Diabetes prevention diet - What you Should and Shouldn't Eat

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Why is diet so important for diabetes prevention?

The onset of diabetes is a gradual process thathovers near the point of diabetes before youactually get the disease.

The process that happens right before you getdiabetes is called prediabetes. It can last for yearsuntil the diagnosis of diabetes is finally made.

Doctors diagnose prediabetes when the fastingblood sugar is between 100 mg/dL and 125mg/dL.

This means you are likely developing insulinresistance which means insulin is less able toallow glucose to enter the cells to be used asfuel.

If your diet remains poor and your weightperhaps goes up, you may be finally diagnosedas having diabetes or a fasting blood sugar ofgreater than 125 mg/dL and non-fasting bloodsugars in the range of 160-200 mg/dL or more.

During the prediabetes stage is perhaps thebest time to make dietary changes to preventdiabetes from ever developing by following adiabetes prevention diet.

So what does a diabetes prevention diet include and

exclude?

Soda and Juice

One of the worst things for diabetes isdrinking sugar-containing sodas.

These types of sodas contain as much as tenteaspoons of table sugar per can of soda.

While you might think that switching to fruitjuice is a good alternative, the truth is thatjuice can be almost as bad as soda.

The problem with juice is that it contains all thesugar of the fruit it comes from and none of thefiber, which is contained in the pulp of the fruitthat is removed in the juicing process.

The juice alone dumps a large amount ofsugar into the blood system over a very shortperiod of time.

As part of a diabetes prevention diet it isrecommended to eat the whole fruit,complete with fiber that allows for a slowerpeak absorption of glucose after eating thefood.

Fruits and Vegetables

Vegetables are technically better than fruitbecause they contain more complexcarbohydrates than fruit.

Complex carbohydrates are eventuallybroken down into simple carbohydrates butthis burns fuel and allows for gradualabsorption of glucose into the bloodstream.

Fruits provide the sweetness of much worsefoods but many provide healthy antioxidantsand vitamins as well.

As mentioned, whole fruits are much betterfor you than fruit juice and the fiber is goodfor the bowels.

Prediabetes is the best time to learn goodways to incorporate fruits and vegetables inyour diabetes prevention diet.

Starches

It’s okay to eat starchy foods like potatoes,pasta, corn and sweet potatoes as a prediabeticbut limit these foods on a diabetes preventiondiet.

Also, limit the amount of rich sauces and butterthat you add to these starches as they can addto your weight and often contain a lot of salt,which isn’t good for high blood pressure.

Meats and Proteins

Twenty five percent of your calories shouldbe come from meats and other proteins.

Meats should be as lean as possible so asnot to add so much fat to your diet.

Trim all visible fat from meats you arecooking and pour off any grease after pan-frying meats.

The best way to eat meat is grilled, baked,or broiled with something to catch greasydrippings.

Grease doesn’t really affect prediabetes but it canadd to your weight and this plays a strong role indeveloping diabetes.

Include plant based proteins like nuts, beans, andlegumes into your diabetes prevention diet.

Fish is probably the most high qualityprotein, it is loaded with nutrients, verylow in fat and calories, and fatty fish givesyou heart healthy mono andpolyunsaturated fats.

Eat to lose weight

Unless you are of a normal weight, theprediabetic state is a good time to bring yourweight down to a lower level, ideally into a bodymass index of 25 or less.

You can calculate your body mass index or BMIby this calculation:

Take your weight in pounds and divide it by yourheight in inches squared. Multiply the result by703.

Numbers over 30 indicate you areobese and you should then lose weight.

Even a 5% to 7% reduction inbodyweight can prevent or delay theonset of type 2 diabetes.

Exercise

Exercise is another crucial consideration if youhave prediabetes because it can go a long wayto preventing the onset of the disease. It isalso important for healthy weight loss.

In conclusion, it is wise to combine ahealthy diabetes prevention diet andexercise to prevent the onset ofDiabetes.

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