Type 2 diabetics face numerous challenges in the quest for balanced blood sugars and fewer complications of their disease. In modern times, we have choices for the treatment of diabetes, including a variety of medications that can help reduce insulin resistance, can add insulin to the system, or can help the pancreas work more effectively.
However, diet and exercise play critical roles in managing diabetes, and you can do a great deal by yourself, simply by watching what you eat and when you eat your meals.
Weight Management
Many diabetics who find themselves with the diagnosis are overweight or obese. In fact, obesity is one of the highest risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Significant weight loss is known to reverse this disease, and greatly lessen the chances of developing its complications, as is seen in the thousands who have lost a lot of their weight following bariatric surgery. Healthy weight loss begins with a little math and calorie reduction.
A simple reduction of about 500 calories per day of food intake can translate into a gradual weight loss of about a pound per week. Within three to six months, you will have dropped your weight by 10-20 pounds and will decrease your hemoglobin A1C and your average blood sugars throughout the day. You can also reduce the amount of medication you are taking because your body is less resistant to insulin.
You can still eat carbs…
In fact, carbohydrates should make up 45-60 percent of your total body intake. The trick is to choose carbohydrates that contain complex sugars instead of simple sugars.
Complex sugars (carbs) need to be broken down in the stomach and duodenum before they can be absorbed as simple sugars by the gastrointestinal tract. This takes some time and allows for a gradual absorption of sugar into the bloodstream.
Simple sugars, such as sugar found in fruit juices and plain table sugar, are more rapidly taken up by the body so that the sugar is gradually presented to the pancreas for processing. There will be fewer spikes in blood sugar.
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates are found in whole grains such as whole grain breads and whole grain pastas.
They are also found in:
- Oatmeal
- Brown and wild rice
- Quinoa
- Barley
- Rye
- Whole grain flours
- Green vegetables, especially leafy greens
- Starchy vegetables such as corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and white potatoes
- Peas, lentils and beans
Take some time to research recipes that include complex carbs, and use them as replacements for any refined (white carbs), such as rice, pasta, bread, white flour baked goods.
Eat a High Fiber Diet
There is a big difference between drinking a glass of orange juice made with one orange and eating a whole orange. The latter contains the orange’s pulp, which adds fiber to the meal. Fiber allows your food to pass through your gut faster and holds back the big rush of glucose and fructose from fruit juices that will be absorbed by your GI tract when you drink just the juice. Therefore, the sugar content of that orange makes more of an impact on blood sugars when it is juiced, versus eating it whole.
The same is true of all juices made from fruits and vegetables so, when in doubt, eat these products as the whole fruit and not in juice form.
Fiber is also found in whole grains and pastas made from whole grains. Choose a dense nutty bread or oat bread over plain white bread for a further reduction in blood sugar dumping into your bloodstream.
Instead of a low fiber rice cereal in the morning, try a hearty high fiber oat, or 100% whole-wheat cereal. Better yet, have some steel cut oatmeal (skip the instant varieties) for breakfast. These whole grain cereals will be beneficial for your digestive system as well as your diabetes.
Plan your diet carefully using the above information as your guide. You will likely lose weight and will be better off when it comes to preventing diabetic complications.
Stock Your Kitchen
Upon the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, or prediabetes you might conclude that you need to eat differently in order to control your blood sugar numbers. This means getting rid of old habits of buying pastries, cookies, cake mix, and frosting and also swapping frying for grilling.
It means stocking your kitchen so that you can have access to food that benefits your health, but that you still enjoy eating. Here are some things you’ll want to put on your grocery list in order to stock your kitchen in a more diabetic-friendly way.
Vegetables
Most vegetables are high in fiber and contain complex carbohydrates, which absorb slowly and are low in fat and calories. Vegetables come in an abundance of colors, and the more color you have on your plate, the more nutrients you provide for your body. Vegetables are also rich in fiber, so they satisfy the appetite and prevent out of control cravings for sweets and junk food.
Vegetables are recommended to make the bulk of a diabetes friendly diet.
