Eat Well and Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control

Eat Well and Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Under Control

One common problem that diabetics face is that their doctor tells them that they must control their diet, but do not give them practical examples of what to eat and what to avoid. Here I have made a few practical, realistic and nutritious suggestions on what a diabetic should eat to control blood sugars.

Have variety in your diet but have a balanced meal with all the food groups, which consists of a cereals such as rice, wheat, etc. + pulses or split dals + greens + vegetable + milk or curd. Make sure you include a cup of raw vegetable salad too.

Eat small frequent meals.

Eat a whole fruit between two meals as a snack and not as a part of your meal.

Eat the same amounts of food at same time of the day, but make sure you don't leave a gap of more than 3 to 4 hours without eating anything.

Eat more of complex carbohydrate foods, high-fiber foods such as whole cereals like wheat, ragi (finger millet), unpolished rice, oats; whole pulses like peas, cow pea, chick pea, green leafy vegetables and raw vegetables. All of these foods cause only a gradual rise in blood sugar because the fiber content slows down the release of glucose.

Cut down on sweets, desserts, sweetened soft drinks, cakes, and chocolates. In such foods the sugar is absorbed quickly and therefore causes blood glucose level to rise more rapidly.

Eat lots of fresh vegetables and some fruits for soluble fiber and vitamins. Fruits makes an ideal snack between meals, but beware of eating very sweet fruits such as mangoes, jackfruit, custard apple, sapota (chiku) or grapes because of their effect on your blood sugar level (rises rapidly). Dried fruits such as raisins & dates are a concentrated form of sugar and so should only be consumed in small quantities.

Make sure you eat pulses and dals as part of at least two meals a day. People who eat non-vegetarian foods can include chicken, fish or egg instead.

Cut down on eating excess of foods with high fat content, which may make you overweight and increase the risk of heart problems..

Limit the intake of table salt and salty foods, because diabetics have an increased susceptibility to high blood pressure. Beware of hidden salt in many pickled, tinned and processed foods like pickles, papads, etc.

Keep alcohol consumption at moderate levels. Even low-sugar alcoholic drinks may have high alcohol content. Alcohol should be consumed along with food or after food, else there is a chance of blood sugars going down.

Artificial sweeteners can be used but special diabetes products are not necessary. Beware of diabetic products available in the market these days, which are made of artificial sweeteners but have a high fat content hence higher calories.

Drink plenty of water or other sugar free, low-calorie beverages like diluted skimmed buttermilk or lime juice without sugar.

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