A healthy diet can help you manage diabetes, including controlling your blood sugar and lowering your risk of cardiovascular complications. Type 1 diabetics do not produce insulin, the hormone that brings sugar from your blood to your cells, while Type 2 diabetics produce insulin, but cells may resist it. Both types of diabetics have high blood sugar and increased risk of cardiovascular complications. Consult your doctor about your diet requirements.
Low Glycemic Foods
Eating mostly low glycemic foods can help you control your blood sugar and prevent it from getting high, which can increase your risk of complications, particularly cardiovascular disease. The glycemic index is a measurement of how fast your body will digest and absorb sugar from foods into your blood. Your body quickly digests and absorbs sugar from foods with a high glycemic index, causing your blood sugar to spike, while your body slowly digests and absorbs sugars from foods with a low glycemic index, helping to prevent spikes in blood sugar. Low glycemic foods include whole grains, such as barley, whole-grain pumpernickel bread and whole-wheat spaghetti; legumes, such as lentils, chickpeas, peanuts and soy beans; and fruits and vegetables, such as citrus fruits, carrots and green beans.
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber is an indigestible substance in fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes that can help you control your blood sugar and reduce your cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber slows down the absorption of sugars from foods. It also reduces the amount of dietary cholesterol you absorb into your body. Eating more foods with soluble fiber may improve control of blood sugar, reduce insulin and lower blood cholesterol levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to research by scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" in May 2000.
Healthy Fats
Eating healthy fats and avoiding unhealthy fats can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Healthy fats include monounsaturated fat from olive oil, avocados, sesame seeds, almonds, peanut butter and omega-3 fatty acids from flax seeds, walnuts and fatty fish, such as sardines, herring, salmon and tuna. Unhealthy fats include saturated fats from dairy and meat products and trans fats from processed foods.
Calories
A low-calorie diet with increased physical activity can help people with Type 2 diabetes who are overweight or obese lose weight. Increased weight is a risk factor for high blood sugar, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Research by scientists at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and published in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition" in October 2003 evaluated clinical studies performed on the effects of weight loss for obese diabetics and discovered that low-calorie diets are associated with significant decreases in body weight, blood sugar, blood cholesterol and blood pressure. The researchers concluded that losing weight may be the most effective therapeutic treatment for most obese Type 2 diabetics.
References
- National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse; Diabetes; November 2008
- American Diabetes Association: Complications
- University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Center for Integrative Medicine: Glycemic Index
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; Importance of Weight Management in Type 2 Diabetes: Review with Meta-Analysis of Clinical Studies; James Anderson, et al.; October 2003
- "New England Journal of Medicine"; Beneficial Effects of High Dietary Fiber Intake in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; M. Chandalia, et al.; May 2000
- American Diabetes Association: Fat and Diabetes
