The Best Diabetes-Friendly Diets to Help You Lose Weight
The Worst and Best Foods in Diabetes Diet
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| The Best Diabetes-Friendly Diets to Help You Lose Weight |
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Diet for diabetes People with diabetes can manage their blood sugar levels by making beneficial food choices.
Living with diabetes does not have to mean feeling deprived. People can learn to balance meals and make healthy food choices while still including the foods they enjoy.
Both sugary and starchy carbohydrates can raise blood sugar levels, but people can choose to include these foods in the right portions as part of a balanced meal plan.
For those with diabetes, it is important to monitor the total amount of carbohydrates in a meal. Carbohydrate needs will vary based on many factors, including a person’s activity levels and medications, such as insulin.
A dietitian can recommend specific carbohydrate guidelines to best meet a person’s needs. However, as a general rule, people should try to follow the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ MyPlate guidelines and include no more than a quarter plate of starchy carbs in one meal.
For people who have diabetes, the key to a beneficial diet, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), is as follows:
Include fruits and vegetables.
Eat lean protein.
Choose foods with less added sugar.
Avoid trans fats.
Below is a list of some fruits, vegetables, and foods with less added sugar.
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What Should You Eat If You Have Diabetes?In truth, a diet aimed at reducing the risks of diabetes is really nothing more than a nutritionally-balanced meal plan aimed at supporting maintaining blood sugar levels within range and supporting a healthy weight.
For those with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, the main focus of a diabetes-focused diet is being attentive to your weight.2 That said, a diabetic diet is simply an eating approach that works to keep you healthy, and so is not reserved only for people with diabetes. Your whole family can enjoy the same meals and snacks, regardless of whether others have diabetes or not.
Yes—there are a few food decisions that will matter more if you do have diabetes. We provide you with some general guidelines to help you understand how much and how often to eat in order to maintain steady blood sugar levels. And, these recommendations hold true for anyone who has diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes, as well as prediabetes and gestational diabetes.1
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Diet really does matter, a lot!
In fact, if you were recently diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, by decreasing your weight by about 10%, you may even reverse your diabetes, putting it into remission.3,4
Adopting a Diabetes Diet Plan for Long-Term Health
By becoming a bit savvier about the effect that foods, especially carbs, can have on your blood sugar, you will want to know how and why to adjust your food choices; you can feel so much better in the process.
It may ease your mind to know you will be able to incorporate your favorite foods into a healthy diet while being mindful of your diabetes diet goals (eg, healthy weight, steady blood glucose levels, good blood pressure). For many people, at least initially, this may seem harder than it should be and that’s understandable; after all, it can seem very, very challenging to change current eating habits and find the right food rhythm to fit your lifestyle.
“While the idea of changing your diet can be confusing and overwhelming at first, research shows that making healthy lifestyle choices can help you manage your blood sugar levels in the short term and may even prevent many of the long-term health complications associated with diabetes,” says Lori Zanini, RD, CDE, and author of The Diabetes Cookbook and Meal Plan for the Newly Diagnosed.
Although you can include most foods in a diabetic diet, you do need to pay the most attention to particularly to the types of carbohydrates you choose in order to prevent spikes, or unhealthy increases, in your blood sugar.
Foods high in simple carbohydrates—mostly from added sugars (ie, cane sugar, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey) and refined grains (especially white flour and white rice)—as foods containing these ingredients will cause your blood sugar levels to rise more quickly than foods that contain fiber, such as 100% whole wheat and oats.
“Everyone is different and, ultimately, you know best how your body responds to different types of foods, so you may have to make individual adjustments when cooking at home, eating out, or attending celebrations,” Ms. Zanini points out. “You may find that some processed, high-carb foods, like commercial breakfast cereals and plain white rice, are just too “spiky” for you and it’s best to stay away from them and find reasonable substitutes.”
Diabetes superfoods
There are many foods rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber that you can make part of your daily eating plan that are good for your health. Supercharge your meal plan with these ten foods full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Artichokes
Beans
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots (1 baby carrot has about 1 gram of carb)
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Eggplant
Greens (spinach, kale, collards, etc.)
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions, garlic, scallions, leeks
Radishes
Snow peas, sugar snap peas
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Beets
Carrots
Corn
Green peas
Parsnips
Pumpkin
Potatoes (white and sweet)
Polyunsaturated fats:
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Mayonnaise
Pumpkin seeds
Safflower oil
Soybean oil
Omega-3 fatty acids:
Fatty fish, including albacore tuna, herring, mackerel, rainbow trout, sardines, and salmon
Tofu and other soybean
products
Walnuts
Flaxseed and flaxseed oil
Low-Fat Dairy
Although dairy foods contain carbs, they also are a prime source of calcium and vitamin D and should be part of a diabetes-friendly diet.
Nonfat or low-fat milk
Low-fat cottage cheese
Plain, unsweetened yogurt
Low-sodium cheeses (eaten in small quantities), including mozzarella, Emmental, and neufchatel
Add any dried or canned beans to your grocery list, including (but not limited to):
Black beans
Cannellini beans
Chickpeas (garbanzo)
Fava beans
Kidney beans
Pinto beans
Lentils
Whole Grains
Whole grains are an excellent source of fiber, which can play an important role in metabolizing carbohydrates and lowering cholesterol.
They also are rich in magnesium, B vitamins, chromium, iron, and folate.
Barley
Brown or wild rice
Bulgur
Farro
Quinoa
Millet
Whole-grain bread
Whole-grain, no-sugar-added cereal
Whole-wheat pasta
Monounsaturated fats:Avocado
Canola oil
Almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts
Olives, olive oil, butter-flavored olive-oil spread
Peanut butter
Peanut oil
Sesame seeds
Polyunsaturated fats:Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Healthy Fats
The most important thing to consider when factoring fat into a diabetes-friendly diet is to limit saturated fat, which can cause blood cholesterol levels to soar. However, there are several types of healthy fats that actually help to lower cholesterol and should be included on your list.
Fruit
The fruit is naturally sweet, but because of the type of sugar it contains (fructose) and its high fiber content, most have a low glycemic index and can be an easy and nutritious way to satisfy a sweet tooth or round out a meal. Which fruit and how much fruit you include in your daily diet will depend on the approach you’re taking to managing your diabetes, but in general, fruit can be eaten in exchange for other sources of carbs such as starches, grains, or dairy.
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| The Best Diabetes-Friendly Diets to Help You Lose Weight |
Top fruit choices to include on your list:Apples, unsweetened
applesauce
Apricots
Banana
Berries
Cantaloupe and other melon
Cherries
Dried fruit
Fruit cocktail (packed in natural juices)
Grapes
Kiwi
Mango
Oranges and other citrus fruits
Peaches and nectarines
Pears
PineapplesPlums
