Feeding Diabetes: A Nutritionist’s Guide
Reading Time: 7 Minutes
Do you or someone you love have diabetes?
Do you think you may be on the path to diabetes?
I received such an overwhelming response to my recent blog post on how to know if your blood sugar is out of whack, that I wanted to follow it up with specific information on how to feed diabetes. If you haven’t read it, do yourself a favour and check out the blog post to discover common signs of blood sugar dysregulation and the importance of regaining control over blood sugar levels.
You may just be surprised at what you discover!
Most of us recognize the importance of managing blood sugar levels, but many people often fall short when trying to manage it themselves. So this week, I’d like to help.
Read on to discover a nutritionist’s guide on how to feed diabetes - or how to eat to prevent diabetes from occurring in the first place.
What is Type 2 Diabetes
First, let’s begin with a recap of Type 2 Diabetes. Usually caused by Insulin Resistance, Type 2 diabetes results when cells stop responding to glucose in the blood as they should.
The glucose receptors on cells no longer work or have become desensitized from being overexposed to too much insulin for so long. Despite the fact there may be ample insulin production, your cells no longer respond to it - as is what happens when blood sugar levels are chronically high.
Moderation and careful food choices are crucial factors for an effective diabetes diet that encourages healthy blood sugar levels.
Why Should You Care About Blood Sugar?
Do you need to care about your blood sugar levels?
If you value your health, the short answer is Yes.
Many health problems can result from imbalanced blood sugar levels. Why? High blood sugar and high sugar foods are toxic to your brain (and body). Blood sugar imbalances can cause fatigue, cravings, irritability, forgetfulness, brain fog, and slowed brain function.
Moreover, Type 2 diabetes accelerates brain aging! [1]
Blood sugar imbalances, highs and lows, affect every part of our body - especially our brain. Numerous studies indicate that dementia and Alzheimers may be the result of impaired insulin sensitivity to the brain [2]. For this very reason, Alzheimer’s has been dubbed “Type 3 Diabetes.”
In addition to affecting our brain health, blood sugar imbalances also cause inflammation, hormonal imbalances, digestive problems, and a weak immune system.
Did you know? Refined white sugar provides zero nutritive value. One teaspoon contains 60 calories in carbohydrate form with absolutely no nutrients.
So what can we do about it? How can we feed diabetes and prevent all the problems associated with imbalanced blood sugar?
A Nutritionist’s Guide: Feeding Diabetes
Finally! Here’s the part of the blog you’ve all been waiting for: what (and how) to eat to feed diabetes and control blood sugar levels.
Right Click To Save
Be passionate about protein: I’ve said this before but with good reason! Ensuring that each meal and snack contains quality protein may be the most important (and easy) dietary change you can make to balance blood sugar levels. Protein works to keep you feeling full for longer and does not increase blood sugar levels. In addition to grass-fed or wild meats, pasture-raised poultry, and eggs, good protein sources include nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and certain vegetables like spinach, asparagus and mushrooms.
Increase fibre: Fibre, especially water-soluble fibre, helps blood sugar stability. It can slow digestion and absorption of carbs to prevent rapid spikes in blood sugar levels. Ample fibre can be found in legumes (beans), oat bran, nuts, seeds, psyllium seed husks, pears, apples, and most vegetables. Try to consume about 50 grams of dietary fibre per day. This may sound like a lot, but one large pear (with skin) has about 6 grams, and an apple has 3.5 grams. Other good sources of water-soluble fibre include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, spinach, and parsnips. Each of these vegetables, cooked, has more than 4 grams of fibre per cup, while 1/2 cup of baked beans has almost 9 grams!
Make sure your carbohydrates are complex: Complex carbs are starches made of many simple sugars joined together. The body breaks them down into individual sugars and releases them slowly into the blood. This helps create more steady blood sugar levels overall. [3] Vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and sweet potatoes or yams are excellent sources of complex carbohydrates. Instead of spiking blood sugar levels, they contribute to a gradual release of glucose into the body for sustained energy and steady moods.
