Diet for diabetes - description and general principles
Diet for diabetes is of great importance, since this disease is associated with metabolic disorders in the body. Its mechanism is that the normal functioning of the pancreas is disrupted, as a result of which it begins to produce less insulin, which is responsible for the absorption of sugar by the body. This leads to the fact that the level of sugar in the patient’s blood rises, which medical measures, including the diet, are called to normalize. In some cases, the diet helps bring sugar back to normal without the use of any medication. However, its observance is also mandatory in cases where the patient takes medications to lower sugar levels or makes insulin injections.
The approach to the diet for diabetes should be strictly individual and take into account the severity of the disease, the patient’s body weight, profession, lifestyle, concomitant diseases, patient tolerance of certain foods, etc. Also, when choosing a diet, you must be guided by the nature of the production activity, as it affects the energy expenditure of the patient.
Diet for diabetes - what foods can be consumed
Patients with diabetes should give preference to products containing a large amount of plant fiber - coarse grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts. Fiber foods are needed not only to lower glucose levels, but also to lower blood cholesterol.
The menu of a diabetic should definitely include fruits - lemons, apples (preferably sweet and sour), grapefruits, peaches. The daily dose of these products, which should not exceed 200 grams, must be divided into five parts, to prevent a sudden increase in blood sugar.
Twice a week you can treat yourself to beef or offal dishes (kidneys, liver, heart). Meat dishes are necessary in order to provide the body with proteins and valuable vitamins that are found in meat. However, the best meat for diabetics is chicken.
Very useful for people with diabetes, fish and seafood dishes.
Sour-milk products in the form of kefir, yogurt, unsweetened yogurt (up to 2 glasses per day) are also appropriate in their diet. In small quantities, you can sometimes use cheese, sour cream and cream, however, preference should still be given to low-fat dairy products (skim milk, skim cheese and yogurt). It is better to refuse the use of cottage cheese, as it contains a lot of carbohydrates.
As for eggs, it is better to consume protein, as the yolk can provoke an increase in cholesterol.
You can consume all vegetables with a low content of starch and carbohydrates.
Diet for diabetes - what foods should not be consumed
Sugar is strictly forbidden. Of course, immediately completely abandoning it can be difficult, therefore, it is usually recommended to reduce the sugar content in the diet gradually. You also need to get rid of sweets (if it is so difficult, then we recommend replacing them with dark chocolate).
You should also limit the use of easily digestible carbohydrates, the source of which is flour products, pastries, biscuits, etc. The diabetes diet can include rye and white wheat bread (preferably protein-wheat and protein-bran bread, which is made from raw gluten; protein - bran bread also contains wheat bran).
As already mentioned, vegetables are welcome guests on the table of patients with diabetes, however, vegetables with a high content of starch and carbohydrates (potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, beets) should be avoided. You should also abandon sweet fruits, such as bananas, grapes, strawberries.
You should also limit the use of fruit juices, as they contain a large amount of carbohydrates. If they are still included in your diet, they should be diluted with water (3 parts juice 1 part water).
Fast food is contraindicated for patients with diabetes. Also, foods containing saturated fats should be excluded from the diet. First of all, this applies to fatty meat, whole dairy products, butter, lard. It is better to give preference to light vegetable fats.
You need to understand that fatty foods are no less harmful in diabetes than sweet foods, as the increased content of fats in the blood leads to the progression of the disease. This is also indicated by recent medical studies. That is why in the diet of patients with diabetes mellitus the total amount of fats (butter and vegetable oil, lard, cooking fats) should not be more than 40 grams per day. The consumption of other foods containing a large amount of fat, such as fatty meat, sausages, sausages, cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, should also be minimized.
Diabetes Diet - Menu Examples
When compiling a menu for patients with diabetes, some principles should be followed. So, gastronomic products (sausage, cheese, salted fish, etc.), as well as cereals, omelets, boiled eggs should be eaten for breakfast, ending it with hot drinks - tea, coffee, cocoa. Vegetables, fruits and eggs are suitable for a second breakfast. The most significant traditionally is the lunch menu, which can be represented by cold dishes (salads, vinaigrettes, cold appetizers of meat and fish), soups, main dishes of poultry, fish, meat, compotes and jelly. For a mid-morning snack it is better to use sour-milk drinks and bakery products, for dinner - salads, fish, meat and vegetable dishes, cereals, hot drinks.
Approximate daily menu for diabetes №1
The first breakfast consists of two hard-boiled eggs and boiled meat with stewed zucchini; coffee or tea with milk; butter (10 gr.) and two slices of rye bread.
The second breakfast consists of cheese, stewed eggplant with vegetables and coffee with milk.
Lunch consists of fish brine soup or meat broth with meatballs; lean fried meat with stewed cabbage; fresh apple or jelly compote.
An afternoon snack consists of bran cheesecakes with rosehip infusion or tea with lemon.
The first dinner consists of stuffed cabbage with meat or cod in a marinade.
The second dinner consists of yogurt or apple.
Approximate daily menu for diabetes №2
The first breakfast consists of a salad of beets and apples; boiled fish; zucchini fritters; tea or coffee with milk; butter; black bread.
The second breakfast consists of meatballs in sour cream sauce; tea with lemon.
Lunch consists of fresh cabbage or meat broth with two hard-boiled eggs; tomatoes stuffed with meat or fried fish with stewed eggplant; two baked apples or lemon jelly.
An afternoon snack consists of bran cakes with tea or rhubarb infusion.
The first dinner consists of boiled beef with vegetables or baked fish; cauliflower with butter or cottage cheese; tea with lemon or rose hip infusion.
The second dinner consists of kefir or apple.
Approximate daily menu for diabetes №3
The first breakfast consists of a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers; minced meat steak with stewed cabbage or fried fish with boiled potatoes and cucumber; oatmeal with butter or pumpkin baked in sour cream; coffee or tea with lemon; butter; brown bread.
The second breakfast consists of fried zucchini with apples and coffee with cream.
Lunch consists of green cabbage soup with egg and sour cream or meat soup; fried chicken or liver with onions in sour cream with beans or stewed cabbage; cranberry or apple jelly.
An afternoon snack consists of bran biscuits with nuts and tea with lemon or rosehip infusion.
The first dinner consists of beef stroganoff with eggplant.
The second dinner consists of kefir or one apple.
Diabetes Diet - Good Tips
Eating with diabetes should be carried out as much as possible at the same time, in small portions, up to 6 times a day, to prevent overeating.
It is necessary to ensure strict weight control and ensure such a diet that the total calorie content of food consumed per day does not exceed 1800 calories per day (this figure can be adjusted based on the patient’s age, gender, body weight). The body should receive half of these calories from carbohydrates. To control calorie intake, it is better to buy products whose packaging indicates energy value.
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