Diabetes is characterized by fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin, a hormone that transports glucose from your blood into your cells. Insufficient production of insulin in type 1 diabetes and cellular resistance to insulin in type 2 diabetes causes your blood glucose levels to increase after eating foods containing sugar. High blood glucose complications include cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney failure and blindness. Consult your doctor about a diet plan to control diabetes.
Low-Glycemic Foods
Most foods contain sugars that can influence your blood glucose levels. The glycemic index is a measurement that indicates how sugar in food influences blood glucose levels. Your body quickly absorbs sugar from high-glycemic foods, causing a rapid and uncontrollable increase in blood glucose levels. Consuming low-glycemic foods is preferable for controlling diabetes. You body slowly absorbs sugar from low-glycemic foods, enabling you to control your blood glucose levels. Moreover, the slow absorption of sugar enables you to absorb small amounts of sugar for longer periods, which can help you control your appetite and lower your hunger between meals. This especially benefits more than 80 percent of type 2 diabetics who are overweight and must control intake of calories.
Soluble Fiber
Eating foods that contain soluble fiber might help you to control blood sugar. Soluble fiber is an indigestible substance in legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains that slows your absorption of sugar. Soluble fiber also might reduce your cholesterol levels, a risk factor for cardiovascular complications.
Healthy Fats
Improving your blood cholesterol levels can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by between 20 percent and 50 percent. You can improve your blood cholesterol levels by avoiding or minimizing consumption of unhealthy fats and consuming healthy fats. Eating meat and dairy, which contain saturated fat, and processed foods that contain trans fats can increase your blood levels of total and LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. On the other hand, eating avocados and olive oil, which contain monounsaturated fat, and salmon and walnuts, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, might reduce your total and LDL cholesterol.
Low Sodium
Controlling your blood pressure might reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease and stroke, by between 33 percent and 50 percent, and microvascular diseases that affect your vision, nervous system and kidneys by 33 percent. For every 10 mm of mercury that you reduce your systolic blood pressure, you can lower your risk of any of these complications by 12 percent. You can reduce your blood pressure by reducing your dietary intake of sodium, preferably to less than 1,500 mg per day. Avoid processed foods, fast foods and certain restaurant foods that often are high in sodium content, sometimes exceeding your daily limit in just one serving.
References
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Diabetes
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
- MayoClinic.com: Dietary Fiber: Essential for a Healthy Diet
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention; National Diabetes Fact Sheet; March 12 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, in with the Good
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention: Sodium: The Facts
