Diabetes mellitus does not have clearly defined degrees which can be expressed by numerical indices. Mild, moderate and severe degrees of the course of the disease are usually distinguished. But there are two varieties of this disease: the first type (insulin-dependent) and the second type (insulin-independent).
It is especially important that such patients adhere to the rules of rational nutrition, since in this case it is the correction of the diet that is the main method of treatment.
Why diet?
In type 2 diabetes, tissue sensitivity to insulin is reduced and insulin resistance occurs. Despite the sufficient production of this hormone, glucose cannot be absorbed and enter the cells in the right amount, which leads to an increase in its level in the blood. As a result, the patient develops complications of the disease that affect the nerve fibers, blood vessels, tissues of the lower extremities, the retina of the eye, etc.
Most patients with type 2 diabetes are overweight or even obese. Due to a slow metabolism, the weight loss process is not as fast for them as it is for healthy people, but it is extremely necessary for them to reduce weight. Normalization of body weight is one of the conditions for good health and maintenance of blood sugar at the target level.
What to eat with diabetes to normalize tissue sensitivity to insulin and lower blood sugar? The patient's daily menu should be reduced in calories and contain mostly slow, not fast, carbohydrates. Usually, doctors recommend sticking to diet number 9. At the stage of weight loss, the amount of fat in dishes should be reduced (it is better to give preference to fats of vegetable origin). It is important for a diabetic to get enough protein, as it is a building material and contributes to the gradual replacement of fat tissue with muscle fibers.
Rational nutrition improves the sensitivity of tissues to insulin and normalizes the regulation of blood sugar levels.
The main goals of the type 2 diabetes diet:
- weight loss and reduction of body fat;
- normalization of blood glucose levels;
- keep blood pressure within acceptable limits;
- lower blood cholesterol level;
- prevention of serious complications of the disease.
A type 2 diabetes diet is not a temporary measure, but a system that must be followed constantly. This is the only way to keep blood sugar at a normal level and maintain good health for a long time. In most cases, switching to proper nutrition is enough to keep diabetes under control. But even if the doctor recommends the patient to take hypoglycemic pills, this does not cancel the diet at all. Without nutritional control, no medical method will bring a lasting effect (not even insulin injections).
Healthy, natural foods help maintain normal blood sugar levels and control blood pressure.
Methods of food preparation
In type 2 diabetes, it is desirable for patients to prepare food in a gentle way. The best types of cooking are culinary processes such as steaming, boiling and baking. Fried foods can only be eaten occasionally by diabetics, and it is preferable to cook them in a small amount of vegetable oil, or better still, on a grill with a non-stick coating. With these cooking methods, the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients is preserved. In the finished form, such dishes do not burden the pancreas and other organs of the digestive tract.
You can also stew dishes in your own juice, choosing only low-calorie, low-fat foods. It is undesirable to add store-bought sauces, marinades and a large amount of salt to food. To improve the taste, it is better to use permissible seasonings: greens, lemon juice, garlic, pepper and dried herbs.
Meat
Meat is a very important source of protein for diabetics because it contains essential amino acids that cannot be produced by the human body. But choosing it, you need to know some rules so as not to accidentally harm your health. First, the meat must be dietary. For the sick, chicken, turkey, rabbit, and lean veal are best. Secondly, it must be perfectly fresh, it must not contain a large number of veins and muscle films, as they are digested for a long time and can create a feeling of heaviness, slowing the intestine.
The amount of meat in the diet should be limited, but at the same time the daily dose should provide a person with a sufficient amount of protein. The distribution of proteins, fats and carbohydrates is selected individually for each patient by the attending physician. It depends on many factors: weight, body mass index, age, anatomical features and the presence of concomitant diseases. The properly selected ratio of calories and nutrients ensures the body's normal supply of energy, vitamins and minerals.
Types of meat prohibited for diabetes:
- goose;
- duck;
- Pig;
- mutton;
- fatty beef.
Patients should not eat bacon, smoked meats, sausages and meat-rich broths. It is allowed to cook soups with poultry meat, but the water must be changed after the first boiling. You cannot cook soup with bone broth, because it is difficult to digest and creates an extra load on the pancreas and liver. The skin should always be removed from poultry during the cooking process so that excess fat does not enter the dish. It is always better to give preference to fillet and white meat, in which there is a minimal amount of connective tissue and streaks of fat.
