Faculty of Medical Sciences > Medical Endocrinology > Nutrition and Diet
Diabetic Diet and Food Tips - Healthy eating & healthy snacking …………… a road to healthy life with diabetes.
Diet in Diabetes Mellitus
Regular and consistent diet is most important, with no feasts and fasts. Split your diet into 3-4 meals. Avoid sugar and sugar containing foods, and fried foods. Avoid fats (butter, oil, malai) and fat rich foods (puri, paratha, chat, namkeen etc.). Drink cow's milk or toned milk, not buffalo milk.
Food for Diabetes Patients:-
List of foods that Don't Impact Blood Sugar-
In Moderate Amount Almond - 4 pcs. Per day
Curd - 200gm. per day
Fish
Egg white
Free Foods Salads- Cucumber, Tomato, Radish, Boiled green leafy vegetables
Vegetable soups (freshly prepared)
Butter milk
Tea/Coffee (No sugar, Less/No milk)
Lime water
Do's in diabetic patients
Plan your diet with regular meal timings.
Include complex carbs in every meal such as whole wheat, jowar, brown rice, oats etc.
Eat fiber rich foods.
Low fat milk/milk products like cow's milk, paneer, egg whites, lean chicken and fish.
For vegetarians whole pulses (dals) can provide protein and good amount of fiber.
As a diabetic you are free to eat most vegetables you like. (Restricted use of certain vegetable is advisable like – Potato etc.)
Depending on your blood sugar, you can have one to two portion fruits daily. No fruit is off limits but if you are especially fond of mangoes or bananas, preferably eat them with a meal.
It is imperative that you reduce your butter, ghee or oil intake.
Use vinegar, achaar, chutney and other food items for taste.
Sugar Free items including sweets, dark chocolate can be enjoyed.
Don'ts in diabetic patients.
Frequent snacking and feasting.
Erratic meal timings.
Drink sweetened drinks including fruit juices.
Make starchy carbohydrates your main course.
Skip meals/fasting ("Vrat"). Being a diabetic, you are prone to periods of low blood sugar during fasts; this can lead to complications like fainting spells, seizures.
Eat saturated or Trans fat (canned foods, bakery products).
Consume sugars or sweets.
Over indulge in alcohol.
Processed food like cakes, biscuits and ready-to-eat foods, as they are loaded with fats.
Lead a sedentary lifestyle with no exercise
Meal Planning:
Use these "meal plan" ideas as part of healthy eating:
Enjoy vegetables, most fruits and low-fat milk products with your meals. These are carbohydrate-rich foods but in general have low glycemic index.
Plan your meals with foods in the low and medium Glycemic Index starch choices. Try foods such as barley or lentils.
Consult our dietician in Medical Endocrinology for help with choosing low GI foods, adapting recipes, and other ways to incorporate low GI foods in your meal plan.
What is Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale which ranks carbohydrate-containing foods by their glycemic response i.e. the amount and speed at which they raise blood sugar levels. The reference food is compared to either glucose or white bread. The lower the glycemic index, the lower the rise in blood sugar. Glycemic Index is an important tool, used in deciding which carbohydrate foods to include in an individual's diet. Meal planning with the GI involves choosing foods that have a low or medium GI. If eating a food with a high GI, you can combine it with low GI foods to help balance the meal.
The Glycemic Index of a food is dependent on:
Size of starch in the food: Smaller the particle size, greater is the glycemic effect. Raw foods having larger particle size have a lower glycemic effect than cooked foods.
Cooking method: Foods cooked by dry and short-time methods like roasting have a lower Glycemic Index, as compared to foods which are cooked by long cooking processes. Preparations like roasted chanas, sprouted dals and whole fruits have a lower Glycemic Index than boiled rice, steamed dals and fruit juices.
Fibre Content in the food: Foods with high fibre content typically have a low or medium Glycemic Index, and are preferred for diabetics.
What is Glycemic Load?
Glycemic load of food can be calculated as its carbohydrate content measured in grams (g), multiplied by the GI, and divided by 100. For example, watermelon has a GI of 72. A 100-g serving of watermelon has 5 g of available carbohydrates (most of it being water), making the calculation 5 x 72/100=3.6, so the GL is 3.6.
Why Should I Choose Foods Low in Glycemic Index?
Eating foods with a low Glycemic Index may help to:
Control your blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels.
Control your appetite and reduce weight.
