Living With Diabetes? Here's A Dietary Regime You Should Opt For

Foods to eat and avoid: How can you support a loved one with diabetes?

World Diabetes Day 2022: The treatment objective of diabetes is to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle while reducing the fluctuation or spikes in blood glucose levels. Additionally, increase glucose utilisation or reduce insulin resistance. To achieve this, Dr Manoj Kutteri shares a simple dietary regime to follow:

Foods To Go For:

1. Minimum of 2-3 cups of vegetables, out of which we choose both leafy greens and fleshy veggies
2. Whole grains which must be limited to 2 times a day and each time not more than 50 gm per meal
3. About 100 150 gm of lean proteins such as beans, lentils, cottage cheese etc., for vegetarians and lean meats and eggs for non-vegetarians
4. 20-30% of your daily calorie requirement can also come from healthy fats such as ghee, olive oil, fresh butter, coconut oils, nuts and oil seeds, avocados etc
5. Include 2-3 cups of fresh fruits such as berries, papaya, apples, pears, guava, pomegranate and any other seasonal fruits that are low on the glycemic index

One Should Avoid The Following:

1. Even that comes indirectly from bottled drinks, sugar-coated cereals, pastries, cookies, ice creams, and flavoured yoghurt.
2. Excess salt salted snacks, chips, canned soups, pre-packed snacks, ready-to-eat foods, bread, crackers and other processed foods
3. Processed meats that, include sausages, bacon, meatballs, nuggets etc., are high in sodium, unhealthy fats and other harmful compounds.
4. Refined carbs, sugars, refined oils etc., lack any nutritional value and are harmful to diabetes as they induce inflammation and spike sugar levels.
5. Carbonated drinks and alcohol can contain a high amount of sugar and hidden calories and must be avoided.

Tips that someone can leverage to provide support to a loved one with diabetes

If your loved ones have been diagnosed with diabetes, there are various ways in which one could be there for them:

• Social support by making them cultivate healthy practices. A lot of people stick to their addictions because of a social commitment. One can provide the cushioning to promote thinking differently when indulging in social gatherings/parties.
• Another major contributing factor to diabetes is stress. At times it is work stress or even personal stress within the family. One needs to be more considerate towards a friend living with diabetes, try to help them manage their emotional issues, and be a patient listener to their problems.

Hope you have a fruitful day ahead!