Diabetics: How to eat healthier and stabilize blood sugar?

Winter is a good time to maintain health. Chinese medicine says that "Qi begins at the winter solstice". Life activities start from the winter solstice, from decline to prosperity, from static to dynamic. Scientific health care at this time can help to ensure vigorous energy and prevent premature aging, so as to achieve the purpose of longevity. Diversified diets are recommended in winter, and grains, fruits, meat and vegetables should be reasonably matched. But how should diabetics who cannot eat too much rice, cannot eat too much fruit, and basically do not touch sweets choose?

In fact, a diabetic diet does not mean an ascetic life. How to eat delicious and healthy food while keeping blood sugar stable is very important. Let's talk about what details diabetic friends need to pay attention to when eating.

The dietary requirement for diabetic friends is to control the total calorie intake. The amount of each meal can be determined according to the individual's body shape, age and activity level. You can also eat small meals frequently, appropriately reduce the amount of food for the main meal, and put the remaining portion between meals or before going to bed as a snack, which can not only avoid postprandial high blood sugar, but also prevent hypoglycemia at night. The cooking method for diabetic friends is also very particular. The hardness, rawness, thickness and particle size of the food all affect the glycemic index of the food. You can steam, boil and mix it, and try not to fry, pan-fry or stew it, to avoid excessive loss of nutrients and excessive intake of fat and calories.

In addition, diabetics should also eat in a certain order. Usually, soup is given priority, followed by vegetables, then meat and eggs, and finally staple food. This can keep blood sugar at a stable level after eating. In addition to controlling calorie intake, the diabetic diet must also take into account dietary balance and take in various nutrients such as sugars, proteins, fats, and minerals in proportion. However, it is completely undesirable to maintain blood sugar by excessive dieting or a completely vegetarian or even "fasting". Because although blood sugar will drop as calorie intake decreases in the early stage, due to insufficient nutrient intake, the energy required for human activities can only be obtained through the decomposition of body fat. Ketone bodies are produced when fat is decomposed. Excessive accumulation of ketone bodies in the body will cause ketoacidosis, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.

After mastering the diabetes diet, let's take a look at what foods are good for maintaining blood sugar! The diet of diabetics should be simple. The staple food can be a combination of cereals and potatoes. Both coarse grains and fine grains should be consumed. Coarse grains are rich in nutrients, especially dietary fiber, which can help friends effectively control the rise of blood sugar. At the same time, they also contain some minerals, which can keep friends' blood sugar in a relatively stable trend.

In addition, the way cereals and potatoes are prepared is equally important. For example, whole wheat steamed bread made from wheat is a good choice, but if it is made into refined flour and white flour steamed bread, it should not be eaten too much. If butter and sugar are added to make biscuits, blood sugar will be in danger. At the same time, it should be noted that compared with rice and steamed bread, sticky porridge and noodles are digested and absorbed quickly, have a high glycemic index, and will significantly increase blood sugar after eating. Therefore, diabetic friends should try to eat dry food and drink less liquid food.

Vegetables generally contain a large amount of dietary fiber and very little carbohydrates. Eating them is beneficial to controlling diabetes, so there are generally no strict restrictions on vegetable intake. However, the vegetables eaten must have a low glycemic index, such as winter melon, cabbage, rapeseed, spinach, celery, etc. However, vegetables with high carbohydrate content should be strictly limited, such as root vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, lotus root, broad beans, etc. If you cannot avoid eating these vegetables, you must calculate the nutritional content of these vegetables in detail and reduce the amount of staple food accordingly.

When the blood sugar of diabetic patients is stable, they can eat low-sugar fruits such as watermelon, orange, grapefruit, kiwi, lemon, plum, etc. Try not to eat high-sugar fruits such as banana, grape, red date, cantaloupe, etc. Generally speaking, it is better to eat fruits between meals, or when hungry or after physical activities, as energy and nutrient supplements. It is not recommended to eat fruits before or after meals to avoid consuming too much carbohydrates at one time, which will cause high blood sugar after meals and increase the burden on the pancreas.

In addition, the choice of fruit should be based on one's own situation. If a diabetic friend has a blood glucose meter at home, he or she can test blood sugar before and 2 hours after eating the fruit. This is very helpful for understanding whether you can eat this kind of fruit and whether you are eating too much.

Protein foods are essential in the diabetic diet, mainly including lean meat, livestock meat, poultry meat, fish, shrimp and other aquatic products, eggs, milk, etc. Diabetic friends need to eat 1 egg or 1 bag of milk and a proper amount of lean meat every day. When eating dairy products, it is best to choose skim or low-fat dairy products. It is best to choose chicken, duck, fish and cattle as meat. You can also eat bean products to replace part of the meat intake, but it is best not to eat pork, fat, animal offal and processed meat products.

In addition, now is the season when all kinds of nuts are on the market. Diabetics must control the amount of nuts they eat, including melon seeds, peanuts, pine nuts, etc., which are very high in calories and fat. Diabetics who don't like to drink water but prefer alcohol should also pay attention to the fact that alcohol is high in calories and has few nutrients. Drinking on an empty stomach can easily cause hypoglycemia for diabetic friends, and drinking often disrupts normal eating and medication, leading to blood sugar fluctuations. Therefore, for health and safety, diabetic friends should not drink alcohol. If they really can't refuse, they can drink a small amount of red wine or beer if their condition permits.

I believe that everyone now has a certain understanding of what to eat, how much to eat, and how to eat. No matter what, "control your mouth" is the key. Dietary therapy is the most basic, most complex and difficult to implement part of diabetes care. However, without good dietary control, no matter how good the medicine is, it will be in vain.

References:

[1]Dietary Nutrition Guidelines for Diabetes[N]. Health and Life News, 2008-05-19.011.

[2] Zhao Juzhi, Xinmin Health Center, Juntun Town, Xindu District, Chengdu. Dietary Guidelines for Diabetes[N]. People's Health News, 2020-09-23.037.

[3] Ningxia. Keep the “green light” on for diabetes diet[N]. Health Times, 2006-06-22.012