Your body turns most of the food it digests into a form of sugar called glucose. Insulin, a hormone, allows glucose to enter your cells, which use the glucose for energy, FamilyDoctor.org reports. Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which your pancreas does not produce sufficient amounts of insulin or your cells are resistant to it. In either case, Type 2 diabetes often leads to high amounts of glucose in the blood. Having too much glucose in your blood can lead to serious health issues. By choosing what you eat wisely, you help control your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrates
Choose whole grains foods such as brown rice or whole wheat pasta over processed grain products, the American Diabetes Society recommends. Eat plenty of vegetables and choose as wide a variety as possible. Give special preference to non-starchy vegetables like spinach, carrots, broccoli or green beans and include lentils and dried beans like kidney and pinto beans in your meals. Avoid drinks that are sweetened with sugar such as fruit punch, sweet teas and other such drinks. Limit the amount of high calorie snack foods and desserts you eat like chips, cookies, cakes and full-fat ice cream.
Fats
Choose to cook with or eat fats that are liquid at room temperature over fats that are solid at room temperature. Fats that are solid at room temperature are either saturated fat or trans fat, and fats that are liquid at room temperature are either monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat, MayoClinic.com reports. Saturated fat and trans fat can increase your "bad" cholesterol and increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Beef fat, pork fat, shortening, stick margarine and butter are examples of foods that are high in saturated fats and trans fats, and should be used sparingly, if not eliminated from your diet altogether. Monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat may help you control your blood sugar and decrease your risk of heart disease. Olive oil, safflower oil, peanut oil and corn oil are some sources of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
Protein
Choose lean meats for your protein. Meats such as pork loin, sirloin and skinless chicken and turkey are good protein sources for Type 2 diabetics, the American Diabetes Society recommends. Make it a habit to have fish as part of you meals two to three times a week. When selecting your meat and poultry, read the labels. Look for key words that indicate cuts that have less fat such as round, chuck or tenderloin for beef and tenderloin and loin chops or leg for lamb or pork, MayoClinic.com advises. When choosing lean poultry, look for white meat from the breast with no skin. Higher fat meat and poultry tend to be tastier, so if you can't resist higher fat choices, use them as an occasional indulgence instead of your regular fare.
Portion Control
By being conscious of the portions of food you eat, you'll be able to satisfy your hunger while knowing that you are managing your diabetes. In general, emphasize non-starchy vegetables over starchy foods and meats, the American Diabetes Society recommends. Divide your dinner plate in half and then divide one side of the plate into two. Fill the largest part of your plate with non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes. Fill one of the smaller sections of your plate with starchy foods such as cooked beans, potatoes, green peas and corn. In the last section of your plate, put your meats like chicken or turkey without the skin, or fish or lean cuts of beef and pork. By controlling your portions, you'll not only control your diabetes, you'll also be able to control your weight as well.
References
- FamilyDoctor.org; Diabetes and Nutrition; October 2010
- American Diabetic Association: Making Healthy Food Choices
- MayoClinic.com; Dietary fats: Know Which Types to Choose; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; How Meat and Poultry Fit in Your Healthy Diet; June 2009
- American Diabetic Association: Create Your Plate