Lower your risk for developing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
If I eat foods with a low Glycemic Index can I eat as much as I want?
No. Using the Glycemic Index to choose foods is only one part of healthy eating.
Healthy eating also means:
Eating at regular times
Choosing a variety of foods from all food groups
Limiting sugars and sweets
Reducing the amount of fat you eat
Including foods high in fibre
Limiting salt
Glycemic Index of Some Common Foods
Low GI (55 or less)
Medium GI (56-69)
High GI (70 or more)
Breads: Multigrain, Stone ground whole wheat
Breads: Whole wheat
Rye
Pita bread
Breads: White bread
Cereals: Bran, Muesli, Pasta
Oat bran cereal, Barley,
Parboiled rice
Cereals: Puffed wheat
Oatmeal, Quick oats, brown
rice
Cereals: Corn cereal,
Rice cereal,
Short grain rice
Other: Potato (white)
Sweet corn, Popcorn
Black bean soup
Green pea soup
Other: Potato
French fries
What is Carbohydrate Counting?
Carbohydrate counting, also called carb counting is a tool for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for managing their blood sugar levels. It involves keeping note of the amount of carbohydrate in the foods eaten each day. Eating similar amounts of carbohydrate for your meals and snacks everyday ensures uniformly better blood glucose control. Carbohydrates are one of the main nutrients found in food and drinks. Protein and fat are the other main nutrients. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches. Carbohydrate counting can help you control your blood sugar levels because carbohydrates affect your blood glucose more than any other nutrient. Carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, are an important part of a healthy eating plan because they can provide both energy and nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, along with fiber. Fiber can help prevent constipation, lower cholesterol levels, and control weight
What Foods Have Carbohydrate? Foods that contain carbohydrates include
Grains, such as bread, noodles, pasta, crackers, cereals, and rice
Fruits, such as apples, bananas, berries, mangoes, melons, and oranges
Dairy products, such as milk and yogurt
Legumes, including dried beans, lentils, and peas
Snack foods and sweets, such as cakes, cookies, candy, and other desserts
Juices, soft drinks, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and energy drinks that contain sugars
Vegetables, especially "starchy" vegetables such as potatoes, corn, and peas. Potatoes, peas, and corn are called starchy vegetables because they are high in starch. These vegetables have more carbohydrates per serving than non-starchy vegetables. Examples of non-starchy vegetables are carrots, green beans, lettuce and other salad greens, peppers, spinach, tomatoes. Foods that do not contain carbohydrates include meat, fish, and poultry; most types of cheese; nuts; oils and other fats.
How Much Carbohydrate?
How much carbohydrate you eat varies for each individual. Finding the right amount of carbohydrate depends on many things including how active you are and what medicines you take. Dietician can figure out the right carbohydrate amount for you. Once you know how much carbohydrate to eat at a meal, choose your food and the portion size to match. Finding the balance for yourself is important so you can feel your best and lower your risk of diabetes complications. Everyone needs to get enough carbohydrate to meet the body's needs for energy, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. Carbohydrate intake for most people should be between 45 to 65 percent of total calories. People on low-calorie diets and people who are physically inactive may want to aim for the lower end of that range.
One gram of carbohydrate provides about 4 calories, so you will have to divide the number of calories you want to get from carbohydrates by 4 to get the number of grams. For example, if you want to eat 2,000 total calories per day and get 50 percent of your calories from carbohydrates, you would calculate that amount as follows:
0.50 x 2000 calories = 1000 calories
1000 ÷ 4 = 250 grams of carbohydrate daily
You need to spread out your carbohydrate intake through the day. A dietician can help you learn what foods to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat based on your weight, activity level, medicines, and blood glucose targets. In Endocrinology we have expert Dieticians to guide and help you to achieve your blood glucose targets.
Using Food Labels
Carbohydrate counting is easier when food labels are available. You can look at how much carbohydrate is in the foods you want to eat and decide how much of the food you can eat. Remember to note carbohydrate content per serving (or per 100g/100ml), the serving size and the total carbohydrate amount.
Food without labels. How Much Carbohydrate?
