What is the best healthy meal plan for diabetes type 2 ?
If you’re pre-diabetic, or type 2, eating a Balanced-Diabetic meal plan will help you stay healthy.
Even if you have diabetes or not, you should aim to get about half your calories from complex carbohydrates (which are high in fiber), 20-25% from protein, and no more than 30% from fat, says Lalita Kaul, PhD, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.
What are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are sugar-based molecules that are found in many foods, from cookies to different kinds of fruit.
Carbohydrates raise blood sugar faster than proteins and fats.
If you are a diabetic or pre-diabetic you need to watch the amount of carbs you intake. Carbohydrates turn to sugar and sugar turns into carbs.
If you’re counting carbs in your diet, be aware that 15 grams of carbohydrates count as one serving.
Also, eating too many carbs leads to weight gain, especially if you don’t have a workout routine.
Carbs have the biggest affect on your blood sugar. In fact, fiber, protein, and fat can alter your blood sugar after a meal.
So aim for a variety. Eat a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, and fat to manage your blood sugar better and help you stay full longer.
But make sure to choose quality carbohydrates and smart fats, such as:
- Healthy carbs: Vegetables, beans, whole grains, and fruit
- Smart fats: Fish, nuts and seeds, avocado, olives, extra virgin olive oil, and canola oil
This will help to keep a balanced diet and help prevent diabetes.
Recommended Balanced Meals For Diabetes
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Simple Carbs VS. Complex Carbs
Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly by the body to be used for energy.
Simple carbohydrates are found naturally in foods such as fruits, milk, and milk products.
They are also found in processed and refined sugars such as candy, table sugar, syrups, and soft drinks.
Complex carbohydrates have longer chains, they take longer to break down and provide more lasting energy in the body than simple carbs.
Don’t forget to watch the amount of salt you consume too. This is all part of healthy eating with diabetes.
Also, eating less salt has been shown to help prevent and treat high blood pressure.
Read labels and choose foods that are low in sodium.
Simple Carbs
Many foods containing naturally occurring simple carbohydrates are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and other nutrients and so they should be a part of a diabetes-friendly diet. Examples include:
- Fruit, including dried fruit and unsweetened fruit juice
- Dairy Products
- Certain Vegetables
- Certain Grains
Complex Carbs
The healthiest complex carbohydrates are those that have not been processed or refined:
- Whole grain-such as brown rice, wild rice, oatmeal, whole grain (rather than pearled) barley, bulgur (which is made from cracked wheat), and farro
- Grain-like foods such as quinoa (a seed) and buckwheat (a grass)
- Starchy vegetables including potatoes, sweet potatoes
- Non starchy vegetables everything from asparagus to zucchini
- Beans and legumes like lentils, kidney beans, and chickpeas
With complex carbs, its best to avoid or limit grains that have been refined and processed foods made from refined grains.
“Refined” means two of the three elements of each kernel of grain have been removed-namely the bran and the germ, both of which are important sources of fiber, healthy fats, and nutrients.
Processed foods made from refined grains include:
- Bagels
- cakes, cookies, doughnuts, muffins, pastries, and other sweet backed goods
- Cereal made from refined grains and highly sweetened
- Crackers
- Hamburger or hot dog buns
- pancakes and waffles
- pizza dough
- rice snacks
- soft sandwich bread
- white rice and pasta
Note that many of these foods are also sources of added sugar, making them less ideal for managing blood glucose.
This is why having balanced meal plans makes managing diabetes easier.
How Many Carbs Per Day?
If you eat 2,000 calories a day, you should consume about 250 grams of complex carbohydrates per day.
A good starting place for people with diabetes is to have about 45 grams to 60 grams of carbs per meal and 15 to 30 grams for snacks.
Snacks are key for people with diabetes who use insulin (otherwise, they run the risk of low blood sugar), they aren’t essential for non-insulin users.
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