Having Diabetes can be tough to manage but it doesn’t mean you have to lose out on foods you enjoy eating. As long as you monitor what you are eating and don’t ‘treat’ yourself too much then you should be fine. Here are some tips for you to use when planning your meals.
Use Food Exchange Lists
Food Exchange lists are designed to help you eat a balanced meal and help you to control your sugar levels. The Diabetic Food Exchange list groups food into 6 groups and measures each portion for you. The groups are; Bread and Starch, Fruit, Vegetables, Dairy, Meat, Fats and Prohibited. You can mix and match the food in the lists, just be careful to measure what you are eating. You should avoid foods in the prohibited list where possible but may treat yourself for special occasions. Check out Diabetes.co.uk for a detailed Diabetic Food Exchange list as a start for your own.
Eat from various food groups
It is important to eat food from all food groups to ensure you are getting a good healthy and balanced diet. Do not hide away from fruit just because it contains sugar, just be aware of how much you eat and how often. This will also allow you to pick up different vitamins and nutrients which are vital to your balanced diet.
Eat high fibre foods
Choosing foods which are higher in fibre is especially important for diabetics. Fibre foods can lower your blood cholesterol and glucose levels. High fibre foods include oats, barley, citrus fruits, carrots, apples and peas. There are plenty of options so you can often include them in your daily meals.
Use healthy cooking techniques
Choose leaner meat and do not use large amounts of fats or oils. Asian food is usually very healthy as you are boiling rice, steaming vegetables and stir-frying your meals. Why not try a new way of cooking your meal like grilling or poaching your salmon? A simple change to the way you cook your meals, can really help you maintain a normal blood glucose level.
Make sensible recipe substitutions
This is another easy approach to continue enjoying the foods you love, but in a healthier way. For example why not choose wholegrain rice instead of white or using diabetic chocolate in your birthday cake?
Just because you are a diabetic, doesn’t mean you can’t eat what you want. Managing diabetes is all about managing what you eat and how you eat it, monitoring what you are eating and only treating yourself on special occasions.
Author Bio: Jack Kelly writes posts on a number of topics, including cooking, baking and how to manage health conditions, like diabetes. He contributes to a number of blogs across the blogosphere.
This is a good post that I’d love to share everyone. My mother is diabetic so this will be very helpful to our family.
That last tip is great, and not only for diabetics, but for anyone trying to eat healthier. There are several substitutions that can be made in any given meal; greek yogurt instead of sour cream, for example.
Hi Eric! I agree. For anyone going healthy, one should try and make healthier substitutions for a certain ingredient. Thanks!
I’ve never considered Asian food to be anathema to diabetics, so thanks for not only setting me straight but offering some alternative tips. I’ll forward this info to some diabetic relatives of mine.
Hi Leo! There are a lot of Asian food recipes that can be served fo people who are diabetic. I’m also using this post as guide because my mom is also diabetic. I may be one also but I haven’t checked with my doctor yet. Thanks for visiting!
Hi!
Thanks for these tips. My mom is a diabetic and I want to make sure that she is eating the right food.
Again, thanks for the share.
An interesting article that has a lot of valid and correct information that will help any diabetic around the world. According to consensus, diabetes is vastly spreading and lack of right knowledge can be very helpful. My mom in law is a diabetic and I would add warm water therapy also helps relieve the soreness of foot.