Reading food labels is a great way to know how much carbohydrate is in a food. For foods that do not have a label, you have to estimate how much carbohydrate is in it. Keeping general serving sizes in mind will help you estimate how much carbohydrate you are eating. For example there is about 15 grams of carbohydrate in:
1 chapati
1 small piece of fresh fruit (4 oz / 118 grams)
1/2 cup of canned or frozen frui
1 slice of bread (1 oz/ 29 grams)
1/2 cup of oatmeal
1/3 cup of pasta or rice
4-6 cracker biscuits
1/2 cup of black beans or starchy vegetable
1/4 of a large baked potato (3 oz/ 85 grams)
2/3 cup of plain fat-free yogurt
2 small cookies
1/2 cup ice cream
1 Tbsp jam, jelly, sugar or honey
6 chicken nuggets
1 cup of soup
1/4 serving of a medium french fry
Tips and Suggestions
Eat a variety of foods. Try to include fruits and vegetables, grains (whole grains) and low fat dairy products daily.
Substitute brown rice for white rice. Generally people with diabetes are told to avoid rice altogether. This is a misconception. You can eat rice in reasonably restricted quantities as long as the total carbohydrate for that meal does not exceed your limit.
Instead of eating only rice, try other grains such as whole wheat, barley and ragi.
Avoid starchy vegetables. It is better to select green vegetables in place of starchy ones. However, when using potatoes, yams or other starchy vegetable, always remember to cut down on the amount of rice/roti eaten at that meal.
Use green vegetables freely and prepare them in a small amount of oil
Avoid frying as a cooking method; other methods such as dry roasting, baking etc would consume less oil.
Try to cook with a minimum amount of oil. Use oils that are high in monounsaturated fats, which are good for your heart. Avoid ghee, butter and cream in cooking
Switch to skimmed/low fat or 1% milk and yogurt. When making desserts like kheer, use artificial sweeteners. Whole milk and yogurt and products made with them like paneer are high in saturated fats, which raise cholesterol in your blood. Try making your own paneer, chhena with low fat milk.
Tofu is a good source of high-quality protein especially for vegetarians. Try having it in place of paneer for dishes like palak paneer at restaurants.
Use 100% whole wheat chapatti flour for making rotis/phulkas. Avoid putting any ghee/oil.
Points to Remember
Carbohydrates are one of the main nutrients found in food and drinks. Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, and fiber
Carbohydrate counting can help you control your blood glucose because carbohydrates affect your blood glucose more than other nutrients.
Carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy eating plan because they provide energy. Most foods containing carbohydrates also contain important vitamins and minerals. Many foods that contain carbohydrates are good sources of fiber, which can help you prevent constipation, lower your cholesterol levels, and control your weight.
Foods and drinks with added sugars are high-carbohydrate foods that are often high in calories and low in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Fiber-rich whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans are wiser choices.
To meet your blood glucose targets, you will need to balance your carbohydrate intake with physical activity and diabetes medicines or insulin.
Carbohydrate counting is a good meal planning tool for motivated people with diabetes.
Nutrition labels on food packages tell you the food's serving size, the total grams of carbohydrate per serving, and other nutrition information.
Look at the serving size. All the information on the label is about one serving of food. If you will be eating a larger serving, then you will need to double or triple the information on the label. Look at the grams of total carbohydrate.
If you are trying to lose weight, look at the calories. Comparing products can be helpful to find those lower in calories per serving
To cut risk of heart disease and stroke, look at saturated and trans fats. Look for products with the lowest amount of saturated and trans fats per serving
For people with high blood pressure, look at the sodium. Look for foods with less sodium content.
Fruit
Roasted chana and murmura chat/
Vegetable Idli/
Dhokla
1
1 bowl
2-3
2-3
Dinner
Vegetable soup
Chapati
Vegetable
Dal/ Chicken
Green Salad
1 bowl
1-2
1 bowl
1 bow
1 bowl
BedTime
Milk
1 glass
This meal plan provides around 1800-2000 calories for a day.
Rice
Rice is a common part of Indian Cuisine. Rice has moderate to high Glycemic Index. There are two types of starch in rice: Amylose and Amylopectin. Long grain rice has 22 percent Amylose and 78 Amylopectin while medium/short grain rice has 18 percent Amylose and 82 percent Amylopectin. The important factor is the ratio of Amylose to Amylopectin. Higher the Amylose, lower the GI. So, long grain rice has lower GI than short grain rice. The bran in brown rice lowers the GI further. This makes the Brown Basmati Rice to have lower GI among most of the other Rice from India.
Potatoes
Potatoes are another important part of Indian Cuisine. All root vegetables have moderate to high GI. White potatoes have slightly lower GI than the ones that are rich in color.