Vegetables can be eaten raw, steamed, or baked. Some are better eaten raw to retain their nutrient levels, while other’s actually increase their nutritional power with cooking, such as the case with lycopene, the phytochemical in tomatoes that gives them their red color. Vegetables make great snacks, and can actually satisfy the sweet tooth, as is the case with grape tomatoes or yellow cherry tomatoes. Vegetables can help you lose weight, which will further greatly improve your diabetic outlook.
Great Vegetable Choices Include:
- Leafy green vegetables: kale, spinach, all lettuce, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard,
- Carrots
- Celery
- Squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Green beans
- Artichoke
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Bell peppers (all colors)
- Hot peppers
- Cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Brussel Sprouts
- Turnips
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Watercress
Starchy vegetables, such as corn, peas, and squash should be eaten in moderation.
Fruits
While fruits are higher in natural sugar than vegetables, they still provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber just like vegetables. One of the most beneficial aspects of fruit is its ability to satisfy a sweet tooth, and so it makes a much better choice than cake or pie for dessert or a sweet snack.
The Plate Method
Since fruit is higher in carbs than vegetables, if you are using the diabetic plate method, you can swap a small piece of fruit for the 25% portion of starches and grains, or even any dairy you might be adding to a meal.
Glycemic Index Method
Using the GI scale to choose fruit is an easy method. Most fruits have a low GI score because they contain fructose form of sugar and fiber.
Higher scoring fruits include melons, mango, and pineapple.
Lower scoring fruits include apples, pears, peaches, and berries.
Dried fruits have higher concentrations of sugar because the drying process removes the fiber, which helps to counteract sugar spikes in the bloodstream. The drying process also shrinks them significantly, and this results in eating a lot more of them as opposed to whole fruit. Instead choose whole fruits that carry fiber, which allow the blood sugar to gradually rise after ingesting them, preventing spikes in sugar and insulin levels.
Best Fruits:
- Berries of all types are superfoods for diabetics because they provide essential antioxidants that diabetics especially need. They are also high in vitamins, fiber, and low in carbs. Raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries are all great choices.
- Tart cherries were found in a study to contain more anti-inflammatory agents than other fruits. Tart and dark sweet cherries contain diabetes friendly anthocyanins as well. A 2014 study found that women subjects who ate diets higher in anthocyanins had improved insulin resistance and lower levels of inflammation than women who did not. They also offer essential antioxidants to help fight heart disease, and cancer.
- Peaches
- Apricots
- Oranges
- Kiwi
- Pears
- Green apples
Whole Grains
Fill your pantry with whole grains in your pantry, including whole wheat bread, whole-wheat flour, whole grain breads, crackers, and cereals. These provide added fiber to your diet, have a much lower glycemic index than white bread, and processed white flour-containing foods.
Corn meal is also considered a grain by some and can be used to make corn meal bread or muffins. Remember the glycemic index is the degree to which foods cause a rapid rise in blood sugar after ingestion. Low glycemic index foods such as whole grains can keep your blood sugars from spiking after meals. Hulled barley has been shown to lower blood cholesterol and lentils provide B vitamins, complex carbs, iron, and protein.
Best Whole Grains:
The American Diabetes Association recommends:
- Stone ground whole wheat
- Bulgur
- Whole oats (steel cut is best)
- Popcorn
- Brown and wild rice
- Buckwheat
- Whole rye
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Triticale
- Sorghum
Note: While whole grains are higher quality foods than processed grains, they still have an impact on blood glucose, so portion size needs to be considered and blood glucose numbers monitored.
Beans
The good news is that there are many types of beans to choose from when stocking your kitchen. You can use beans to make chili, prepare them as a side dish, or buy products containing beans such as hummus, which consists of a ground paste of garbanzo beans or chickpeas. Eating hummus on a whole grain cracker or on whole grain pita bread makes an excellent snack or part of a healthy lunch with a salad on the side.
