Food Tips for Diabetes

Diabetes is said to be best managed by lifestyle adjustments including dieting and change in food habits. Here we provide some of the recent scientific findings on diet implications on diabetes and many medically well acclaimed food tips for diabetes.

Almost all recent medical statistics are indicating that diabetes is rapidly going to be the biggest killer disease on the globe and particularly affluent countries with more up-market lifestyle habits are more vulnerable to this disease. The nutrition and food tips for diabetes that we are going to discuss here is particularly significant because of the necessity of taming the disease through holistic changes in lifestyle as we already know that diabetes is a kind of disease that cannot be addressed properly with curative drugs except the wide ranging lifestyle adjustments. Type 1 diabetes which happens due to complete non production or inadequate production of glucose regulating insulin hormone is increasingly becoming frequent in children and people in their early teens while Type 2 diabetes which occurs mainly due to the body's resistance to insulin hormone is rapidly taking epidemic proportion across vast population and all age groups, particularly in people in their mid forties or above. Healthy low sugar, high fiber diet and metabolism friendly eating habit is the key to manage diabetes instead of so called curative medication. Here are our picks on latest food tips for diabetes based on some of the recent medical observations, findings and traditional insights in diabetes management.

1. Food rich in amino acid can be helpful in diabetic condition
   Some scientific research findings made it obvious to include this into our discussion on latest food tips for diabetes. We all know that Type 2 diabetes mainly occurs due to body's inability or decreased ability to metabolize glucose or in other way to put it, due to increased resistance of body cells to glucose. A recent experiment conducted by the researchers at University of Copenhagen revealed that amino acid called arginine is capable to reduce this glucose resistance to a significant extent. The acid found in an array of food stuff like salmon, nuts, etc.
    
2. Mediterranean diet can be a good alley in diabetes management
   Typical diet or food habit in the regions in both sides of the Mediterranean Sea for ages is considered to be healthy and nutrition balanced. A recent study conducted at Mario Negri Institute of Pharmacological research revealed that people in Mediterranean diet has at least 12% lower risk of diabetes than people in other dietary habits. Mediterranean diet typically consists of fresh leafy vegetables, whole grains, heart healthy olive oil, fruits and nuts, fermented dairy products, healthy seafood (rich in omega3 fatty acid) and a miniscule amount of sugar. Most importantly no deep frying, no processed food, chemical compound and challenging spices for digestion and metabolism. The widespread consumption and production of healthy red wine in these areas is just another addition to healthy diet.
    
3. Drinking red wine can have anti diabetic effects
   A recent study published in Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative medicine journal came out with a surprising benefit of red wine which is consumed by a significant portion of population in many countries almost on a regular basis. According to the study the phytochemical present in red wine and red grapes called resveratrol is helpful to reduce the blood sugar level significantly in Type 2 diabetes patients. Drinking red wine is not only prescribed as one of the food tips for diabetes, it has also an array of health benefits like decreasing systolic blood pressure, decreasing fasting blood glucose, decreasing insulin resistance and significantly increasing heart healthy HDL or good cholesterol, etc.
    
4. Moderate consumption of coffee can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes
   A latest report published by Institute of Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) highlighted a surprising fact about regular consumption of coffee. It said that regularly consuming coffee at moderate proportion reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes to a great extent. According to the study drinking few cups of coffee lowers the risk of Type 2 diabetes up to 25%. Most important of all the caffeine content in coffee has nothing to do with this beneficial effect as both normal decaffeinated coffee varieties have the same health benefits for diabetes. So, with decaffeinated coffee you can reap the benefits concerning diabetes and avoid other harmful effects of caffeine on health.
    
5. Thiamine or Vitamin B1 supplement can be helpful in Type 2 diabetes
   According to a new study published in European Journal of Nutrition, Thiamine or Vitamin B1 supplement can really play a beneficial role in Type 2 diabetic patients by improving their glucose tolerance level. The study conducted over a number of patients suffering from hyperglycemia or diabetic condition due to glucose intolerance concluded that Thiamine or Vitamin B1 supplement can successfully prevent the deterioration in fasting glucose and insulin and thus improve glucose tolerance significantly to prevent the onset of diabetes.
    
