Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Published : November 21, 2017 11:47 AM IST
Never let your kids go to school on an empty stomach no matter how early the schools is. Give them nuts. Never let them go to school hungry.
Diabetes is all about keeping a tab on your diet and exercising every day without fail to control your blood glucose levels. In addition to taking medications, ensuring you snack smartly can play a key role in keeping your diabetes under control. But this where we all go wrong. It goes without saying that sugar and salt containing foods are a strict no-no for diabetics, however, the same rule applies to fruits as they provide a quick surge of sugar. So we end you loading on nuts. But read this before you pick a handful of nuts! Here's more on why people with diabetes eat nuts.
What's the best way to eat nuts for diabetes?
Nuts are low in carbohydrates. These are packed with vegetable protein and fibre, which help you to manage your glucose intake. It is seen that when nuts are eaten alone, it has minimal effects on raising postprandial blood glucose levels. However, if you consume nuts with carbohydrate-rich foods, it helps in lowering the postprandial glycemic response after a carbohydrate meal [1]. So the right way to have nuts is to have it with carbohydrates to minimise the surge of blood glucose level. Here are healthy snacks for diabetes to keep blood sugar stable all day long!
A research study also showed that tree nuts do improve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes [2]. This substantiates the idea of including nuts in a healthy diet to control and prevent diabetes. Nuts are not only low on a glycemic index but also makes you full for a longer time, preventing you from snacking on unhealthy foods. Nuts also help you to regulate the overall caloric intake, which plays a key role in maintaining a healthy body weight. Hence, Hence, nuts can be a healthy dietary component for individuals with diabetes or those at risk for diabetes [3].
References:
1. Kendall CW, Esfahani A, Truan J, Srichaikul K, Jenkins DJ. Health benefits of nuts in prevention and management of diabetes. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2010;19(1):110-6. Review. PubMed PMID: 20199995.
2. Viguiliouk E, Kendall CW, Blanco Mejia S, Cozma AI, Ha V, Mirrahimi A, Jayalath VH, Augustin LS, Chiavaroli L, Leiter LA, de Souza RJ, Jenkins DJ, Sievenpiper JL. Effect of tree nuts on glycemic control in diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled dietary trials. PLoS One. 2014 Jul 30;9(7):e103376. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103376. eCollection 2014. Review. Erratum in: PLoS One. 2014;9(9):e109224. PubMed PMID: 25076495; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4116170.
3. Lovejoy JC. The impact of nuts on diabetes and diabetes risk. Curr Diab Rep. 2005 Oct;5(5):379-84. Review. PubMed PMID: 16188174.
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