Guide and tips

Diabetes The right diet plan

Many of the foods we eat are  converted into glucose during digestion. The bloodstream carries glucose through the body. The hormone, insulin, then turns glucose into quick energy or is stored for further use. Diabetes is a disorder characterized by persistently elevated blood glucose levels. The clinical goal is therefore to achieve and maintain as near-normal blood glucose levels as possible, through diet, drugs and exercise. If you are overweight, a modest reduction of 5 to 10 kilos can improve glucose levels, even without having reached the ideal body weight.

In diabetic people, the body either does not make enough insulin or it cannot use the insulin correctly. This is why too much glucose builds in the bloodstream.

The right diet.

Prescribing a diet is highly individualized, depending on the age, weight, physical activity level, work timings, medication and life style. There has to be a balance between food intake and medication especially in the insulin dependent diabetic. Sometimes, simply avoiding sugar by cutting out beverages is enough to bring down the blood glucose to normal limits. Though not conclusive, there are speculations that chromium and zinc deficiencies effect in developing diabetes. Anyway, a diet rich in fibre will provide these in abundance.

Water

Drink plenty of water. Water is important for everybody, but especially for diabetics because decrease of the hydration-level can cause serious health problems.

Complex carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates like sugar, break quickly during digestion and raise the blood sugar level quickly and are known to have high glycemic index. While complex carbohydrates like whole grains, Legumes, barley, oats, certain fruits and vegetables have low glycemic index. They raise the blood glucose slower than foods of high glycemic index. Avoid eating large quantities of lots of rice, potatoes and bananas as these can raise your blood sugar level. Pulses are important in the diet as their effect on blood glucose is less than that of most other carbohydrate containing foods. Eat more pulses.

Glucose levels are also affected by how quickly and how much food is eaten, the way the food is processed or cooked. So, eat smaller portions at each meal, with about 5 to 6 hours gap between the meals.

Soluble fibre
Gums, mucilage and pectin found in whole grains, certain fruits, vegetables and spices helps in reducing cholesterol. These aid slow digestion and absorption of nutrients, resulting in a slow and steady release of glucose. They soak up excess bile acids found in the intestinal tract, the same acids that are converted to blood cholesterol. They also help empty the stomach and trigger satiety that can help Type 2 diabetics to achieve weight loss goals.

Choose fruits like apple, orange, guava, amla, pears, papaya, pomegranate etc. High fiber vegetables such as peas, beans, broccoli and spinach /leafy vegetables should be included in ones diet. Also, pulses with husk and sprouts are a healthy option and should form a part of the diet. Vegetables that can be consumed in larger quantities by diabetics are cabbage, mint, spinach, bitter gourd, ladys finger, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, radish, onion stalk and pumpkin.

Milk

Milk is the right combination of carbohydrates and proteins and helps control blood sugar levels. Two servings of milk in a daily diet is a good option. You can take dairy products like milk and yoghurt but avoid fatty products like butter, cheese, ghee etc. It is better to use low fat milk or skimmed milk.

Good fats

Good fats such as Omega 3 and MUFA should be consumed as they are good for the body. Natural sources for these are canola oil, flax seed oil, fatty fish and nuts. These are also low in cholesterol and are trans-fat free.

Antioxidants

Diabetes is often associated with conditions like heart disease, diabetic retinopathy, immune deficiency and kidney disease.

Many are caused by free radical damage. Therefore, make sure you include antioxidants, especially vitamin C (lemons), E, selenium, zinc and chromium (Brewers yeast), in your diet, as they have been shown to control blood sugar levels.

Take plenty of fruits and vegetables, as naturally occurring fruit sugar (fructose) is more slowly absorbed than sucrose, and raises the blood glucose to a lesser extent. Very sweet fruits (mango, banana, chikoo etc) can be taken in small portions, along with a meal to reduce the spike in blood glucose.

Foods you must avoid!

It is very important to never skip any meal. It is easier to keep blood sugars stable if you eat your meals at the same time every day.

Alcohol
It is best to avoid alcohol totally for several health reasons. Those on medication should never drink on an empty stomach.

Salt

Salt is the greatest culprit for diabetics. Diabetes can put you at increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular complications. You get enough salt from vegetables in inorganic form, so reduce the intake of inorganic salt.

Sugar

Sucrose, a table sugar, provides nothing but calories and carbohydrates. Avoid eating or drinking anything containing a lot of sugar likes cakes, sweets, chocolate etc. Also, you need calcium to digest sucrose. Insufficient sucrose intake might lead to calcium being leached off the bones. Substitute sucrose with natural sugar, like honey, jaggery (gur), etc.

Bad and excessive fat

Excessive fat intake is definitely not a good habit. Try and exclude fried items from your diet totally.

But, remember, you must have a small quantity of oil to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin E.

Tea and coffee

Do not have than two cups of the conventional tea or decaffeinated coffee every day. Try to switch to herbal teas.

White flour and its products

Replace these with whole grains, whole wheat or soya breads and unpolished rice.

Posted by Unknown at 9:00 PM

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