Diabetic Nutrition Tips
It is one thing to know how to eat well in theory, and another to practice eating well every day. Your discipline and determination must show in your actions. Keeping this mind, the following diabetic nutrition tips will help you adopt an eating plan that will protect you against diabetes.
Many natural foods are rich in micro nutrients, organic substances with amazing healing powers and many benefits for the body. Because diabetes can increase the risk of high cholesterol, heart disease, kidney disease and high blood pressure, it is important to eat foods that help prevent these problems:
- Garlic- the natural antibiotic, apart from many other benefits it offers, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.
- It has been shown that eating oatmeal, or grains rich in soluble fiber, will lower cholesterol.
- Red wine is proven to prevent heart disease. However, as regular consumption of alcohol is not good for diabetes patients, have a few red grapes instead, which will provide the same benefits without the alcohol.
- Lutein, phytochemical found in spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables, helps fight macular degeneration, an important cause of vision problems that can occur with diabetes.
Fats are vital for the health of your cells and your body. They also play an important role in the management of diabetes because they make you feel full. The thing with fats is you need to be careful with how much you have and the quality of them as you will easily accumulate fat on your hips. Drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil on your salads, add a slice of avocados in your high fiber sandwiches and add a few nuts to your salads or main course.
Vegetables are absolutely essential for your diet, the more you eat them the less you will have appetite for higher calorie foods. Of all the food groups, vegetables contain the fewest calories and probably the highest nutrients. Apart from being great for your waistline, they do not cause a spike in your blood glucose levels.
You should also not stop having the starchy vegetables like squash, peas, corn and potatoes but more in moderation. They are also rich in dietary fiber, minerals and vitamins- in fact better than your pasta, bread or some of the grains. On the other hand, you can eat as much non-starch veggies as you wish. Feel free to have three to five servings of them every single day.
Water is the best drink you can have and has many benefits for your health: It carries the nutrients and oxygen, regulates the body temperature, removes waste, helps detoxify the kidneys and liver, dissolves vitamins and minerals, and protects the body against injury. Even mild dehydration can cause health problems, such as fatigue and constipation. Having adequate amounts of water may help prevent certain diseases, such as kidney stones, and is associated with a lower incidence of suffering from colon cancer.
Milk, fruits rather than juices, soups, decaf tea and watery vegetables also count towards your water consumption. But do be careful with calories that come with these drinks. And try not to have caffeinated or alcoholic beverages as they are diuretics and make you lose fluids.
Carry a bottle of water in your bag and keep a water jug handy near you during the day and when you go to bed. To drink water, do not wait until you get thirsty as you may already be dehydrated. Drink more in hot weather or when you are at a higher altitude.
Eat more frequently.. Have smaller meals and healthy snacks a few times a day- not just three meals. This will stabilize your blood sugar levels, but it can also lower your cholesterol. Having said that, everyone is different and the nature of your diabetes will dictate how often you should eat. Ask a dietitian to help you evenly distribute all your food intake throughout the day. Just make sure to pay attention to what you eat and how much you eat. Focus on having healthy foods in moderate amounts and try not to skip meals.
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