When you have been diagnosed with diabetes, a major change has to be brought in your diet plans with fruits and vegetables diet. You have to get rid of all those food items that cause hike in your blood sugar. Well, it’s not that easy to prepare a diabetic diet plan by yourself, therefore, you can either take help of the internet or you can fix an appointment with a dietician, who will prepare a perfect diet plan for you which when followed will help you recover from diabetes quicker.
The first and the foremost thing, you will need to do, is switch to fruits and vegetables diet, since they have more health benefits and less harmful chemicals unlike the packaged food, ready-made food and so on.
There are several kinds of veggies and fruits that will help you in managing your diabetes. You can take help of the glycaemic index to rate the quality of carbohydrates of the food items you eat.
Note: Glycaemic Index (G.I) is a nutritional measure which is used to detect the quality and amount of carbohydrate present in your food. It helps measure how quickly the carbohydrates in a specific food items can impact your blood sugar level.
Not all Vegetable and fruits are good for a diabetic body!
First, it is important to understand what your disease is all about. Since diabetes means Insulin deficiency therefore, you must try to avoid the starchy veggies and fruits as they generate sugar when they go through the digestion process. Otherwise you can take help of the G.I chart to know which veggie or fruit is suitable for you.
Some of the fruits that you should definitely avoid during you diabetic condition, are: Bananas, melons and stone fruits like peaches and nectarines as they are on the high-sugar side.
And some of the veggies you should stay away from are: Potatoes, yams (These are the starchiest vegetables), beans, Beet roots, Squash, Tomatoes, Corn, Plantain and sweet potato. Generally the sweeter veggies have higher glycaemic index but not all. Pumpkin even being a sweet vegetable has a lower glycaemic index unlike other sweet vegetables. You should try to eat lesser of the veggies that grow underground since they have a higher glycaemic index.
Stay away from canned fruits and vegetables.
Canned fruits and vegetables contain harmful sugars that are not good for a diabetic body. Therefore, you must avoid taking any kind of canned fruits and vegetables. And avoid buying those food items which is labelled ‘Diabetic friendly’ or something related to that. Those products tend to cause more problem than actually showing any positive effects.
The fruits and vegetables diet which are best for diabetic patients:
Since fruits and vegetable diet are not processed therefore they are the best source of nutrition for diabetic patient. If you include fruits and veggies in your diet plan then you can easily lower the risk of major diabetes complications such as heart problem.
Ask your dietician to let you know of the nutrients that your body requires and shop for those which have high content of such nutrients.
Some of the best fruits and veggies for your diabetes:
Apples:
- Apples are highly nutritious.
- A report published in the Journal of Functional food in 2012 verified that eating an apple for four weeks can lower the bad cholesterol level by 40%.
- It also lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Asparagus:
- This food item is non-starchy which makes it ideal and healthy for diabetic patient.
- It helps in maintaining the blood sugar level in the body and increases the insulin production in the pancreas.
- It is also good for the heart and cancer patients.
Avocados:
- Avocados are good for reducing the risk of development of type 2 diabetes.
- It reduces cholesterol levels which is good for the heart disease patients.
Blueberries:
- These fruits contain flavonoids, which are good for heart health.
- It lowers the risk of diabetes and cognitive decline.
- It maintains the blood sugar level
- It also has anti-cancer effects.
- It contains anthocyanin which lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Broccoli:
- Broccoli is a non-starchy vegetable which makes it healthy for diabetic patient.
- It is a storehouse of vitamin C and contains antioxidant beta-carotene which our body uses to produce vitamin A which promotes healthy vision, healthy skin and teeth.
- It has more fibre and foliates.
- It has minimal calorie and carbs.
- It reduces the risk of heart disease and heart-related death.
Carrot:
- Although it has the texture of a starchy vegetable but it is actually a non-starchy one since it doesn’t contain much carbs.
- Carrots have high-content of vitamin A which is good for vision and reduces the risk of cancer.
- Beta-carotene present in carrots reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Cranberries:
- Cranberries are best known for preventing urinary tract infections
- It contains abundant phytonutrients including anthocyanin which is beneficial in a diabetic meal plan.
- The antioxidants present in the cranberries also reduces the risk of heart diseases by reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol level, maintaining HDL (good) cholesterol and lowering the blood pressure.
