Here’s what a typical Ayurvedic diet chart for diabetics looks like

In Ayurveda, poor digestion is considered to be the primary cause of diabetes. Follow this diet chart to keep your blood sugar under control.

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is the world's fastest growing chronic condition, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is a metabolic disease that occurs when your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar to be stored or used for energy. An estimated 77 million people are living with diabetes in India. The number is expected to grow by over 100% by 2030. In Ayurveda, poor digestion is considered to be the primary cause of diabetes, which is referred to as 'Madhumey.'

Eating a healthy diet will help you keep your blood sugar levels under control, prevent weight gain, and manage your diabetes. People with diabetes are recommended to follow a diet rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories. Ayurveda also suggests limiting or avoiding the intake of sweets and simple carbohydrates and including more green and leafy vegetables. Below is a typical ayurvedic diet chart for diabetics.

Early morning

Begin your day with a cup of herbal infusion to kick start your body's metabolism. How to make the herbal infusion: Mix a tsp of crushed mulethi (licorice), a bark of cinnamon, three pods of crushed cardamom, a tsp of crushed coriander seeds in a jar. Pour a sufficient quantity of piping hot boiling water in the jar. Add a teaspoon of honey and drink this mixture on empty stomach to boost your metabolism. The recommended dosage of this herbal infusion is 150 300ml.

Breakfast

Foods rich in insoluble fiber like whole cereals (bajra, ragi, or maize) are ideal breakfast items for a diabetic. You can have pancakes, steamed idlis, paddu, versions of roti made from cereals. Adding spicy condiments like mint, coriander, tomato, herbal chutneys can further improve the digestion and absorption of the food. There's an old saying: "Eat breakfast like a king; lunch like a prince; and dinner like a pauper." For diabetics, 40-60gms of dry cereal mix flour would be sufficient to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day. Syamaka, kodrava and uddalaka variety of rice, godhuma (wheat), canaka, adhaki and kulattha pulse beans are good options for diabetics.

Mid-morning snack

An ideal mid-morning snack could be a bowl (60gms) of whole protein like steamed and spiced sprouts sprinkled with lemon juice. This will provide your body with essential proteins for the day. Go for canaka, adhaki and kulattha pulse beans.

Lunch

Make sure your thali consists of steamed red rice or Saamai rice, a bowl of horse gram dal/dal soup, one bowl of steamed legumes and one bowl of steamed veggie, and a glass of buttermilk. This is enough to provide the needed calories as well as satiate the diabetic appetite. The ideal portion size is -

• 50gms of steamed rice
• 40 gms of cooked dal
• 100 gms each of legumes and veggies
• 150 ml of buttermilk

Evening

Drink a glass [100ml] of warm spiced light mulethi (licorice root) milk tea in the evening. This will help digest the previous meal while supporting the transition of digestive metabolism from day to evening.

Dinner

Wind up the day with a light meal. The ideal Ayurvedic dinner menu includes a bowl of oats porridge/broken wheat porridge with buttermilk and a medium-sized bowl of steamed veggies. Alternatively, you can have roti with sumptuous veg curries.