Healthy Diet For Diabetes
You can eat virtually anything if you have diabetes. But, of course, nutritious cooking is the finest. And every person with diabetes has different wishes when it comes to food. The difference between a suitable and less suitable meal lies in a few tricks.
Healthy cooking
Healthy cooking is a plus for everyone at the table. Take as a starting point: lots of vegetables. And nicely served small portions, because sometimes you enjoy that more than that large bowl of spaghetti, which you have to bloat on the couch afterward.
Good for blood sugar
For pasta, rice, and bread, choose the whole-wheat version and brown rice. It contains a lot of fiber so that the blood sugar level rises more slowly and less.
Legumes such as peas, lentils, and beans are healthy. It also contains fiber, which causes your blood sugar to rise more slowly.
Do not use too much sugar, jam, honey, syrup, syrup, white pasta, white flour, white rice, or mashed potatoes. It contains a lot of 'fast' carbohydrates, which causes the blood sugar level to skyrocket.
Instead of a sweet dessert, opt for some yogurt with a piece of fruit.
Serving tips
If there is someone at the table with diabetes, it is sometimes useful to take this into account a little. You can already do this by:
Serve the sauce separately. Sauces often contain a lot of carbohydrates and sugars. If you serve it separately, someone can decide for themselves how much they take.
Also serve the pasta, rice, potatoes, etc separately from the vegetables and meat. Depending on the blood sugar, someone with diabetes wants to be able to determine this amount themselves or sometimes even omit it completely.
A serving board? Make sure there are also low-carb snacks in between.
Read Bodybuilding with diabetes
Drinks
Alcohol can also contain carbohydrates that raise blood sugar. And, what's more, alcohol actually reduces blood sugar levels after a few hours. It is not recommended to drink or keep more than one glass of alcohol each day. Drink as few soft drinks and fruit juices as possible because they are high in quick sugars. You can always drink water or unsweetened coffee or tea. Alternatively, treat yourself to a small drink every now and again. Check the label; some diet beverages still include sugar. More information on drinking and diabetes may be found here.
Good for heart and blood vessels
When baking, use mostly healthy, unsaturated fats. These are liquid when cold, such as oil, liquid margarine, or liquid frying fat. Spread soft margarine or low-fat margarine on your sandwich.
Nuts, seafood, avocado, and olives are also high in healthy fats. At least once a week, the nutrition center suggests eating fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and herring. A handful of unsalted nuts each day is also beneficial to your blood sugar levels.
Use butter, hard margarine, coconut fat, palm oil, and cocoa butter with an exception. There are more unhealthy, saturated fats here. You sometimes hear that coconut fat and butter are suitable for people with diabetes, but this has never been proven by reliable research.
Consume a limited amount of red and processed meat. Select lean, white, unprocessed meat, such as chicken breast. Processed red meat raises the risk of problems such as cardiovascular disease in diabetics.
Good for blood pressure
It is often a habit: just shake the salt can a few times above the pan. But too much salt is not good for blood pressure. Rather than use herbs, spices, pepper, vinegar, or lemon juice, they also give a lot of taste.
Quality of carbohydrates is more important than quantity
Research shows that for the prevention of type 2 diabetes or the treatment of type 2 diabetes, the quality of carbohydrates is more important than the number of carbohydrates. Therefore, choose healthy sources of carbohydrates such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, vegetables, fruit, and legumes. In addition to energy, it also contains important other nutrients, such as fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Eat unhealthy sources of carbohydrates such as candy, cookies, jam, white bread, cornflakes, white rice, soda, and fruit juice in moderation. These foods are high in sugars and calories and cause your blood sugar to rise quickly.
People with diabetes use drugs or insulin to control blood sugar. You often have to keep track of how many carbohydrates you eat. There are carbohydrate tables and lists for that. The number of carbohydrates is also on food labels. It is good to distribute carbohydrates as much as possible throughout the day.
Below are some examples of products with slow carbohydrates:
- Brown rice
- Whole-wheat pasta
- Whole grain bread
- Whole-grain products
- Wholemeal couscous
- Bulgur, oats, quinoa
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Legumes such as beans, peas, and lentils
- Milk
- Yogurt
- Fast (unhealthy) carbohydrates:
- Sugar
- Sweet toppings
- Soft drinks
- Yogurt drinks with sugar
- Sweets
- Cake, pastry
- ice
- Fruit juices and fruit smoothies
- Honey
- Potatoes
- Anything with white flour: white bread, white pasta, and white rice
- Carbohydrates and potatoes
Glycemic index depends on several things
The glycemic index is very difficult to determine precisely. That's because the GI for the same food can be different depending on the circumstances. It matters, for example, how ripe a fruit is, how finely chopped or mashed something is, how much water has been added, whether it contains vinegar, and what the temperature is. For example, thick pasta types have a lower GI than thin pasta types. And boiled potatoes have a lower GI than mashed potatoes.
We need fat every day, about 20 to 40 percent of our total energy intake. 1 gram of fat provides 9 kcal.
With a total daily caloric intake of 2000 kcal, you can eat 45 to 90 grams of fat. It is the sort of fat you consume that is important.
Why do we need fat?
Fats are building materials for all our body cells. In addition, fat protects our body against cold and our organs against damage. Fat is also indispensable to absorb the vitamins A, D, E, and K from our diet.
