Diabetes is one of those fatal diseases that will not kill you quickly and efficiently but will slowly and gradually disintegrate your bodily systems and allow you to suffer to the very ends of your limits. But you can always prove this wrong.
Diabetes is preventable, and you can always do a lot against it by making wise lifestyle choices and altering your diet. It can always be managed and controlled, and if you already have it, there are always ways to live with it better by following a diabetes patient diet chart.
Diabetes and Diet
Diabetes is a result of the inability of our pancreas to produce insulin. In some cases, it may also result from the body developing resistance to the insulin produced.
Diet and diabetes are like two inseparable souls. A healthy and well-planned diet is vital in treating the condition. In both cases, it leads to high blood sugar or glucose levels. It is critical that to manage diabetes, blood sugar levels should stay under control. So, what has a diabetic food chart has to say? Diet Chart For Diabetic Patients
It says:
- Limit your food intake that is high in sugar.
- Be careful with the carbohydrates you eat – when and how many.
- Eat various whole-grain foods, vegetables, and fruits throughout the day.
- Consume fewer fatty foods.
- Limit the consumption of alcohol.
- Limit your salt intake, and
- Eat in small portions spread throughout the day.
In a broader and easy-to-understand term, a diabetic diet chart is a healthy eating plan that helps control the body’s blood sugar levels. It emphasizes eating healthy foods in moderate amounts, low in fat and calories, and high in vital nutrients. The critical elements of a healthy diabetes diet are a variety of fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
What does a diet chart for an Indian diabetic patient includes?
The purpose of the diet chart for Indian diabetic patients is to help better manage the insulin that the body produces based on your health goal, your taste, and lifestyle factors. Depending on your need and lifestyle, portion sizes and meal timings can be worked out.
The recommended foods are:
- Healthy Carbs
Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes like peas and beans, and low-fat dairy like milk and cheese are healthy carbs that should be included in a diabetic patient’s diet. Avoid lesser healthy carbs like the ones with added sugar, fats, and sodium (salt).
- Food rich in fibre
Fibre is responsible for how the body digests and helps control blood sugar levels. Suitable fibres or dietary fibres are plant foods our body cannot digest or absorb. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes are rich in dietary fibre.
- Healthy fish and good fats
Healthy fish twice a week is recommended. Salmon, tuna, and sardines are rich sources of Omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart diseases and regulate blood sugar levels. But do not overdo it, as fish are also very high in calories.
Avocados, nuts, and healthy oils like olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil have monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that help to control and lower cholesterol.
Some of the healthiest foods to eat as a part of a sugar patient diet chart
The foods mentioned below are great for people with diabetes and recommended sugar patient diet chart to follow.
- Dark Leafy Vegetables: Spinach; Kale
- Beans: Are full of proteins.
- Sweet Potatoes: Better choice as compared to regular potatoes.
- Tomatoes: Rich source of vitamins C and E and also iron.
- Whole Grains
- Nuts: Raw nuts are full of fibre and healthy fats.
- Citrus Fruits: Eat in moderation. They are rich in Vitamin C.
- Berries: Low in carb, enriched with many health benefits.
- Dairy: Take plain and unsweetened. Rich in vitamin D.
Fishes: Salmon and Herrings are excellent sources of Omega 3