
- rice, pasta, dal, tortillas
3.) Then put your protein in the other small section and they include:
- chicken or turkey without the skin
- tofu, eggs, low-fat cheese
- lean cuts of meat
- fish especially tuna
- seafood including shrimp, clams, oysters, crab or mussels
You need to make sure that you are adding to it a serving according to your meal plan that involves fruit.
In small amounts, choose healthy fats. Use oils for cooking food. You can even buy palm oil. Nuts, seeds, avocado, and many related items should be used as a healthy addition to a salad,
For completing your meal you need to have a low-calorie drink that is much more similar to that of water or unsweetened tea or coffee should well be included and then take rest as you relax your foot under the foot pillow.
It is now well recommended that people who are facing issues being diabetic and one who takes insulin and other types of medications such as that of the sulfonylureas should avoid the consumption of alcohol in an empty stomach as far as you do not go ahead with the same.
The reason for this is that alcohol interferes with glycogenesis (the process of storing glucose in the form of the polysaccharide called glycogen) in the liver and some drugs inhibit hunger pangs.
These can also lead up to hypoglycemia with the addition to that of the impaired memory, a judgment as well as the concentration that has been caused.
Let us now consider some specific diets. All have at one time or another been very popular while there are several of them.
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The Low Carb diet
This diet advocates diet may help reverse diabetes with the removal of carbohydrates from the standard.
Following this removal, the diet would consist of fatty foods such as nuts, seeds, meats, fish, oils, eggs, avocados, olives, and vegetables.
Insulin resistance-related complications would greatly reduce as fat would become the main energy source.
The Paleolithic diet
Premised on what our ancient human ancestors likely ate during the Paleolithic age as the Paleolithic diet consists mostly of lean meat, nuts, and berries.
Tests show that this diet improves glucose tolerance in humans with diabetes and in humans with ischemic heart disease and glucose intolerance.
The Pritkin diet
It is made up mostly of fruit, whole grains, vegetables and the like. It is high in dietary fiber and carbohydrates. It balances its high carbohydrate content however by including exercise as part of its stipulated regimen.
The G.I. diet
Aims at lowering the glycemic index of a person diet with a view to assisting the user in the control of his/her diabetes.
Here multi-grain and sourdoughs, legumes and whole grains- foods that are converted more slowly to glucose in the bloodstream serve as a replacement for others like white bread and potatoes cooked a certain way.
These are the things that you need to pay heed to while you are looking to control your diabetes. This is going to help you a lot in terms of leading a healthier life.
Dyna holds a degree in health and fitness, has worked as a health instructor for over a decade at some very prominent health related organization and basically a writer by heart.