How To Eat Right With Diabetes: Diet

Content

• What is diabetes
• Diet for diabetes
• Squirrels
• Fats
• Carbohydrates
• Glycemic index
• Glycemic load
• The role of fiber in diet therapy
• How to eat with diabetes

The primary task in diabetes is to lower blood sugar levels to optimal values. In this case, diet therapy plays a key role. A healthy diet can reduce weight and minimize the risks associated with diabetes.

What is diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disorder of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism, characterized by an increase in fasting blood glucose levels and a significantly increased risk of developing cardiovascular, renal, neurological, ophthalmic, endocrinological and other diseases.

People with this disease will need a lifelong dosing of insulin to control blood sugar levels. A person with type 1 diabetes must learn to manage their blood glucose levels by changing the types and doses of insulin as needed according to meals, liver glucose production, and regular blood glucose test results.

In a healthy person, after eating, the level of glucose in the blood increases, which is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. The pancreas reacts to an increase in glucose, which releases insulin into the bloodstream so that circulating glucose can enter the cells of the body and turn into ATP energy. In violation of carbohydrate metabolism, there is a decrease in the sensitivity of cells to insulin. The pancreas has to produce more insulin to compensate for the low sensitivity. Hyperinsulinemia occurs, but during such a period, glucose can be kept within normal limits, so a person may not be aware of metabolic disorders. Of course, there will be manifestations: weakness and drowsiness, overweight, abdominal obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, arterial hypertension. The folds of the body may darken (black acanthosis), papillomas begin to grow in places of skin friction. If during this period you do not pay attention to your health, everything can end with the development of diabetes.

Over time, the pancreas becomes exhausted, the insulin produced to maintain glucose at the proper level becomes insufficient, and the gland begins to grow. Further, there will be less and less insulin until its subsidies from outside are required.

Type 2 diabetes usually develops after age 40 in overweight people. Today, however, diabetes occurs even in children due to the "epidemic" of malnutrition and, as a result, obesity. Children's diet is often concentrated on refined carbohydrates - chips, crackers, pastries, sweets, sugary drinks. Frequent and fractional meals (in the absence of medical indications) also lead to excess weight. Weight gain is facilitated not only by malnutrition, but also by chronic lack of sleep, stress, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Type 2 diabetes is a disease in which glycemic control deteriorates. It all starts with a slight increase in glucose levels after a meal. Then there is an increase in fasting blood sugar, and as a result there is insufficient insulin production and the need for insulin therapy.

Another type of diabetes - gestational - affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It occurs in women who did not suffer from diabetes before pregnancy, but during the bearing of the child they developed diabetes. It is more common in obese women and in those whose relatives suffered from this disease. After pregnancy, 5-10% of women with gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes mellitus, and 20-50% are at risk of developing diabetes in the next 5-10 years if they do not follow the rules of a balanced and nutritious diet.

The least common types of diabetes are genetic disorders, such as neonatal diabetes and adult-onset diabetes, which can be caused by faulty genes that lead to impaired insulin function.

Diet for diabetes

Since type 2 diabetes is more common among obese people, a prerequisite for increasing insulin sensitivity is weight loss. Moreover, even a slight weight loss - within 7-10% - significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and other complications.

When compiling a diet for people with diabetes, it is important to pay attention to all classes of macronutrients.

Protein intake should be at the level of 0.8-1 g per 1 kg of body weight per day, and restrictions below this level are required only when kidney failure occurs. In general, the protein in the diet should be approximately 25%. It is necessary to avoid eating fatty meats, preferring beef, chicken, turkey, rabbit, offal, fish, seafood, caviar. A good source of protein is bone broth, eggs. Dairy products, although they are rich in easily digestible protein, should be consumed with caution, as they provoke a strong release of insulin. Aged cheese is allowed.

It is necessary to include sources of vegetable proteins in the diet: legumes (lentils, mung beans, chickpeas, beans, edamame), quinoa, green buckwheat. Together with proteins from legumes, fiber enters the diet - it is she who plays an important role in the nutrition of diabetics.

The ratio of vegetable and animal proteins in the diet is 1:1.

Fat intake should be at the level of 1 g per 1 kg of body weight. The ratio of animals and plants is 1:1. Patients with diabetes are advised to limit their intake of saturated fats and exclude trans fats from the diet.

The amount of saturated fat should be about 5%, not higher - these are animal fats (butter, meat).

The share of monounsaturated fats is 8-15%. These are liquid vegetable oils containing omega-9 fatty acids: olive, hazelnut, almond, avocado, macadamia.

The share of polyunsaturated fats is also 8–15%. These are fats containing omega-3 and omega-9 fatty acids: fish, nuts, seeds.

A prerequisite is the correct ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the diet: from 1:1 to 1:4, no more, since an increase in the proportion of omega-6 in the diet leads to the development of chronic inflammation. To bring this ratio to the ideal, diabetics need to eat oily sea fish at least twice a week or take supplements with omega-3 fatty acids.

It is necessary to exclude trans fats: margarine, spreads, industrial mayonnaises and sauces, chocolates, bars, chocolate with fillings, cakes and other confectionery, fast food, deep-fried dishes.

