Things Best Considered For Type 2 Diabetes Diet: Research has it that if your meal plan helps you achieve a healthier lifestyle and control your blood sugar levels in your target range, it may also reduce your risk for complications such as nerve damage, heart disease, and stroke.
Foods to eat with type 2 diabetes
You can choose to follow any eating patterns to meet your health needs.
But with type 2 diabetes, ensure you choose a diet rich in nutrient-dense food that can make provisions for vitamins, fibers, and minerals in the body cells.
Be sure to enjoy a variety of heart-healthy fats, to help reduce the level of cholesterol to support a healthy heart.
At the same time, the consumption of food that is high in fiber can help to regulate blood sugar and help keep you feeling fuller for longer to help prevent eating when you’re not hungry.
In addition, your diet should also be easy and sustainable to follow. Diet plans that don’t fit your lifestyle can be much harder to maintain in the long run. Examples of Nutritious Foods that your diet should contain include:
- Fruits such as pears, apples, oranges, etc.
- Vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, cucumber, etc.
- Whole grains such as oats, quinoa, oats, brown rice, etc.
- Legumes like lentils, beans, etc.
- Nuts like walnuts, cashews, almonds, etc.
- Seeds like flax seeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, etc.
- Protein-rich foods like seafood, tempeh, skinless poultry, etc.
- Heart-healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, etc.
- Beverages like black coffee, water, black coffee, vegetable juice, unsweetened tea, etc.
Foods to avoid with type 2 diabetes
Some foods are more nutrient-dense choices than others. This means they’re richer sources of vitamins and minerals. Plus, they contain less fat, sugar, and cholesterol.
It is important to limit the consumption of foods high in fat, and added sugar to help support better blood sugar management and prevent health complications related to diabetes. Some of the foods you should limit include:
- High-fat meat like poultry skin, fatty cuts of pork, beef, etc.
- Full-fat dairy like cheese, milk, butter, etc.
- Sweets like cookies, candy, cookies, ice cream, etc.
- Sugar-sweetened beverages like juice, soda, etc.
- Sweeteners like table sugar, honey, etc.
- Processed foods like chips, microwave popcorn, etc.
Carbohydrate Counting for Type 2 Diabetes
This is one that can be taken to help manage your blood sugar levels.
With the help of the doctor, you can track how many grams of carbohydrates you can consume while taking insulin injections.
The following foods contain carbohydrates, they include:
- Cereals, grains, legumes, and other starchy foods, etc.
The Pros and Cons of the Keto Diet for type 2 diabetes
The keto diet emphasizes foods that are rich in protein and fat. It limits foods high in carbohydrates. They include eggs, poultry, meat, cheese, but, seafood and seeds. Others are non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens.
Research has it that low-carb diets could help enhance the regulation of blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Also, a ketogenic diet could reduce insulin resistance and improve blood sugar levels.
Depending on your choice of diet, the keto diet and low-carb diet might contain high saturated fat. However, the intake of saturated fat can be reduced by limiting the amount of fat source that you eat.
Also, it is important to eat plenty of low-carb foods that are rich in fiber as it helps to get enough fiber.
Benefits of The Mediterranean Diet for Type 2 Diabetes?
This is an eating pattern that emphasizes plant-based foods, including vegetables, fruits, dried legumes, nuts, and olive oil. It aims to be rich in minerals, vitamins, healthy fats, and fiber. It’s low in fats, cholesterol, and added sugars.
Research has it that people with type 2 diabetes who follow the Mediterranean diet tend to have lower blood sugar levels than those who follow a conventional diet. It has also been linked to reduced weight and decreased cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Benefits of The DASH Diet for type 2 diabetes
This stands for Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension and was designed to lower blood pressure.
It emphasizes plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, dried legumes, poultry, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Research has it that the DASH diet can be nutrient-rich and sustainable for people with type 2 diabetes. It can also help reduce:
- Blood pressure.
- Body weight.
- Blood cholesterol.
- Insulin resistance.
Research has it that the DASH diet significantly led to reductions in cholesterol which could help protect against diabetes-related complications in the long term.
Vegetarian Diet for Type 2 Diabetes
These diets do not contain any animal product or poultry, and they often don’t contain seafood. They emphasize plant-based sources of protein, such as:
- Beans.
- Lentils.
- Nuts.
- Seeds.
- Tempeh.
- Grains.
In addition, they also include a wide variety of veggies and fruits. Vegetarians typically eat eggs and dairy, but vegans don’t.
Research has it that Vegetarian Diets were associated with the management of blood sugar and lower levels of fasting blood sugar. Also, eating more plant-based foods and fewer animal products could reduce the risk of diabetes and insulin resistance.
However, it is possible to follow a vegetarian diet while meeting your nutritional needs with type 2 diabetes, but not all vegetarian and vegan diets are created equally. In addition, just because a food is vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean it is beneficial to the body.
In order to have a healthy lifestyle, you need to eat a wide variety of healthy and nutritional food. Most people have the wrong idea of a vegetarian diet, as they don’t eat enough protein or sources of vitamins and minerals.
If you’re in doubt, it’s better you visit the doctor to be advised on the kind of foods to add to your meal plan to meet your nutritional needs.
IN CONCLUSION
Whichever eating pattern you opt for, it’s best to eat food that contains a variety of nutrients and practice portion management. Ensure you limit your consumption of fats, high-cholesterol foods, and added sugars. Also, visit your doctor for help.
