What Diet To Adopt If You Have Diabetes?

Do you have diabetes and want to change your diet to avoid health problems? Discover the best tips here.

To control your glucose level,  it is essential that you take an interest in your eating habits  and modify them if necessary. In this article, we’ll tell you how you can improve your diet if you have diabetes. Don’t miss it!

How to improve your diet if you have diabetes

Adjusting your diet is one of the best ways to avoid possible complications from diabetes. This is why we recommend that you monitor everything you consume.

Always choose foods with high nutritional value and quality. Don’t eat too much. Remember that to control glucose, it is best to eat small portions. Another recommendation? Try to organize your meals. In other words, keep your meals at fixed times to avoid spikes in blood sugar.

Typically, changes in the diet of a person with diabetes focus on the need for healthy foods that meet nutritional needs. Diet should also help maintain a reasonable weight and control triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Let’s see some ideas in the rest of this article.

Diet tips for a person with diabetes

Changing your eating habits and adapting them to your illness is essential to ensure a good quality of life. Eating well, without excess calories or quantities, will allow you  to optimize the production and use of insulin. The latter is precisely the main problem of diabetes.

Of course,  before you change your diet, ask your doctor for advice. See with him which foods you should eat or eliminate from your regular menu. It is in the best position to answer these types of questions.

1. Eat foods that turn into sugars in moderation

Did you know that candy isn’t the only “food” that can get your blood sugar levels soaring? Fast carbohydrates do the same. Indeed, they are converted into glucose during their absorption by the body.

That doesn’t mean you have to avoid carbohydrates. You need to know how to choose slow carbohydrates. These are released gradually and allow better control of glucose in the blood.

2. Eat protein

Usually,  foods high in protein do not increase the level of glucose in the blood. It is for this reason that we often recommend their daily consumption. Of course, following the portions adapted to age, height and weight.

A 2014 study showed that a high protein breakfast would  provide metabolic benefits for people with type 2 diabetes.  Talk to your doctor.

3. Choose slow carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are absorbed more slowly. In other words,  the glucose level increases more gradually, thus avoiding the peaks so dangerous for diabetics. Eat wholegrain potatoes, pasta and rice, wholegrain bread, and legumes.

4. Watch your fat intake

There is really no conclusive information about the indicated intake of fat in diabetes. Several studies exist with different conclusions.

Although there is no single criterion,  we could say that you should favor foods with “good” fats over those that contain saturated fat. For example, an avocado rather than a sausage or olive oil rather than butter.

5. Avoid juice

Always prefer to eat fruit rather than drink juice. Of course, an orange or orange juice has the same amount of sugars. However, the sugar in the juice is absorbed more quickly by the body. This can lead to a spike in glucose.

6. Eat dried fruit

A study published in February 2019 in  Circulation Research analyzed more than 16,000 people with type 2 diabetes. This study found that  regular consumption of almonds, pistachios and walnuts  helped reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in children. adults with type 2 diabetes.

It is estimated that those people who consume at least 5 servings of nuts per week have a 17% lower chance of contracting cardiovascular disease  than those who ingest only two servings per week  .

7. Consume cinnamon

Information on this subject is contradictory. On the one hand, some studies claim that regular consumption of cinnamon may lower blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, studies show that this is not a factor. determinant in the people studied. Before changing your diet to include cinnamon, consult your doctor.

Improving your diet if you have diabetes is the first step in controlling your disease. Of course, you should not make a radical change in habits without consulting a specialist first. We tell you often: your doctor is in the best position to advise you based on your nutritional needs and your state of health.