Diabetes can be cured by following a strict and balanced diet. Diet for diabetes mellitus will slow the progression of the disease and have a beneficial effect on the patient's condition. It should be constantly monitored. The main ways to prevent unwanted consequences are self-discipline and a diabetic menu.
General recommendations
When diabetes starts, it is important to limit foods high in carbohydrates and sugar, as this can increase blood glucose levels. However, despite the established limitations, the body needs a balanced intake of beneficial components. In this case, doctors prescribe a diet for the patient. Failure to follow a diet can adversely affect your health. Of course, prescribed medications must be taken. However, a detailed diet for diabetes, developed by a doctor, will only improve your physical condition.
To manage hunger, you need to eat often - at least 5-6 times a day and in small portions, including main meals and snacks.
There are principles of dietary therapy for patients with diabetes mellitus. If you have first-degree obesity, it is better to prefer vegetables and fruits instead of flour or fatty foods. It is better to add a few drops of lemon with olive oil to salads. To speed up the metabolic processes of the liver, the diet should include low-fat cottage cheese, soy, oatmeal and lean fish. It is better to prepare vegetable broth from the first courses. You have to wait with the meat broth or cook the soup in the secondary broth. It is necessary to limit the consumption of eggs, potatoes, corn. If you have, very little and rarely. When it comes to salt, the recommended portion per day is less than half a teaspoon. And it is desirable to have sea salt.
Nutritional characteristics for different categories
The fact is that the purpose of the diet depends on the type of diabetes and the category to which the person belongs: nutrition changes for children, pregnant women, people with insulin dependence or people with early diabetes. Although general dietary principles apply to all categories, each of them requires a separate approach to this issue.
Simple foods are the best food for diabetes-related pregnancies.
For people with type 1 diabetes, ie people who need insulin, a strict diet should consist of foods rich in protein and fiber. You will need to limit the intake of salt, fat, fast carbohydrates and foods that irritate the gastrointestinal tract, as well as sugar.
Unlike insulin-dependent diabetes, in type II diabetes mellitus, a diet helps reduce the caloric content of food and normalize metabolism. Such a diet with excessive blood sugar will affect its reduction. The same diet will serve at the onset of diabetes. A pregnant woman's diet should be as balanced as possible without harming the baby. The best diet for the expectant mother is a simple meal.
About glycemic index and calories
The nutritional value of products determines how many useful components for the body will be converted into energy. The glycemic index of foods indicates how quickly carbohydrates are absorbed while raising blood sugar levels. Therefore, with type 2 diabetes mellitus, you should eat foods with a low glycemic index, because the carbohydrates they contain will be consumed by the body and distributed evenly. And the carbohydrates in such high-nutrient foods help the fats to break down without having time to turn into full energy.
In addition to the number of calories, the value of the glycemic index of various foods can be found in the tables from 0 to 100. But to plan your diet effectively, you need to consider a number of factors. affects the change in caloric content and glycemic index. The main ones include:
Slow cooking is one of the acceptable ways to heat food.
- Cooking method. The glycemic index of foods increases with heat treatment, especially if fried. Products should be cooked, boiled or cooked on a slow stove.
- Fiber features. Eating peels of fruits, grains and beans slows down the breakdown of glucose and prevents an increase in glycemic index.
- Maturity of fruits and vegetables. The more ripe the fruit, the higher its calories.
What can you eat?
The initial stage of diabetes may not be complicated if diet treatment is strictly followed.
The list of foods that can diversify your daily diet menu as much as possible:
- soups based on vegetable broths, as well as first meals with low-fat meat 1-2 times a week;
- whole grain and bran bread;
- cooked, steamed or baked chicken, turkey, rabbit, young beef;
- cooked seafood and fish of low-fat varieties with maximum diet: pink salmon, hake, pike;
- buckwheat, wheat porridge, oatmeal;
- low-fat milk and cottage cheese;
- 1 egg per day;
- vegetables and unsweetened fruits;
- home-made sauces from vegetables and dairy products;
- desserts and meals for diabetics;
- any tea, coffee with milk, herbal teas (especially with the addition of hips), juices from fresh unsweetened fruits.
What should not be consumed?
People with high blood sugar will have to give up pasta.
Foods not recommended for diabetics are listed below:
- high-calorie desserts and pastries;
- chocolate and cocoa;
- jam, marmalade and honey;
- sugar-rich fresh and dried fruits such as grapes and bananas, figs, raisins and dates;
- dishes with fatty meat;
- animal fat;
- pasta, rice and semolina;
- smoked and canned;
- dairy products with high percentage of fat and sugar;
- alcoholic beverages.
How to compensate for losses?
