Foods that are safe to eat for people living with diabetes are often synonymous with sugar free and tasteless.
Which would you rather have?
A sugar free cherry pie safe for diabetics or the real thing filled with sugar and all the flavors?
While the dream may be to eat whatever you want, the reality is that you may have to meet somewhere in the middle.
But that doesn’t mean that food has to be short on flavor or taste awful.
There are many tips and tricks to make food safe and flavorful at the same time.
Rethink Liquid Intake
We don’t often think of liquid as food, but it’s a large part of our diet and can quickly add an exorbitant amount of unnecessary carbs and sugars to our diet. Fruit juices, specialty coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages are not part of the required daily food groups. Cutting these from the daily plan can reduce blood glucose levels tremendously. Instead replace these novelty drinks with water. Hydrating before each meal can help you stay full and avoid unnecessary sugars, carbohydrates and calories.
Replace Carbs
Carbs are found in a variety of foods, both healthy and unhealthy. It’s important to understand the difference and to know how to replace the bad with the good.
The Good Carbs:
- ● Non-Starchy Vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, leafy lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes which are low on carbs and high in fiber.
- ● Beans and legumes like lentils, black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas.
- ● Fruits high in fiber like apples, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
- ● Sweet potatoes that are loaded with healthy carbs and fiber.
- ● Plain yogurt without added sugars which also help with calcium and Vitamin D requirements.
- ● Whole grain foods that are not processed or enriched like brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, quinoa, barley, and couscous.
The Bad Carbs:
- ● Sweet, sugary beverages like sodas, juices and flavored coffee drinks.
- ● White bread, white rice and pasta which are made with refined white flour which raises blood sugar.
- ● Fruit flavored yogurts which are sweetened with additional and artificial sugars and can cause spikes in levels.
- ● Sweetened and processed breakfast cereals which have very little protein and are full of carbs and sugars.
- ● Dried fruits which can contain up to four times the amount of carbs as fresh fruit.
- ● Packaged snack foods like chips, cookies, candies and cakes that are highly processed and can raise blood sugar levels quickly.
- ● French fries are high in carbs, raise blood sugar levels and are fried in unhealthy oils that can cause other health issues.
The Plate Rule and Food Budgeting
Following the plate rule at all times helps to maintain healthy eating and control. Make sure your plate is filled with 50% vegetables, 25% starch and 25% protein and check levels often. Consider skipping carbs all together and replace it with something healthier instead. There are plenty of options that can help reduce carbohydrate intake like zoodles instead of noodles and cauliflower rice instead of the real thing.
Plan Ahead
Planning ahead will help you avoid costly mistakes in the future. Whether it means food prepping for the week, preparing healthy snacks or planning ahead of vacation, food prep can help to save the day. Planning ahead can prevent emergencies while traveling or when changes to the daily schedule can’t be prevented.
Use a Continuous Glucose Monitor
The key to getting through each day is to monitor levels closely. With the help of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System, like the FreeStyle Libre, monitoring blood glucose levels has never been easier. A Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) allows for a quick scan in a matter of seconds and gives a current reading, a trend arrow and an 8-hour history. This allows for easier tracking of daily patterns plus your CGM will alert you when you’re trending high or low. A CGM allows you to enjoy food throughout the day and serves as a guide to stay on track.
Find a Support Network
Having diabetes doesn’t mean giving up your favorite foods completely. Food education and knowing what is in the food that you eat and how foods affect blood sugar levels is key. Through careful planning and by monitoring the data from a Continuous Glucose Monitor, people living with diabetes can still add variety to their daily diet.
Quest Health Solutions is here to support you during your food journeys and always. We are committed to providing diabetes education to our patients and healthcare providers. To learn more about how Continuous Glucose Monitors can help you manage your diabetes and still eat the foods you love, contact us at 1-800-993-9996, email ben@questhealthsolutions.com or schedule an appointment today.