It is desirable to replace animal fats with vegetable fats as much as possible. Olive, corn and flaxseed oils are considered to be the most beneficial for diabetic patients.
A fish
Fish must be present in the diet of a diabetic patient at least once a week. It is a source of healthy proteins, fats and amino acids. The consumption of fish products helps to improve the condition of bones and muscles and also contributes to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The most useful fish allowed, according to the rules of the diet, for diabetics is lean fish, baked or steamed.
Diabetics can eat tilapia, hake, cod, tuna, cod. It is also advisable to periodically include red fish (trout, salmon, salmon) in your diet, as it is rich in omega acids. These biologically active substances protect the body from the development of cardiovascular diseases and help reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol.
Patients should not eat smoked and salted fish, because it can cause problems with the pancreas, as well as provoke the appearance of edema and the development of hypertension. Because type 2 diabetes usually develops in middle-aged and older people, high blood pressure problems are relevant to many of them. The use of very salty foods (including goldfish) can cause changes in blood pressure and worsen the condition of the heart and blood vessels.
When cooking fish, it is better to add a minimum amount of salt, replacing it with other spices and seasonings. It is desirable to cook it without adding oil, as this product itself already contains a certain amount of healthy fats. So that the fillet is not dry, it can be baked in the oven in a special plastic sleeve. Fish cooked in this way contains more moisture and has a melting consistency.
Diabetics are forbidden to eat white fish of fatty varieties (e. g. pangasius, nototenia, herring, catfish and mackerel). Despite the pleasant taste, these products, unfortunately, can cause the appearance of extra pounds and cause problems with the pancreas. Lean fish and seafood are a healthy natural source of vitamins and minerals that are perfectly absorbed by the body.
It is useful for diabetics to eat boiled fish. Shrimp, squid and octopus contain a large amount of protein, vitamins and phosphorus.
Vegetables
The type 2 diabetes diet is based on the predominance of plant foods in the diet, so vegetables in any form should be an important part of the food that sufferers eat. They contain very little sugar and at the same time are rich in fiber, vitamins and other precious chemical elements. The most useful vegetables for diabetes are green and red. This is due to the fact that they contain a large amount of antioxidants which prevent the formation of harmful free radicals. Eating tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, and green onions can boost human immunity and improve digestion.
The following vegetables are also useful for patients:
- cauliflower;
- Jerusalem artichoke;
- pumpkin;
- onions and blue onions;
- broccoli;
- radish;
- zucchini and eggplant.
Beets are also very useful for diabetics, as they contain amino acids, enzymes and slow carbohydrates. There is no fat in this vegetable, so its calorie content is low. Beetroot dishes have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, increase immunity and strengthen the walls of blood vessels. Another important property of beets for diabetics is the regular regulation of intestinal motility, which helps to avoid constipation and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.
A balanced diet for type 2 diabetes also allows potatoes to be included in the diet, but this vegetable should not be essential in the choice and preparation of meals. It contains a lot of starch and has a relatively high calorie content (compared to other vegetables), so its quantity should be strictly limited.
In order for vegetables to bring only benefits to the body, they must be properly prepared. If the vegetables can be eaten raw and the diabetic does not have digestive problems, it is better to use them in this form, as it retains the maximum amount of useful elements, vitamins and minerals. But if the patient has concomitant problems with the gastrointestinal tract (for example, inflammatory diseases), then all vegetables must undergo preliminary heat treatment.
It is highly undesirable to fry vegetables or stew them with a lot of butter and vegetable oil, as they absorb fat, and the benefits of such a dish will be much less than the harm. Fatty and fried foods not only disrupt the functional activity of the pancreas, but also often cause a number of extra pounds.
Vegetables cooked with excess oil are high in calories and can raise blood cholesterol levels.
Fruit
Some patients, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, try to eliminate all fruits from their diet, leaving only green, sour apples and sometimes pears. But this is not necessary, as most fruits have a low glycemic index and contain a small amount of carbohydrates and calories. For diabetics, all fruits and berries with a low and medium glycemic index are useful, because they contain a lot of vitamins, organic acids, pigments and mineral compounds.