Tasty and sweet foods should be excluded from the diabetes menu. However, harmful products need to be replaced properly. Diabetic food is the simplest alternative. Changes to replace prohibited products can be found both on the shelves of regular grocery stores and in specialty stores. The table shows which healthy foods can replace the forbidden foods.
| Prohibited food | What to replace |
|---|---|
| White flour bread | Peeled rye bread |
| Sweets and desserts | Fruits of trees and shrubs, diabetic desserts |
| Animal fats | Vegetable oils |
| Oily meat and cheeses | Lean meat, avocado |
| cream | Low fat dairy products |
Table № 9
The diet involves drinking about 2 liters of water a day.
According to diet number 9, no more than 2400 calories per day are allowed. Translated into grams, it is equivalent to 85 g of protein, 80 g of vegetable oils and 300 g of carbohydrates. For patients with suspected diabetes, the diet should be physiologically balanced.
With diabetes and type 1 and 2, daily water intake should be 2-3 liters at a rate of 30-40 mm per kilogram of body weight. It is recommended to use only purified water, free of pathogenic microbes and bacteria.
Prolonged lack of clean water can lead to dehydration / thirst. Loss of 25% of body fluid can be fatal for a diabetic.
In addition to clean water, diabetics can use "mineral water". However, it may be different. Table versions with up to 1 g of mineralization per liter are allowed to drink without restrictions. They contain a safe amount of minerals. "Mineral water" stimulates digestion and improves insulin absorption. Before use, open the bottle and wait for the gases to "escape".
Sample menu
The diet for a diabetic should be varied.
The best solution is to create a menu a week or a month in advance. But for starters, you can go around with a menu for each day. When designing a menu, you should choose the most diabetic recipes. In addition, you can organize a weekly menu of regular meals. Proper daily nutrition will increase your chances of recovery. Below is a sample menu for diabetes mellitus.
| Eating | Meals |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Vegetable salad, buckwheat or oatmeal, cottage cheese, boiled fish |
| The first snack | Fruits, baked vegetables, compotes |
| Supper | Vegetable, fish, mushroom soup, fish soup; boiled meat, grain garnish |
| Lunch snack | Fruit or vegetable salad, cheese cakes, tea |
| Supper | Steamed cutlets, vegetable stew |
| Second dinner | Kefir, milk, yogurt |
Main dishes
Breakfast is a very important meal - it can either make or break your diet, except for cereals and legumes. You can make salads and mousses from fruits, berries and vegetables. Dairy products are also the basis for a good breakfast. Lightly fried zucchini in a light sour cream sauce will make a good appetizer.
A good dinner for diabetics is cooked in mushroom, vegetable soups, soups with cereals or beans, meat broth. As a main dish you can eat porridge with salad or meat cutlet. The best salad dressings are olive, flax or cedar oils, which are rich in many unsaturated fatty acids. With the addition of delicious fruits, you can have a snack between meals with lactic acid products.
Dinner should be light and nutritious. It is better to prepare a meal that will consist of the most protein. Healthy lentils combined with vegetables or salads from them are suitable for dinner for diabetics. If you want to eat late, you can drink a glass of warm milk, fermented baked milk or low-fat cottage cheese before going to bed.
Other diet tables for diabetes
Table 8 is the best diet for people with diabetes and overweight. But this diet is prescribed in the absence of heart disease and gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of the diet is to lose weight. Appetizing salt and food consumption is minimized. You also need to drink no more than 1, 2 liters of water. The diet allows you to consume no more than 1700 calories in 8 days. These are 80 g of protein, 70 g of fat (one third of which is of vegetable origin), 150 g of carbohydrates and 6 g of salt.
Doctors recommend using Table 5 for patients with diabetes and concomitant diseases of the liver and bile ducts. The diet excludes fatty and fried foods, cholesterol-containing foods, essential oils, oxalic acid. You are allowed to cook or bake, you can casserole, but only in exceptional cases. This diet helps to normalize and rejuvenate the digestive system and slows down the development of diabetes.
With diet number 10, you should avoid fatty foods.
Diet for diabetics with heart disease is a diet suitable for 10. The table is designed to normalize blood circulation, heart rate and restore metabolic processes in patients with diabetes mellitus. The diet for diabetics prohibits fatty, salty foods, foods that irritate the nervous, circulatory system and gastrointestinal tract. Instead, eat foods rich in iodine, potassium and magnesium.
You can experiment with recipes by adding certain ingredients that are allowed.
Healthy recipes
Vegetable snack
Chop 400 g white cabbage, 6 small tomatoes, 2 carrots, 2 medium onions and 3 fresh peppers into large slices. The resulting substances should be boiled for a short time over a small amount of vegetable oil and medium heat. Served as a separate meal. Delicious with poultry and veal or cooked fish. Season to taste.
Baked cabbage pancakes
Chop half a kilogram of white cabbage, add parsley, dill, green onions, 1 tablespoon of kefir, 1 egg, 50 g of lightly salted cheese, 1 tablespoon of bran, flour (to the consistency of sour cream). Mix the resulting ingredients and send in a cool place for 30 minutes. Then, spread the pancakes on a baking sheet and bake at 180 degrees until golden brown.