6. Follow a low salt and high potassium diet plan is crucial in diabetes
   Our body has a natural balance of sodium and potassium and in case of heart disease or diabetes or hypertension or nervous disorder, higher sodium level plays the killer role and on the other hand potassium not only helps to reduce the sodium level it is helpful for a healthy heart, proper glucose metabolism and for retaining the normal blood pressure. So less consumption of salt and salty food stuff and more consumption of potassium rich foods like fresh vegetables and fruits can play crucial role in not only lowering blood glucose but also for overall health parameters.
    
7. Food rich in fiber must be a priority in diabetic condition
   Why fiber in food is so widely recommended as a healthy nutritional component across the diet plans? Yes, fiber content has multitude of health benefits including preventing cancer, but for diabetes it is endowed with some special significance. Fiber content in food makes it complex and little challenging for our digestion and so the glucose it releases is consumed at slow pace and less insulin is needed to be released for metabolism of glucose. Naturally thus the chances of insulin resistance in body lowers down to a significant extent or glucose level also cannot increase suddenly. So more fiber rich is your food, more it is doing good to your diabetic condition.
    
8. Eat small portion of food at a time
   Eating a bellyful is something that you no longer can do once you are detected with diabetes. Eating up to the brim means the body at a time has to consume more glucose and this would signal more insulin production, thus eventually triggering insulin resistance. On the other hand eating small portion at a time makes the metabolic process work slow with a better rate of glucose consumption by the body cells.
    
9. Replace animal protein with green veggies
   If slow and complex metabolism of glucose is one necessity for diabetes management then green leafy veggies with their high fiber content are certainly at advantage. Moreover, veggies are rich in acidic content and that make them good for proper digestion and metabolism. On the other hand, animal protein in meat and fish comes with high calorie risking your body to gain weight and create metabolic complications that can lead to diabetes.
    
10. Choosing high fiber and slow release carbohydrates is a must
    While carbohydrates have a bigger impact on diabetes than other nutrition elements like protein or fats, choosing the right carbohydrate is crucial for diabetes management. Complex carbohydrates with high fiber take longer time to get digested and naturally they make insulin release at slower pace, thus making the glucose metabolism easier than other carbohydrates. Choosing these high fiber complex carbohydrates which are also called slow release carbohydrates is one of the most important healthy recommendations or food tips for diabetes.
     
11. A strict 'No' to soft drinks
    There is no alternative but to say a strict and loud 'No' to all kinds of soft drinks and sweetened beverages as they are rich in easily soluble glucose providing no time for the metabolic process to consume and thus increasing the blood glucose level all of a sudden. A glass of fresh fruit juice or a cup of green tea can be better alternative.
     
12. Using a organic and heart healthy cooking medium is must
    Heart healthy cooking medium or oil is a crucial aspect that we must introduce among the food tips for diabetes. Almost all scientific studies in recent times have revealed the immediate and close connection among heart disorders, obesity and diabetes. So cooking medium like olive oil is not only good for heart, it is healthy alternative to avoid getting obese and by the same effect to remain safe from diabetes as well.
     
13. Moderate intake of Omega-3 fatty acid is helpful in diabetes
    Omega-3 fatty acid is long considered to be a heart healthy nutrient which is available particularly in seafood like salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, etc. These seafood and fishes are far better alternative to your portion of meat in meal. They not only keep your heart healthy, they are rich in amino acid which helps to reduce insulin resistance in Type 2 diabetes.
     
14. Digestion friendly spices may help diabetic people too
    For ages some spices in their pure natural form are used in food preparation for their array of health properties, especially digestion and metabolism. If you suffer from indigestion chronically your diabetic condition can get worse as the cell level consumption of blood glucose will be hindered severely. Some digestion friendly spices in food help the stomach to release gut juices more regularly and thus helps better metabolism which is crucial for diabetes. Turmeric, cumin, ajwain, black pepper, cinnamon and sesame seed are some of these crucial spices with either direct effect in reducing diabetes risk or helping the metabolism.
     
15. Say 'No' to stale and cold food
    If you are diabetic already or at least have a family background of diabetes you should be extra aware from taking food in stale or cold condition. Though the subject is least emphasized in the scientific discussion on eating recommendations or food tips for diabetes, it is nevertheless a fact that frozen or otherwise stale food loses the nutritional components like fiber, acids, minerals and vitamins to a significant extent and prove to be challenging for the metabolism. Disturbed metabolism or absence of certain crucial nutrients like fiber or acidic content can severely affect the glucose consumption in the cell level and thus can be dangerous altogether in diabetic condition.

Check latest news and articles of Diabetes. Check more articles Ayurvedic remedies for Diabetes.