Some diseases can be a slow poison, offering few or no warning signs to alert you early. One such disease is diabetes. Not only does diabetes affect almost 422 million people worldwide, but 25 percent don’t even know they have it.So,before you understand its importance in terms of diet. Let’s first draw your attention what actually leads to diabetes and what can be done to control or prevent it in long run.

   Talk about DIABETES

  • Once the food is digested, it breaks down into glucose(form of sugar), which generally provides energy and powers our cells. Insulin, a hormone produced in pancreas, moves the glucose from the blood to the cells. However, if there is not enough insulin or the insulin isn't working properly, then the glucose stays in the blood and causes blood sugar levels to rise.

  • There are three main types of diabetes:

  1. Type 1-is characterized by the lack of insulin production.

  2. Type 2-results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin.According to World health organization, it is potentially preventable in comparison to type 1 diabetes.

  3. Gestational diabetes-It is characterized by hyperglycaemia or raised blood sugar level with values above normal during pregnancy.

   Risk Factors

  1. Being overweight

  2. Not getting enough physical activity

  3. Having a parent or sibling with diabetes

  4. Having high blood pressure, having low HDL(good cholesterol) or high triglycerides or pre-diabetes.

  Measures Taken to PREVENT it!!!!

There are only three ways by which one can prevent or reduce the risk of diabetes. But make sure they seems small but a person who is suffering from it , should follow it patiently from months to years to get best results out of them. So here are the biggest strength for Diabetes or Prediabetes.

  1. Diet

  2. Physical Activity

  3. Medication.

Lets focus on only diet for this session and understand how this can play a major role in diabetes management irrespective of individual’s age, gender and complications.

  Diabetes Diet Plan

  • Food can either promote diabetes or help prevent it, depending on how it affects the body’s ability to process glucose.

  • People should avoid foods that cause a sudden spike in blood sugar levels and those that raise cholesterol, such as processed foods, foods high in saturated fats or with trans fats, and foods with added sugars and syrups.

Processed foods as well as items high in fat or sugar not only can disrupt the balance between glucose and insulin, resulting in inflammation, but can also contribute to risk factors such as being overweight.Also it is important to know about foods to avoid with diabetes.

  • Carbs, too, need to be watched. While they are necessary to fuel the body, some carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels more than others. "The glycemic index GI measures how a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood glucose in the body."Read more information on Good carbohydrates and Bad carbohydrates.

  • Low GI measure foods raise blood glucose levels in blood slowly and keep you full for longer. High GI foods on the other hand include foods which cause a sudden spike in blood sugar levels and do not keep stomach full for sufficient time.

  • There is no specific diabetes diet. The important thing is to follow a meal plan that is tailored to personal preferences and lifestyle and helps achieve goals for blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels, blood pressure, and weight management.

  • A Diabetes diet is virtually the same as a healthy diet for anyone. Eat reasonably sized portions to avoid gaining weight, and include

  • Low GI fruits and vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms, green vegetables, apples, oranges, pear, watermelon, pineapple, guavas etc.Go strict with bananas, chikoos, grapes and mangoes.Get to know more about fruits for diabetic.

  • whole grains rather than processed ones: fish and lean cuts of meat; beans and legumes; and liquid oils.

  • Limit saturated fats and high-calorie snacks and desserts like chips, cake, and icecream, and stay away from trans fats altogether.

      Thumb rule for Diabetic

  • Planning a Diabetes diet is not "what one eats", but also when one eats.

  • You should not give long gaps between meals. A gap of more than 3 hrs can in-stabilize body glucose levels which could be dangerous for a diabetic.

  • Regular monitoring of one’s sugar levels before going to bed and after waking up can help one keep a check on the levels and its consequences.

  • If one checks blood glucose at bedtime and find it to be low, for example below 6 millimoles, it is advisable to take some long-acting carbohydrate before retiring to bed to prevent night-time hypoglycemia.

  • So it is not only the quantity or quality of meals that is to be managed but also the timings of consuming meals which has to be taken care of.

A well planned Diabetes diet with all these guidelines followed properly, can help a  diabetic, lead a normal life with control over diabetes!