Healthy eating plays a very important role in controlling and managing diabetes. A proportionate diet helps to keep cholesterol in check, lower blood pressure, reduce the likelihood of complications associated with diabetes, even improve the quality of life. Some healthy dietary tips for people with diabetes are:
1 . Schedule your meal timings. Try and have about 6-7 mini-meals, that are nutritious and healthy, in a day’s time to avoid binge eating. Practice eating these mini- meals at particular time-slots during the day. This will help to avert the sudden spikes in the glucose levels.
2 . Eat small frequent meals. Eating small meals will prevent you from feeling extremely hungry at any time of the day. It will also ensure a gradual and slight increase in blood glucose level after each small meal.
3 . Switch to a smaller plate: A completely occupied small plate will give a feeling of eating enough. It will help you eat less and in the right quantity.
4 . Change your cooking oils: No oil is perfect, however, some are better than others. Oils such as olive oil, walnut oil, rapeseed oil, avocado oil, rice bran oil, and safflower oil are preferable and should be used in rotation. It is also important to use them in moderation.
5 . Watch out for invisible fat: Avoid full cream milk or preparations made out of full cream milk. Choose double toned milk over the full cream. Before eating anything, just give a thought to what the food’s constituents are and you’ll soon understand yourself as to what you should not be eating.
6 . Add fiber to your diet. Choose cereals such as oats, barley, and bran as breakfast options. Prefer to eat unrefined multigrain preparations. Add as many vegetables and fruits such as cherries, peaches, apricots, apples, oranges, and pears to your dishes.
7 . Restrict salt intake. Low salt diet will help in keeping the blood pressure under control. It will always help you get rid of unnecessary water retention.
8 . Stay hydrated. Last but not the least, drink a lot of water. Drink 2-3 liters of fluids throughout the day. You can have green tea, buttermilk, water, fresh lemon juice without sugar. Make sure you do not hop on to options that are loaded with sugars, instead settle with drinks that can be enjoyed sugarless.