Don’t Panic, You Have a Smarter Way to Deal with Diabetes!

Regular check-ups and medication for diabetes (whether in tablet or injection form) are not the only way to control your blood sugar (glucose) levels. In fact, there is evidence that many people who lose weight and adopt a low-carbohydrate diet can control their blood sugar enough to be able to reduce or even stop their medication.

Diet Rules over Diabetes:

• Eat three meals a day. Avoid skipping meals and space breakfast, lunch and evening meal out over the day.
• At each meal include starchy carbohydrate foods – e.g. bread, pasta, chapattis, potatoes, rice etc.
•  Eat more slowly absorbed (low glycemic index) foods – e.g., pasta, basmati or easy cook rice, grainy breads, sweet potato, porridge oats.
• Reduce the fat in the diet, especially saturated fats. Use unsaturated fats or oils, especially mono-unsaturated fats – e.g., olive oil and vegetable oil.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables. Aim for at least five portions a day.
• Eat more beans and lentils – e.g., kidney beans, chickpeas or red and green lentils.
• Eat at least two portions of oily fish a week – e.g., mackerel (surmai), yellow croaker (yellow mushka), tuna, palla, salmon (rawas/ramas) etc.
• Limit sugar and sugary foods.
• Snacks (nuts, low-glycemic fruits, boiled eggs etc)
• Reduce salt in the diet to 1 teaspoon or less per day.
• Include low-fat dairy products.
• Don’t use diabetic foods or drinks (they are expensive and of no benefit).

General Guidelines:

• Choices may need to be adjusted according to the individual’s self-monitoring tests. Have snacks only if self-monitoring suggests a need; check particularly if a high insulin dose is needed to correct pre-prandial hyperglycemia (high blood glucose prior to a meal).
• Diabetes is all about healthy eating, keep your cholesterol, blood pressure and of course blood sugar in check, control portion size and focus on the types of food you are having.

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