Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people in the United States. It is treated with medication, meal planning and healthy lifestyle choices. I you have diabetes or are looking to prevent diabetes, the best way is to exercise, maintain a healthy body weight and eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, healthy fats and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition in which your body does not produce or use insulin well. Insulin is a hormone that keeps your blood sugar levels in a normal range. In diabetes, your blood sugar levels are too high and they are affected by the foods you eat. These levels are not regulated because your body does not produce enough insulin or because it does not respond to the insulin that your body does produce.Too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems that can damage your eyes, kidneys and nerves.
DASH Diet
The DASH diet was designed to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. DASH stands for "dietary approaches to stop hypertension." The DASH diet consists of low levels of saturated fat and low cholesterol. It focuses on fruits, vegetables and fat-free or low-fat milk products. The diet is also rich in whole grains, fish, poultry, beans, seeds and nuts. People who are on the DASH diet also avoid excess sweets, sugary drinks and red meat, all of which is beneficial to someone with diabetes.
Considerations
Diabetes can lead to chronic disease like heart disease and stroke. The DASH diet is not designed specifically for diabetes patients, but it can help prevent high blood pressure, which contributes to heart disease. The DASH diet can be incorporated into any diabetes diet because it emphasizes eating foods low in saturated fat, cholesterol, total fat and sodium. The diet is also high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods, which are beneficial to overall health.
Recommendations
The DASH diet recommends eating less than 2,400 mg of sodium each day. In addition, it encourages exercise and healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. The Harvard School of Public Health has created five tips for preventing diabetes including exercise, maintaining a healthy body weight, eating healthy unsaturated fats, focusing on whole grains and avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugary drinks.
Benefits
According to MedlinePlus, the DASH diet can provide health benefits like lower blood pressure and a decrease in the risk for heart disease and stroke. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fats is important for heart health, and it also provides additional healthy benefits of a more ideal body weight and less risk for chronic disease. If you have diabetes, the DASH diet can be incorporated in your meal planning, which will help lower your risk of heart disease and provide healthy dietary suggestions.
References
- The Harvard School of Public Health: Preventing Diabetes
- Medline Plus: Diabetes
- Medline Plus: DASH Diet Shown to Lower Heart Attack Risk Almost 20%
- The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: What Is the DASH Eating Plan?
- The University of Illinois Diabtes Life Lines: Diabetes The Medical Perspective
