Good and bad foods for diabetics

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by MSc Vu Thi Duyen - Doctor of Nephrology - Endocrinology, Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital

Diet plays an important role in the treatment of diabetes. The diet should ensure adequate nutrition and energy for the patient and do not cause blood sugar to rise, and blood sugar should be controlled within permissible limits.

1. Diabetic Diet

Currently, diabetes is one of three diseases that increase with aging: cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. In addition to using drugs to control blood glucose, having a reasonable diet contributes a lot: When having a suitable diet, it makes an important contribution:
- Maintaining the patient's health, avoiding malnutrition due to overeating. In fact, some patients with diabetes are afraid to eat, abstain a lot and do not dare to eat many foods, which in the long run will make the body lack nutrients and seriously affect health.
- Avoid excessive increase in blood sugar due to not knowing how to choose food. Eat less rice but eat a lot of vermicelli, or eat too many potatoes. It is all due to lack of knowledge about the nutritional value of each type of food caused by not being consulted, which significantly affects the treatment results.
- Limiting the use of drugs: if the patient has the right diet, it will make the patient's blood glucose not increase further and limit the need to take more drugs or not take drugs if there is no clinical diabetes
- Limit the Complications: A diet that restricts glucose will help limit complications. The authors believe that when blood glucose is too high, it is easy to develop acute complications.
* Principles of nutrition for diabetes treatment:
+ Enough protein, fat, flour, vitamins and minerals, enough water.
+ Does not increase blood sugar much after eating.
+ Does not lower blood sugar when away from meals.
+ Maintain normal daily physical activity.
+ Maintain ideal weight.
+ Does not increase risk factors such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, kidney damage...
+ Matches the patient's food habit.
Meals for people with diabetes need to pay attention to the following points:
Divide the day's meals into many small meals, in addition to the 3 main meals of breakfast - lunch - dinner, the patient should have additional snacks in the middle of the morning. and noon, between noon and evening, before going to bed. The small meals will help stabilize blood sugar, not cause blood sugar to rise after eating and not be lowered when hungry. Diabetic patients: Should choose foods with low glycemic index (Gl) such as: brown rice, tubers (but do not eat baked potatoes, baked potatoes), green vegetables (400g/day) and less sweet fruits such as: guava, dragon fruit, grapefruit, apple, orange peeled without juice. In the diet should limit foods containing a lot of sugar such as confectionery, sweetened milk, soft drinks, sweet fruits such as: bananas, longan, mango, jackfruit, na... variables should not cut, cut food too small, should not cook, cook food too soft. Because if you do so, food will be quickly digested and absorbed, which will increase blood sugar quickly after eating and lower blood sugar when hungry, when away from meals. Diabetics need to adjust their diet so that their weight is not less than the squared height x 20 and not more than the squared height x 22. Weight should be monitored so that the diet can be adjusted accordingly. fit. In the diet, it is still necessary to provide enough substances such as protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals to ensure that the nutritional needs of the body are met. >> See also: Groups of drugs to treat diabetes

2. What should diabetics eat?

Good food for people with diabetes should eat:
Brown rice or pounded rice. Tubers. Nuts, beans. Green vegetables. Less sweet fruits such as: dragon fruit, guava, grapefruit, orange, apple, ... Unsweetened milk, milk for diabetics.

3. What should diabetics not eat?

Foods that diabetics should not eat:
The foods that are not good, diabetics should not eat are:
White bread. Baked potatoes. Thoroughly milled rice. Noodles. Street. Types of confectionery. Soft drink. Sweet fruits such as: watermelon, longan, custard apple, mango, jackfruit,... Limiting energy-containing sweeteners such as Saccharose, Glucose,... In sugary soft drinks should not be abused. Use low-calorie sweeteners, such as products containing "Light" sweeteners. Salty foods should not be eaten, especially in patients with both diabetes and hypertension.

4. Some Misconceptions About the Diabetic Diet

Currently, there are still some misconceptions about the diabetes diet that are still spread by many people:
People with diabetes should only eat vermicelli, not rice: this is completely incorrect. corpse. Because vermicelli and rice are both foods in the group that provide carbohydrates, in which the glycemic index of vermicelli is 95 is higher than white rice is 83. Diabetics need to stop eating starch: this is also is an incorrect concept. Diabetic diet should not stop eating starch, but need to balance the amount of starch during the day to provide 45-55% of energy for the body. Diabetics can eat instant noodles instead of rice: this is also not true. Because instant noodles are also in the group of foods containing a lot of powdered sugar. Therefore, diabetic patients need to reduce their consumption of instant noodles. When eating instant noodles, you need to add about 150g of green vegetables (vegetables, bean sprouts, chrysanthemum,...) and add 3 shrimps or 30g of beef to balance nutrients and lower the glycemic index. compared to just eating instant noodles. Diet plays an important role in the treatment of diseases, both ensuring energy for the body's activities, and at the same time not making blood sugar rise.

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