Many starchy foods are staples in the standard American diet. For example, breakfast cereals, oatmeal, bread, buns, rolls, pitas, tortillas, french fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, corns, peas, muffins, rice, pasta, cookies, cakes and other baked goods are regularly part of the menu for most Americans. Starches are part of the total carbohydrate content of a food, along with sugar and fiber. If you have diabetes, monitoring your carb intake is key to optimizing your blood sugar levels and staying healthy.
Starch and Diabetes
Carbohydrates used to be classified as being complex, like starches, or simple, like sugars. However, this classification is not used anymore because it doesn't allow you to distinguish easily between the effects of different types of carbohydrates on your health, particularly on your blood sugar levels. Although many diabetics watch their sugar intake, your starch intake is just as important in determining your degree of blood sugar control. Starches are made of a long chain of glucose, or sugar, and after starch is digested, it is converted to sugar. In other words, both starch and sugar have the same ability to rise your blood sugar levels after you eat them, and diabetics need to control both their starch and sugar intakes. Track your carb intake to identify the optimal amount of carbs to control your blood sugar levels. However, discuss any dietary changes with your diabetes educator.
Low-Starch Breakfast
To lower your starch intake at breakfast, try reducing your servings of breakfast cereals, oatmeal, bread, bagels, croissants and muffins. Try getting your carbs from fruits, milk, yogurt and nuts instead. For example, you could mix 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottage cheese or plain yogurt with 2 tbsp. of peanut or almond butter and 1 cup of strawberries for a high-protein, low-starch breakfast. You could also have an omelet with red bell peppers, spinach and some goat cheese served with a small smoothie made with milk, plain yogurt, a third of a banana and some raspberries.
Low-Starch Lunch and Dinner
A low-starch lunch and dinner should be based on generous servings of non-starchy vegetables and a protein option. For example, you could combine leafy greens, stir-fried broccoli, onions and mushrooms, tomatoes or asparagus with a serving of chicken breast, salmon fillet, pork loin or steak. Add healthy fats by adding avocado slices or using olive oil to cook your foods or to drizzle over your vegetables or salad. Complete your meal with a serving of fruit, a glass of milk, a small smoothie or a plain yogurt, and berry parfait.
Low-Starch Snacks
For your snacks, stay away from potato chips, pretzels, rice cakes, energy bars and muffins. You can snack on low-starch foods, such as half a banana spread with peanut butter, celery sticks spread with almond butter, a handful of almonds, grapes served with cheese, a glass of milk, plain yogurt with pears and cinnamon or a couple of hard-boiled eggs.
