What should diabetics eat instead of rice?

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Brown seeds, barley, sweet potatoes ... are good foods for people with diabetes to have enough energy to work without raising blood sugar like rice.

What can diabetics eat instead of rice?

Among starchy foods, white rice is classified as having a relatively high glycemic index, so it is easy to cause postprandial hyperglycemia. However, if the patient decides to completely abstain from white rice as well as starch, it is a wrong choice. The reason is that such a fasting starch has the ability to make the body lack of energy, leading to low blood sugar, possibly even causing coma and death.
For the question “What can diabetics eat instead of rice?” The principle is that patients need to choose foods that can be used to replace rice while ensuring that there is no ability to increase blood sugar suddenly after eating and provide enough energy for the body during a long day of activities. .
Specifically, diabetics can replace white rice with the following foods:

1. Replace white rice with brown rice

Brown rice (ground rice) is different from white rice because it retains the outer bran layer, which contains a lot of soluble fiber, which helps to digest food more slowly. As a result, diabetics will feel full for longer and reduce cravings.
At the same time, brown rice also works to slow down the absorption of sugar, so it does not increase blood sugar suddenly after eating. In addition, brown rice is also a source of vitamin B1 to help prevent numbness in the extremities and vitamin B12 suitable for people who have to take metformin for a long time.

2. Can diabetics eat oats?

Oats are a good food for people with diabetes. Patients should choose to use whole or rolled oats. Oats have a high soluble fiber content and can be used to make many different dishes such as mixed with fruit, yogurt for breakfast or cooked with porridge.

3. Diabetics can eat chia seeds, flax seeds?

Chia seeds, flax seeds are a great source of soluble fiber, vitamin K, iron, phosphorus, omega-3... Therefore, these seeds are not only good for blood sugar control but also help prevent Cardiovascular complications, improved bone disease, reduced blood pressure...
Patients can buy chia and flax seeds in supermarkets, process them with water to drink in the morning or use before eating. rice, mixed with vegetables or used with yogurt.

4. Can diabetics eat sweet potatoes?

The starch in sweet potatoes is resistant starch, which means that sweet potatoes will not raise blood sugar much after eating. In addition, sweet potatoes also have the effect of reducing blood sugar by increasing insulin action and reducing the feeling of bloating. This tuber is also relatively low in calories, very safe for diabetics.
Diabetics often experience indigestion. Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, which works to remove waste products accumulated inside the stomach and soften stools, thus effectively preventing constipation. Sweet potatoes help stimulate the production of gastric juice, thereby improving the digestive system. In addition, sweet potatoes are also a source of nutrients such as protein, vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates, which promote metabolism and improve metabolic functions of the body. This tuber is also suitable for those who want to lose weight and lose belly fat.

5. Use beans instead of rice

Beans are foods with high nutritional content, especially good for people with diabetes who want to control blood sugar levels and weight. Patients can mix beans, green beans, red beans, whole soybeans with white rice or brown rice... to make a healthy dish.
When learning about what diabetes to eat instead of rice, many people try to follow a diet to remove white rice from their daily diet and replace it with vermicelli, vermicelli, rice noodle soup, banh cuon, wet cake. . Meanwhile, the common raw material for processing such foods is still rice, which, when ground into flour and processed, will reduce fiber, which further increases blood sugar levels after eating, which is not suitable for people. diabetes.

How to eat white rice and still keep blood sugar stable

In fact, diabetics can still eat normal white rice without too much impact on blood sugar levels, even helping to stabilize HbA1c (an indicator used to assess the ability of people to control their average blood sugar). a person within the previous 3 months). The following is advice for patients when using white rice:
Supplement according to body needs: Accurate calculation of the body's energy needs in general takes a long time and is also very complicated. However, patients can estimate for themselves by eating less than usual, then testing blood glucose 2 hours after eating. If this value is above 10mmol/l, it means you need to eat less next time. Control food intake according to body shape: If you are female, with normal health and light work, you can have a main meal with only one cup of rice. If you are a man, the need for activity may be higher, eating about 1.5 cups of rice in the main meal, if you do heavy work, you can increase by half a cup of rice. Arrange the order of eating appropriately: In order not to increase blood sugar too high after eating, patients can prioritize eating vegetables and fruits and use broth first, then eat rice and other foods. Accordingly, the amount of fiber in vegetables and fruits slows down the absorption of sugar from starch, helping patients feel full faster and reduce appetite.

Currently there is no cure for diabetes. However, the symptoms caused by the disease can be well controlled during treatment. In which, the non-drug treatment method is still the first priority and requires the cooperation mainly from the patients themselves. Accordingly, diabetics need to build and maintain a healthy lifestyle, try to exercise regularly, change their diet in a more scientific direction to control blood sugar at a safe level. whole.

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