Go low on the GI: If you have blood sugar problems, choosing foods with low glycemic index (GI) values is essential. They don’t contain many sugars, so they don’t spike blood sugar levels as much. These foods include anything green - lettuce, kale, broccoli, spinach, celery, and cucumber, plus cauliflower, melons, and berries. Alternately, foods high on the glycemic index contain a lot of sugars or break down into a lot of sugar - like white bread, baking potatoes, white rice, high-sugar content fruits like bananas, cherries, raisins, and watermelon, and processed or fast food. Of course, white sugar falls into this camp, too!
Add Omega 3’s: Omega 3 fish oil helps balance blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation. Fatty fish, with its high EPA and DHA content, is one of the best sources of protein to keep the body’s blood sugar levels in check. Other good sources of omega-3 are chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp.
Focus on Fermentation: Consuming fermented foods and beverages regularly can improve your gut microbiome and promote a healthy intestinal flora. Doing so can help reduce anxiety, depression, and moodiness associated with imbalanced blood sugar levels. Great choices include kimchi, sauerkraut, probiotic pickles, kombucha, and kefir.
Choose the right fats: Try to limit the amount of saturated fat (from animals) you consume - grass-fed lean meat and wild game are the best choices. But there are many other healthy fat choices to include in your diet like coconut oil, MCT oil, grass-fed butter, avocado oil, and olive oil. Avoid commercial vegetable oils like canola, corn, safflower, sunflower, and soy oils. They are too high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids and have been highly processed.
Reduce simple sugars: Simple sugars include heavy starches like white bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice, as well as refined foods like baked goods, chips, and fast food. Whole fruit is the exception. The natural sugars in fruit are paired with nutrients that help its absorption, so natural fructose does not create the same spike in blood sugar. Most diabetics who cannot handle eating table sugar can manage a moderate amount of fresh fruit. Pairing fruit with protein (like almonds or nut butter) can also help control sugar cravings and promote weight loss.
In general, balanced meals containing protein, complex carbohydrates, and fibre should keep blood sugar levels steady all day, prevent you from getting too hungry, and reduce cravings. Doing so has other positive side effects, too. Feeding diabetes the right way will also help stabilize moods and provide sustained energy.
In addition to the actionable steps above on how to feed diabetes, several (delicious) functional foods and nutrients can also help.
Functional foods and nutrients that help feed diabetes
The following functional foods can also support steady blood sugar levels and should be included in your life - daily, when possible.
Onions and garlic - contain compounds that can hinder heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Bitter melon - can help repair damaged pancreatic cells, increase insulin sensitivity, and improve triglyceride levels. [4]
Blueberries - provides antioxidant support and can improve insulin sensitivity to reduce insulin resistance.
Cinnamon - can help your insulin response by supporting Insulin activity and boosting cell receptor activity. [5]
Chromium - is essential for blood sugar control by binding insulin to its receptors. In food, chromium is found in brewer’s yeast, eggs, red meat, liver, chicken, oysters, spinach, bananas, green peppers, wheat germ and apples.
In general, by eating real whole foods, restricting simple sugars, and eating a high complex-carbohydrate, high-fibre diet, with the right protein, you can:
Reduce abnormally high blood sugar levels after meals
Increase sensitivity to insulin
Reduce LDL and increase HDL cholesterol to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis
Reduce triglycerides and
Lose weight
Plus, by eating more delicious whole foods, you will start to replenish lost nutrients so your cells can repair themselves and be better able to function for years ahead!
Conclusion
For a type 2 diabetic, the right nutrition to increase insulin secretion and decrease insulin resistance, weight loss, and activity are the most crucial factors to improving health. To prevent complications from the disease and reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s, your ability to control blood sugar levels is vital!
If you have diabetes, have just been diagnosed as pre-diabetic, want to prevent diabetes altogether, or learn what the best diet is for you, please contact me.
I can help you with meal planning or create an individualized program for you that includes the right functional foods to best help your condition. I will help you discover the missing piece of the puzzle to reach your goals and become whole food optimized!
If you would like some help putting a meal plan together to properly feed diabetes, then be sure to check out our services page. We have several different packages you can choose from to help kickstart your diabetic diet! You may also want to check out our blood sugar balancing recipe ebook for meal inspiration.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and value your feedback. Let me know what you think by dropping me a line or commenting below. Of course, if I can help you or a loved one with your nutritional needs, make an appointment to see me today!