Beans are a winning combination of high-quality carbohydrates, antioxidants, lean protein, and soluble fiber that helps to stabilize blood sugars and keeps hunger under control. Beans are also cheap, and very versatile.
Beans are also a virtually fat free protein and can replace animal protein that is high in saturated fat, a special concern for diabetics who are at a higher risk for heart disease.
Here are some great beans to include in your diet:
- Black beans are especially good in black bean soup or chili.
- Lentils can be used to create side dishes, to top salads or can be made into a lentil soup.
- White navy beans or cannellini are good for making dip for crackers and vegetables.
- Borlotti or cranberry beans are especially good for making dips or for use in Italian dishes. They are cream-colored with red spots on the skin.
- Fava beans can be made into a fava bean salad with fresh crispy vegetables.
- Chickpeas or garbanzo beans are great for making hummus; chickpeas can also be used to make soups that are rich in flavor and fiber.
- Pinto beans
- Soy beans
- Kidney beans
- Lima beans
- Dried peas: black-eyed and split
Beans like grains are higher in starch carbs that affect blood sugars and portion size should be considered.
Meat, Poultry and Fish
Since heart disease is a concern for diabetics who are at a higher risk, it’s best to choose lean meat, and poultry. Fish is a great choice that is very low in unhealthy fat, and provides important nutrients. Fatty fish, like salmon, herring and mackerel offer heart healthy polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids.
You can still have beef (trimmed of fat, of course) but stick to low fat meats like chicken and turkey for everyday eating.
Only 25% of the diabetic plate is for protein, so ideally, animal protein should make up a small portion of your daily diet.
Fried anything is never a good food choice for diabetics. Grill, broil, or bake your meat, poultry, and fish for best results.
Protein Choices:
- Lean Beef: Choose choice instead of prime and these cuts of beef in steak or roast form: top sirloin, sirloin tip, top round, bottom round, and eye of round.
- Skinless chicken breasts
- Turkey
- All fish and seafood
- Lean Pork Cuts: pork tenderloin, sirloin chops, top loin chops, loin roast, loin chops, sirloin roast, rib chops, and rib Roast.
- Tofu
- Eggs
Dairy
Overall, milk is low on the glycemic index, but dairy is high in fat, and so that should be considered in a diabetic diet. It’s best to choose low fat forms, which includes, milk, plain yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese.
Dairy counts as a carbohydrate, with 1 cup of milk or 6 ounce serving of yogurt having 12 grams of carbohydrate and 8 grams of protein. 1 cup of milk is equal to a slice of bread or a small fruit in carbohydrates.
Your best choices of dairy products are:
- Low-fat 1% milk
- Plain low-fat yogurt (Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt)
- Lactose Intolerant: If you suffer from lactose intolerance, choose fortified rice milk, or almond milk, as they are good sources of calcium and vitamin D. Avoid those with added sweeteners.
In Closing
If the health consequences of diabetes don’t scare you into eating better, think about the level of self-improvement you can achieve by following these eating tips. You’ll lose weight, look healthier, feel better, and gain more self-esteem. Furthermore, your family will have more peace of mind knowing that you are taking care of yourself and living a healthy life.
It is definitely difficult to give up salty snacks for celery sticks, and hamburgers and fries for grilled chicken and broccoli, but try turning it into a hobby. Buy healthy eating cookbooks or create your own, and spend more time in the kitchen experimenting with different foods. Cooking can be quite fun when you have a purpose for doing it!
Type 2 diabetes is a serious disease, but with careful consideration to diet, exercise, and regular medical care, it can be managed and all its complications can be avoided to allow anyone to live a long and healthy life.
The most important thing is to never ignore type 2 diabetes, as out of control blood sugars will lead to serious problems.
See your doctor, use the online forums to get support, visit a holistic practitioner, as there are many natural complementary therapies that can only serve you in managing this disease.
Pay attention to food choices, and choose to exercise regularly. Remember the choices are yours, and once you begin to make healthier selections in your meals, you will see just how much control you have over this disease.
Stay well and take care!
