All You Need To Know About A Healthy Diabetic Diet

The increased ratio of diabetic patients seems to be alarming. Multiple reasons can be held responsible for it, blame it on the poor lifestyle practices or genetics. While some factors that lead to diabetes like age, genetics etc. cannot be controlled, there are other factors that can certainly be managed. One such factor is your diet, what you eat can seriously impact your blood sugar level. 
 
A diabetic diet is all about eating a healthy balanced diet. It doesn't mean giving up your favourite foods or just eating sugar-free food. It just means having a balanced diet.

Following a rich diet at all the stages of diabetes management, including pre diabetic stage to prevent the onset of diabetes or even to reverse it is vital. 

Some basic principles of a diabetic diet:

• A diabetic diet plan should be high in nutrients, with low fat and carbohydrates.
• Restrict calorie intake 
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat three meals a day at regular intervals.
   

Eat healthy carbohydrates

Include healthy carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole-grains and low fat dairy products in your diet.
Avoid sugars (beverages like soda, energy drinks, coffee and processed foods like doughnuts, muffins, candy bars) and starches (rice, potato, refined wheat flour) as they break down into glucose with digestion. Also these are more likely to cause abdominal obesity.

Go for good fat

• Select foods containing ‘good’ fats like monounsaturated fats and linoleic acid.
• Restrict total amount to approximately half kilogram per person per month or 3 tsp per person per day.
• Prefer oils containing alpha linoleic acid (good for heart) - like mustard oil, soybean oil and rice bran oil..
• Avoid bakery products like biscuits, cakes, sweets and fried snacks like chips, french fries, burger, samosas, pakoras, pizza.

Don’t miss the proteins

Amount of protein should be such that it provides 15-20% of total calories (approximately 1gm/kg body weight).
Meat, milk, fish, poultry, eggs, cheese and soy, can provide 50% of daily protein intake.

Embracing a healthy eating plan is a great way to keep your blood glucose level under control. This will also help you in preventing various health complications related to diabetes.