Diet tips for diabetics: Enjoy delicious food and eat healthy

Author: Zhang Haiyan, The Fifth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

Reviewer: Jin Bo, Chief Physician, Fifth Medical Center, PLA General Hospital

Diabetes, a chronic disease, not only leads to a continuous increase in blood sugar levels, but more frighteningly, long-term high blood sugar levels can cause irreversible damage to multiple organs throughout the body, such as cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, renal failure, and retinopathy, which seriously affect the patient's quality of life and even life span. At present, the prevalence of diabetes has become a global public health problem, and the number of patients has increased dramatically, especially in developing countries. This trend reminds us that in the face of the challenges of diabetes, the importance of prevention and management is self-evident. In the comprehensive management of diabetes, dietary management plays a vital role. Reasonable eating habits can not only effectively control blood sugar levels, but also reduce insulin resistance and prevent the occurrence of complications. Therefore, this article will explore the diet of diabetic patients in depth, provide scientific and practical dietary advice for everyone, and help every diabetic friend to protect their health while enjoying food.

1. What is the glycemic index?

The glycemic index (GI) is the ratio of the blood sugar-raising effect of a certain food to the blood sugar-raising effect of a standard food (usually glucose). In layman's terms, it refers to how much blood sugar response a certain food will cause in the human body. GI usually reflects the ability of a food to cause a certain amount of blood sugar to rise in the human body.

1. When GI ≤ 55, the food can be considered as a low GI food.

2. When 55＜GI≤70, the food is a medium GI food.

3. When GI＞70, the food is a high GI food.

High GI foods are digested quickly and have a high absorption rate after entering the gastrointestinal tract. They release glucose quickly and have a high peak value after glucose enters the blood, which means that blood sugar rises high.

Low GI foods stay in the gastrointestinal tract for a long time, have a low absorption rate, release glucose slowly, and the peak level of glucose after entering the blood is low and the rate of decline is also slow. Simply put, blood sugar rises relatively low.

Therefore, arranging meals reasonably according to the GI of food is very beneficial for regulating and controlling blood sugar to maintain stability. The GI of common fruits and vegetables is shown in the figure below.

Figure 1 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

2. What should diabetic patients pay attention to in their diet?

1. Balance between eating and exercise: use medications appropriately, control blood sugar, and achieve or maintain a healthy weight.

2. Match coarse and fine staple foods, and meat and vegetable side dishes, and do not be picky or partial: formulate a personalized energy balance plan based on the target weight, and reasonably and evenly distribute various nutrients. For staple foods, choose cornmeal, buckwheat noodles, oatmeal noodles, sorghum, millet and other coarse grains to increase satiety, and eat less refined rice and noodles. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and yams are rich in starch and should also be included in the total daily intake.

3. Eat regularly and in fixed quantities, chew slowly and thoroughly: Pay attention to the order of eating. It is recommended that patients eat vegetables first, then meat, and finally staple food. Increasing the number of meals on the basis of controlling the total energy intake per day can reduce the occurrence of hypoglycemia. Combine your own eating habits and blood sugar levels and add snacks between two meals. You can take half a liang (about 25g) of staple food from the main meal as a snack, or you can choose low-sugar vegetables, such as cucumbers or tomatoes, as a snack, once a day.

4. Eat more vegetables: various types and colors. Vegetables are an important source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, and can slow down the absorption of blood sugar after meals. You can eat 400-500 g per day.

(1) Vegetables with low sugar content: tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, leeks, winter melon, green peppers, eggplants, and cabbage.

Figure 2 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

(2) The flavonoids contained in dark vegetables have the effect of inhibiting the increase in blood sugar after meals.

(3) Melon vegetables, such as winter melon, cucumber, pumpkin, and loofah, can supplement water-soluble vitamin C and B vitamins.

5. Limit your fruit intake

(1) Patients with poor blood sugar control (postprandial blood sugar ＞11.1 mmol/L or unstable blood sugar) are advised to control their fruit intake and use tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. instead of fruits.

(2) When blood sugar is well controlled, you can eat some fruit, no more than 200 g a day, between meals or after exercise. It is not advisable to eat fruit immediately after a meal to avoid increasing the blood sugar burden after a meal. Different fruits have different sugar contents, so you should choose fruits with low Gl and sugar content.

As for fruits, it is recommended to eat cherries, peaches, plums, pears, grapefruits, and apples; it is not recommended to eat watermelons, pineapples, bananas, sugar cane, grapes, etc.

6. Appropriate protein: The recommended protein intake is 0.8-1.2g/(kg·d). 60g of protein is equivalent to 250-500ml of fresh milk or soy milk + 1 egg + 150g of lean meat + 100-150g of soy products. Eat eggs and livestock meat in moderation. Soy milk and milk have their own nutritional characteristics. Both can be consumed every day.

Figure 3 Copyright image, no permission to reprint

7. Light and low-salt food: The daily salt intake of diabetic patients without hypertension should not exceed 6 g, that of hypertensive patients should not exceed 3 g, and that of diabetic patients with hypertension should not exceed 2 g. Patients who like to eat salty food can add a little vinegar to enhance the flavor of the dishes when cooking, and should gradually adapt to low-salt food. Generally, 20 ml of soy sauce contains about 3 g of salt.

8. Drink more water: Water is essential for diabetic patients, but patients with renal failure, heart failure or ascites due to liver cirrhosis should limit their water intake according to doctor's advice. Drink a glass of water in the morning and before going to bed, and replenish sufficient water in time after exercise. It is advisable to use boiled water or mineral water.

9. Quit drinking: It is advisable for diabetic patients not to drink alcohol.

10. Pay attention to self-management and receive individualized nutrition guidance regularly.