Garlic:
- Garlic is known for its flavouring and medicinal properties.
- It is helpful in treating high cholesterol level, heart disease, High blood pressure and cancers.
- Several studies according to the National Institutes of Health has proved taking garlic reduces the blood cholesterol level to some extent.
- It slows the development of atherosclerosis, a condition that leads to heart diseases or stroke.
Flaxseeds:
- Flaxseeds are a good source of lignans, antioxidants which help in preventing heart disease and cancer.
- The national Institutes of Health has found out that the flaxseeds can lower haemoglobin A1C in people with type 2 diabetes (Note: A1C is the measure of average blood sugar over two to three months)
- Use of ground flax seeds in the diet can decrease blood glucose level faster.
- Adding 30 grams of ground flaxseed in the diabetic diet can help you drop 15 points in systolic and 8 points in diastolic blood pressure levels.
Raspberries:
- These little berries are packs of several nutrients.
- It contains abundant amount of vitamin C which is helpful for bone and skin health as well for the treatment and prevention of heart disease and cancer.
- It has fibre content (approx. 7 grams of dietary fiber).
- These are rich in anthocyanin which gives the red colour to the berries and the antioxidant power. The anthocyanins are responsible for reducing the risk of diabetes in the body.
- The ellagic acid present in the berries along with other components reduces the problems of insulin resistance in the body cells, lowers the blood sugar level and also counters inflammation.
- These little berries are on the American Diabetic Associations super food list.
Kale:
- This is a non-starchy leafy vegetable which is tasty, highly nutritious and a versatile ingredient in the kitchens around the world.
- It helps in reducing calories and carbohydrate.
- It contains all the important nutrients that the body requires (From vitamin A to zinc).
- It is associated with reducing the risk of development of type 2 diabetes like spinach.
- The two pigments Lutenin and zeaxanthin present in this vegetable are good for eye health. The pigments snuff out the harmful pollutant articles from the eyes’ tissues before they can cause any kind of harm to our eyes.
- They also prevent the development of cataract which is one of the eye complications that arises due to diabetes.
Red Grape fruit:
- These red and juicy fruit contains a huge amount of antioxidant and more health benefits compared to the regular white grape-fruit.
- The red grapefruits help in reducing the LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides in the body.
- It helps in improving the HDL (good) cholesterol in the body.
- Grapefruit juice helps in lowering the blood pressure in people with normal and high blood pressure.
- The vitamin C and soluble fibre present in the fruits makes it one of the super foods of the American Diabetes Associations.
Note: It may cause problems if it taken with some drugs such as statin and antiarrhythmic. Therefore, please take permission from a medical practitioner before consuming the fruit.
Red Onions
- These non-starchy vegetables have a high anti-oxidant content which is essential in a diabetic meal.
- They are a good source of fibre, potassium and folate-all good for heart health.
- The high flavonoid content helps in reducing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease as well as other chronic disease like asthma.
Red peppers
- These non-starchy red veggies are loaded with nutrients including the anti-oxidants, vitamin C and beta-carotene which reduce the risk of diabetes.
- Like the other red veggies and fruits, red peppers also deliver a healthy dose of lycopene.
- According to the Nation Institutes of Health (NIH) Lycopene along with Vitamin A and C promotes good health and reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
Spinach:
- It is a non-starchy vegetable and has a high content of Folate and vitamin C.
- It has super low calorie content and carbohydrate makes it ideal for a diabetic meal.
- These also are rich in beta carotene; an antioxidant body uses to generate vitamin A in the body. Plus, beta-carotene also helps in protecting the cells from free-radical damage which cause chronic illness and aging.
- The studies conducted by the American Diabetes Associations (ADA) have proved that adding spinach to your daily meal can help lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Bitter gourd
- A chemical Charantin in bitter gourd helps in reducing the blood sugar level
- It influences glucose metabolism all over the body unlike medicinal drugs which targets particular organ or tissue.
- Take it on an empty stomach to lower your blood glucose level.
- It has blood purifying properties which helps in natural detoxification of the body.
- It is high in fiber and helps in digestive disorder especially in constipation.
- It can treat cholera in early stages
- It strengthens the immune system
- Its high beta-carotene content helps in alleviating eye problems and improving eyesight.