Saturated and unsaturated fats
We can distinguish between two types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats can be found in biscuits, sweets, pastries, and snacks, but also in animal products such as meat and full-fat dairy products. For example, unsaturated fat is found in fatty fish, nuts, vegetable oil, liquid margarine, and avocado.
Good and bad fats
Saturated fat is the wrong fat and raises cholesterol levels. High cholesterol raises the chance of developing cardiovascular disease. Therefore, it is better to limit eating saturated fat. A maximum of 10% of the daily energy you need may consist of saturated fats. So with a daily total of 2000 kcal, you are allowed a maximum of 22 grams of saturated fat.
Although dairy also contains saturated fat, dairy products also appear to have a protective effect on diabetes. Stick to a few servings of dairy per day, so it stays healthy. Unsaturated fat actually lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Trans fat
Trans fat is unsaturated fat, however, it is a harmful kind of fat. Trans fat naturally occurs in meat, milk, cheese, and butter. The industry uses trans fat to solidify liquid oils and fats. As a result, items with longer shelf life or a different structure, such as cakes, pastries, and snacks, have a longer shelf life. It is better to avoid trans fat, so opt for liquid cooking fats and leave cookies and sweets as much as possible.
Protein
The body needs proteins for energy and as building blocks for cells. In people with diabetes, protein can help keep blood sugar levels from rising as quickly.
Proteins mainly serve as building blocks for our bodies. In addition, proteins also provide calories and amino acids. If the body has not had energy from carbohydrates for a long time, then our body can also convert proteins into blood sugar and then use it as energy.
What exactly is protein?
Protein, like fat and carbs, is an energy-producing nutrient. One gram of protein provides 4 kilocalories. Proteins are found in almost all foods, both plant, and animal products.
Proteins are made up of amino acids, these are the building blocks of our body. They help us build and repair tissues throughout the body. Think, for example, of blood, organs, and muscles. But proteins are also important for your immune system.
What does protein contain?
- Proteins are found in both plant and animal products.
- Animal proteins
- Meat
- Fish
- Milk and milk products
- Eggs
- Insects
- Vegetable proteins
- Cereal products (bread, pasta, rice)
- Legumes (beans, lentils)
- Nuts
- Mushrooms
What kind of protein is best?
Animal proteins such as those from eggs and milk have a higher quality than proteins from vegetable products. That's because animal proteins contain all the essential amino acids. These are amino acids that our bodies cannot make themselves, so we must get them through our diet.
Vegetable proteins also contain essential amino acids, but usually not the complete package. You can solve this by combining different products. For example, if you eat grains and legumes together, you still get enough essential amino acids. Soy is an exception and already contains enough of all important amino acids.
It is wise to alternate animal and vegetable proteins because animal products contain more saturated fat. About half of both are the best.
How much protein do I need?
Adults require around 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. That equates to 60 grams of protein for someone who weighs 75 pounds. This also applies to people with diabetes. If you are a vegetarian and so do not consume animal products, you will need to consume 20-30% more protein to obtain enough of all necessary amino acids. That equates to 60 grams of protein for someone who weighs 75 pounds. This also applies to people with diabetes. If you are a vegetarian and so do not consume animal products, you will need to consume 20-30% more protein to obtain enough of all necessary amino acids.
Protein and diabetes
On average, people with diabetes get 45 percent of their energy from carbohydrates, 38 percent from fats, and 17 percent from proteins. Researchers do not yet know whether eating more or less protein is better for blood sugar levels. This appears to differ from person to person. Protein can help you not to become overweight because you are quickly full and therefore less hungry after eating a lot of protein.
In people with type 2 diabetes, eating a lot of protein can cause blood sugar levels to rise later than normal, and not right after a meal. This is because protein ensures that more insulin gets into your blood. If you suffer from hypo, it is, therefore, better to eat something that only contains carbohydrates, such as a glass of orange juice. It is better not to make yogurt, milk, or anything with protein.
Fiber
Fiber from food is important for digestion and keeps your gut and blood sugar healthy. They make you feel full, making you less likely to overeat.
Fiber is mainly found in whole-grain products such as whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, and also in vegetables, fruit, and legumes. The Wheel of Five recommends eating 30 to 40 grams of fiber per day.
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes
Eating a lot of fiber reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, and in diabetes, they are good for blood sugar. Fiber ensures that carbohydrates (starch and sugars) from food are absorbed more slowly. This keeps blood sugar more stable.
Two types of fiber
Fiber is classified into two types: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. The soluble fibers stimulate bowel movement and are broken down in the large intestine. Soluble fiber is found in vegetables, fruit, potatoes, and legumes.
The insoluble fibers absorb a lot of moisture and ensure that the stool remains flexible. They are found in products such as whole-wheat muesli, whole-wheat bread, and whole-wheat pasta, but also in grain products such as oatmeal.
Tips for a healthy gut
Choose whole-grain products, they contain more fiber.
Eat enough fruit (2 pieces) and vegetables (250 grams) per day.
In addition to eating fiber, it is also important to drink plenty of water. Fiber absorbs moisture, so drink 1.5 to 2 liters per day.
Make sure you have an adequate balance between soluble and insoluble fiber. This makes you less likely to suffer from intestinal complaints.
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