- apples;
- pears;
- mandarins;
- oranges;
- Grapefruits;
- apricots;
- plums;
- currant;
- Cherry;
- blueberries;
- raspberries.
Fruits contain carbohydrates, so their amount in the diet should be limited. It is recommended to consume them in the morning (maximum until 16: 00) so that the sugar does not turn into body fat. Before bedtime and in the morning on an empty stomach, it is also better not to eat fruit, as this can lead to irritation of the gastric mucosa and a couple of extra pounds.
Fruits prohibited for type 2 diabetes are melon, watermelon and figs because they have a high glycemic index and are high in sugar. For the same reason, it is undesirable for patients to consume dried fruits such as dates and dried figs.
Peaches and bananas may be present in a diabetic's diet, but it is advisable to eat them no more than once or twice a week. For daily use it is better to give preference to prunes, apples and citrus fruits, because they help improve digestion and contain a lot of coarse fiber. They contain a lot of vitamins and minerals necessary for the well-coordinated and complete work of the whole organism.
Fruit is a healthy and tasty treat that can help you overcome the craving for forbidden sweet foods. Patients who regularly eat fruit find it easier to follow a diet and daily routine.
Cereals and pasta
What can patients eat from cereals and pasta? There are a lot of allowed products on this list, from which you can cook delicious and healthy dishes. It is the grains and pasta that should be the source of the slow carbohydrates that the patient needs for the functions and energy of the brain. Products recommended by the doctor include:
- buckwheat;
- oats that need cooking (not soluble grains);
- bulgur;
- peas;
- durum wheat pasta;
- wheat groats;
- unpolished rice;
- mile.
It is highly undesirable for diabetics to eat white rice, semolina and instant oatmeal. These products are rich in carbohydrates, calories and few biologically valuable substances. In general, these cereals simply saturate the body and satisfy the feeling of hunger. Excessive consumption of these grains can lead to weight gain and problems with the digestive system.
But even allowed cereals must be cooked and eaten correctly. It is better to cook porridge in water without adding oils and fats. It is preferable to consume them for breakfast, as carbohydrates should provide the patient with energy for the whole day. These simple tips should always be remembered, as properly selected and cooked cereals will bring only benefits and will not harm human health.
With type 2 diabetes, you need to eat fractionally. It is advisable to divide the daily diet into 5-6 meals.
What should you give up?
Patients with type 2 diabetes should completely exclude such dishes and foods from the diet:
- sugar and products containing it;
- fatty dishes prepared using a large amount of vegetables or butter;
- smoked meats;
- semi-finished and fast food;
- marinades;
- salty and spicy hard cheeses;
- premium flour baked goods.
You cannot make exceptions to the rules and occasionally use something from the forbidden list. With type 2 diabetes, the patient does not receive insulin injections, and the only way to keep blood sugar at a normal level is to eat right, following other recommendations from the attending physician.
Sample menu for the day
It is better to prepare a menu for the day in advance, calculating its calorie content and the ratio of fats, proteins and carbohydrates in the dishes. Table 1 shows the caloric content and chemical composition of some foods allowed with diet No. 9. Guided by this data, the recommendations of the attending physician and the composition, which is always indicated on the packaging of products, you can easily create a diet with an optimal energy value.
An example of a menu for the day might look like this:
- breakfast - oatmeal, a slice of low-fat cheese, whole wheat bread without yeast;
- snack: nuts or an apple;
- lunch - vegetable broth, boiled chicken breast or turkey, buckwheat porridge, berry juice;
- afternoon snack - allowed fruit and a glass of rosehip broth;
- dinner - steamed fish with vegetables or low-fat cottage cheese, a glass of sugar-free compote;
- a snack before bedtime - 200 ml of low-fat kefir.
A type 2 diabetic's diet can be truly varied and delicious. The lack of sweet foods is compensated for by healthy fruits and nuts, and fatty meat is replaced by diet options. A big plus of this menu is that it can be cooked for the whole family. Restricting animal fats and sugar is also beneficial for healthy people, and in diabetes it is a prerequisite for maintaining normal health for many years.