However, even healthy fats can become trans fats if not cooked properly. This is especially true of polyunsaturated fats: safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn oils. These oils are afraid of high temperatures, oxidize when exposed to air, so it is recommended to cook with saturated fats (coconut oil, avocado oil, lard, ghee, duck fat, goose fat).

The amount of carbohydrates in the diet should be approximately 3-4 g per 1 kg of weight.

Carbohydrates should be complex, unprocessed, rich in fiber. Fiber is recommended to consume at least 30 g per day. To do this, you can introduce unsweetened fruits (green apples, unripe bananas, kiwi, grapefruits, lemons), berries (currants, cranberries, blueberries, raspberries, blueberries), vegetables (zucchini, carrots, turnips, radishes, radishes, cabbage, broccoli) into the diet. , cauliflower, leafy vegetables), grains and pseudo-grains (whole grains, buckwheat, quinoa, wild rice), seeds (flaxseed, pumpkin seeds), and legumes (lentils, chickpeas, mung beans, peas, beans, soybeans).

Refined sugars, fast food, sugary drinks, white flour products, and other sources of simple carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed into the blood cause a significant increase in sugar levels. In response, the body increases the secretion of insulin by the pancreas, which is unacceptable in the development of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, simple carbohydrates are recommended to be excluded or left in a minimum amount.

To assess the sugar-boosting properties of products, special indices have been developed that are easy for diabetics to navigate in order to choose permitted foods.

It is a complete component of the human diet. It is necessary to drink at least 30-35 ml per 1 kg of body weight. Only with such an amount is the body's need for fluid satisfied. This volume does not include tea, coffee and other drinks.

Glycemic index

The glycemic index (GI) is calculated based on how much blood glucose rises 2 hours after eating 50 grams of carbohydrates from a particular food compared to 50 grams of glucose. The glycemic index of sugar is 100. The GI of other products is presented in the table.

According to this table, all products can be divided into three types:

• foods with a high glycemic index - 70 and above;
• foods with an average glycemic index - 56-69;
• foods with a low glycemic index - 55 and below.

However, as we can see from the table, not all products behave predictably. Often the value of the glycemic index is affected by the way they are prepared and the compatibility. The fats present in the product reduce the glycemic index, and it turns out that the GI of milk chocolate (70) is less than the GI of watermelon (103).

Glycemic load

In this regard, another index was developed: glycemic load (GL). GN takes into account not only the rate of increase in sugar levels, but also the total amount of carbohydrates per unit volume of a particular product. This is a more objective indicator. For example, 100 g of milk chocolate contains 59.4 g of carbohydrates. And in 100 g of watermelon - 7.55 g of carbohydrates. This means that you need to eat about 800 g of watermelon to get the equivalent amount of carbohydrates to 100 g of milk chocolate. The GL of watermelon is 4, and milk chocolate is 41.

People with diabetes need to be guided by the table of products of the glycemic load.

In this table, we see a slightly different picture. And it is precisely this indicator that you need to focus on in diabetes mellitus, introducing foods with a low glycemic load into the diet:

• high GN - more than 20;
• average GN - 11–19;
• low GL - 0-10.

In 2008, a meta-analysis of 37 prospective cohort studies found a direct association between diets with a higher GI or GL and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, gallbladder disease, breast cancer, and other diseases. The effect was most significant for type 2 diabetes. Diets that included high GI or GL foods were associated with a 40% increased risk of diabetes compared to diets containing low GI and GL foods.

It is noticed that the sequence of eating dishes also affects the level of sugar. If you first eat a salad with a lot of fiber, and then carbohydrate foods, then the sugar level will not rise high and, therefore, there will be no spike in insulin levels. If, on the contrary, you eat a carbohydrate product first, and then a salad with fiber, glucose will immediately rise high.

The role of fiber in diabetes management

According to modern concepts, a healthy diet must necessarily include an adequate amount of fiber. A daily intake of about 30 g of dietary fiber from a variety of food sources is recommended for the public to promote health and manage diabetes.

There is evidence that soluble fiber may be helpful in controlling glucose and lipid levels in diabetes. Fiber also serves as a prebiotic, meaning food for the microbiome. One study summarizes current data on the association between the microbiome and obesity, as well as diabetes. There is evidence to suggest that microbiome composition indirectly influences body weight, as friendly flora may contribute to the extraction of energy from food in different ways. The development of obesity also appears to alter the gut microbiota, favoring Firmicutes to the detriment of Bacteroidetes. With this type of microbiome, the efficiency of extracting energy from food increases, which leads to an excess supply of it. The same effect is observed

How to eat with diabetes

With diabetes, eat right 3-4 times a day, excluding snacks. As a last resort, snacks should be protein-fat (nuts, seeds, cheese, green salad with protein sources). In no case should you snack on snacks, fast food or sweet fruits. Overeating will inevitably increase insulin levels, exacerbating insulin resistance.

In the initial stage of insulin resistance (prediabetes), intermittent fasting can be carried out, but it has a number of contraindications: diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, hormonal diseases, chronic stress, exhausted adrenal syndrome. This type of nutrition should be supervised by an integrative specialist.

For diabetic patients, the Mediterranean diet is the most suitable. It includes a large amount of whole foods rich in fiber and excludes refined foods. By following these rules, you can control blood sugar levels and prevent the development of a disease such as diabetes.

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