Best Diet Plan for Diabetics in India

The best way to keep your blood sugar level under control is to embrace healthy eating habits that can keep the blood sugar level under control. Having a diet plan with Low Glycemic Index can control blood sugar levels in body.

The Glycemic Index is a range from 0 to 100 assigned to foods containing carbohydrates based on their ability to increase the blood sugar level two hours after they’ve been consumed. For example, sugary drinks are higher on the Glycemic Scale because they’re quickly absorbed by the body and rapidly increase blood sugar levels within minutes. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains have a lower Glycemic Index because they’re absorbed slowly over a period of time in the body.With the prevalence of Diabetes in the country, dieticians recommend that people suffering from the disease plan a diet that contains more foods with a low Glycemic Index.

Diabetes is a disease where the cells of the body cannot absorb the sugars in the blood effectively. This leads to a rise in sugar levels in the blood and potential complications. If a diabetic person is consuming more high glycemic foods like rice, sweets and sweetened beverages, their blood sugar will spike too much, too soon.For them, a diet of low Glycemic Index foods like whole grains, most fruits, and vegetables is better because the carbohydrates in such foods are slowly broken down and absorbed in the body over a longer period of time. This ensures that diabetic patients have controlled sugar levels and that they don’t feel hungry again too soon.

The Glycemic Index is a scale of 1 to 100 given to carbohydrates containing foods where the number 200 has been arbitrarily assigned to pure sugar since that is the food that can increase blood sugar the quickest.Low GI foods (GI less than 55): These foods include vegetables and most fruits, along with whole grains and cereals, oats, peanuts, chickpeas, kidney beans etc. A diet that has mostly low GI foods is usually the best diet plan for diabetic patients.Medium GI foods (GI between 56-69): Foods falling in the middle of the glycemic scale are medium GI foods. These can usually be consumed by diabetics on the advice of the dietician and they’re not strictly forbidden. These include bananas, pineapple, grapes, sweet corn, raisins etc.High GI foods (GI above 70): These foods are usually forbidden for diabetics and include white rice, white bread, cakes and pastries, sweets, sweetened beverages etc.

Diabetic patients must follow a good diet plan that includes a good mix of complex carbohydrates, fibre, fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and lean proteins.A fundamentally Indian diet sometimes contains spicy and fried foods, or desserts that might be too sugary. These diets must be strictly avoided by people with diabetes. However, Indian food is so diverse that it also consists of a lot of healthy foods that are low on the glycemic scale and high on nutritional value.Let us form a basic diet chart for diabetic patients.

• Vegetable upma
• Besan or moong chilla
• Multi-grain steamed idlis made with brown rice, oats, or whole wheat.
• Sprouts mixed with cucumber, onions, tomatoes.
• Omelette or boiled egg with multigrain bread.

Cereals and Carbohydrates

• Oats or jowar flour chapati
• Brown Rice
• Quinoa

Proteins

Choose a single form of protein like dal, curd or milk

Vegetables

Include high fibre vegetables like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, lettuce

Fats

Your body needs Omega 3 types of good fats. So, ensure that you cook food with healthy oil like flaxseed oil, mustard oil and canola oil.

Fibre

High fibre foods like leafy vegetables, nuts, flaxseeds and chia seeds provide the required roughage for good digestive health and slow absorption of food.

Non-Vegetarian

If you want to include meat in your diet, make sure that it is either fish or lean chicken breast. Red meat contains saturated fats, so it is best to avoid it.

Most diabetic diets usually have regular small meals instead of a couple of large meals. Therefore, it is important to distribute smaller snacks throughout the day to keep your blood sugar in- check.

Fruits

Fruits are a great noon or evening time snack. But instead of dried fruits or tropical fruits like mangoes, go for fruits like papaya, oranges, berries, apples, guava etc.

Nuts:

A bowlful of roasted chana or soaked almonds can also be an excellent snack between meals.

Salads

You can also munch salads containing cucumber, carrots, capsicum, lettuce etc.

Dinner

Your dinner can be similar to your lunch. Ensure that you have a complete meal like dal, vegetables, cereals etc. Mix it up to make it exciting and delicious. Also make sure that you have your dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed.A glass of warm, low-fat milk before going to bed can help in regulating sugar levels whilst also inducing sleep.Thus, a low glycemic index diet like the above can help keep your blood glucose levels in check while also letting you feel full and satisfied. The above diet is generic and you can use it as a reference. Consult with your dietician or physician before you fix a diabetic diet.

People always ask what vegetables are good for diabetics. Given below is a list of excellent, low GI vegetables that are readily available in most vegetable markets.

• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Bitter Gourd
• Cauliflower
• Asparagus
• Lettuce
• Eggplant
• Tomatoes

Diabetes is a life changing systemic disease but with the right therapy, diet and lifestyle, one can overcome it and lead a normal life. So, make sure you exercise, have a healthy lifestyle, avoid high GI foods, begin a diabetes friendly diet and stick to it in order to beat this disease.

The information contained herein is generic in nature and is meant for educational purposes only. Nothing here is to be construed as an investment or financial or taxation advice nor to be considered as an invitation or solicitation or advertisement for any financial product. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and should seek independent professional advice prior to making any investment decision in relation to any financial product. Aditya Birla Capital Group is not liable for any decision arising out of the use of this information.