The use of any medication for type 2 diabetes still cannot fully offset the impact of malnutrition on blood glucose levels.Proper nutrition is an essential part of managing type 2 diabetes effectively and will help you reach your blood glucose goals.
Nutritional approaches for people with type 2 diabetes with or without overweight, high blood pressure, etc. vary a little.
The vast majority of overweight people have type 2 diabetes. Being overweight prevents insulin itself from working effectively, which is why blood glucose levels remain high.Therefore, weight loss is an indispensable condition for rational treatment!Even moderate weight loss (by 5-10%) improves carbohydrate metabolism, especially in the initial period of the disease.
How to achieve weight loss?
It should be noted right away that there are no specific products or medicinal plants for weight loss. Currently, there are no drugs that alone, without diet, can provide highly effective and completely safe weight loss.
The only reliable way is to limit the energy intake in the body.(it is indicated in calories), i. e. compliance with the ruleslow calorie food🇧🇷The resulting energy deficit leads to the fact that the energy reserves "conserved" in adipose tissue will be spent on various needs of the body, and the weight will definitely decrease.
The energy carriers in food are its three components:proteins, fats and carbohydrates🇧🇷The most caloric are fats, they contain 9 kcal per 1 gram; in proteins and carbohydrates - 4 kcal per 1 gram.
The most effective way to reduce the calorie content of a diet is to reduce the fat content. This is not only safe, but also useful for a modern person, since our diet, unfortunately, is saturated with fats. Compared to fats, the calorie content of proteins and carbohydrates can be considered moderate, however, in order to achieve a good effect on weight loss, they still need to be slightly limited.
There are several products that do not need to be limited when losing weight. Rather, it is these products that can compensate for the above restrictions and replenish the reduced amount of food. This food group is mainly represented by vegetables, poor in nutrients but rich in water, in addition toplant fibersthat are not digested. Plant fibers bring many benefits to the body: they improve intestinal functioning, help with the absorption of vitamins, have a beneficial effect on fat metabolism, etc.
There are three groups of products that, in order to reduce weight, need to be consumed in different ways.Looking at these groups, you will definitely have an association with a traffic light.
Maximum limit
High-calorie foods: high in fat, alcohol, sugar, and confectionery
Examples:any oil, lard, sour cream, mayonnaise; cream, fatty cottage cheese and cheese; oily fish, poultry skin, corned beef; fish and vegetables in oil; fatty meat, smoked meats, sausages; sugar, sweet drinks, honey, jams, preserves, candies, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, nuts, seeds, alcoholic beverages.
Limit moderately (eat half of the previous usual portion)
Medium-calorie products: proteins, starch, dairy products, fruits and berries.
Examples:regular-fat or low-fat/skim milk and dairy products, cheeses with less than 30% fat, cottage cheese with less than 4% fat, eggs, lean meats, fish, pastas, breads and lean baked goods, cereals; fruits, potatoes, corn, ripe grains of peas and beans.
use without restrictions
Low-calorie foods: vegetables (excluding potatoes, corn, peas and ripe beans) and low-calorie drinks.
Examples:radishes, radishes, beets, carrots, mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, eggplants, bean pods, young peas, lettuce, greens, spinach, sorrel, any cabbage; tea, coffee without sugar and cream, mineral water.
Is it possible to maintain a hypocaloric diet without counting calories?
This is quite possible if guided by the principles of product selection described above. In addition, experts have long recognized that it is not the number of calories that a person needs to consume (it is very difficult to specify it exactly for each person), but the one by which a person actually reduced his diet!
An indicator of the correct observance of the principles of hypocaloric nutrition will be the achievement of the result: weight loss! If the weight does not decrease, then this indicates that it has not yet been possible to significantly reduce the calorie content of the diet.
How do different carbohydrates affect blood glucose levels?
Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that directly raise blood glucose, but that's no reason to drastically limit them.
Carbohydrates in the diet of any person, including a person with diabetes, should be sufficient (at least 50% of total calories), as they are a source of energy for the body. Also, different carbohydrates have different effects on blood glucose levels.
There issimplecarbohydrates (called sugars), which are digested very easily, as they are composed of small molecules and are quickly absorbed in the digestive tract (after 10 minutes). They immediately and strongly increase the level of glucose in the blood. It is from these carbohydrates that sugar, honey are made, many of them are found in fruit juices (they are also found in natural fruits, but due to the presence of fiber, carbohydrate absorption is not so fast), beer. These carbohydrates are also found in liquid dairy products, but due to the fat content, the carbohydrates are not absorbed as quickly.
Other type of carbohydratecomplex(starches), they also raise blood glucose levels, but not as quickly and not as much as simple carbohydrates. Representatives of such products: bread, cereals, pasta, potatoes, corn. The starch molecule is large, and in order to assimilate it, the body has to work a lot. Therefore, the glucose formed as a result of the breakdown of starch is absorbed more slowly (after about 30 minutes), which increases its level in the blood less.
Culinary processing of starchy foods (any grinding, prolonged heat exposure) contributes to increased blood glucose levels. This means that a sharp rise in blood glucose when eating starches can be avoided by using certain processing and cooking methods. For example, it is more correct to cook potatoes not in the form of mashed potatoes, but to boil them whole in their skins so that they are dense. It is also better not to cook porridge for a long time. It is preferable to cook them from large uncrushed grains (buckwheat, rice).
Enrichment of foods with plant fibers prevents the increase in blood glucose levels. Therefore, it is better to buy bread from grain or bran, and not from fine flour. Fruits and berries should be consumed in their natural form, not in the form of juices.
There are these types of carbohydrate products -"free", after which the blood glucose level does not rise or rises slightly. These products include almost all types of vegetables in normal quantities (except potatoes). For example, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, dill, radish, turnip, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin, pepper, etc. Among the products of this group, the greatest amount of carbohydrates is found in beets and carrots, but the rise in blood glucose after them is not very large. Therefore, if you eat them in moderation (as a side dish, no more than 200 g), they can also be skipped.
Do I need to count carbs?
A person with type 2 diabetes who is taking oral antidiabetic medications or who is just on a diet does not need to accurately calculate the amount of carbohydrates in food. Many people with diabetes have heard of so-called bread units. There is a system of this type of calculation for those who receive insulin. It makes it possible to correlate the amount of carbohydrates consumed with the doses of short-acting insulin that these people with diabetes inject before meals.
Special products for "diabetics"
Sweeteners can make foods sweeter without raising blood glucose levels or gaining weight. But in this case we are only talking about non-caloric sugar substitutes. These include aspartame, saccharin, cyclamate, acesulfame potassium, sucralose, stevioside. They do not affect blood glucose levels and weight. However, most foods for "diabetics" (cookies, chocolate, waffles) instead of sugar contain sorbitol, xylitol or fructose, which are almost as high in calories as sugar. Therefore, when they are overweight, they should be limited as much as possible, like ordinary sweets.
fractional diet
Fractional mode means several meals during the day (5-6 times, but still no more than after 2. 5-3 hours) in small portions. This is helpful because hunger can occur when following a low-calorie diet. Eating more often will help reduce it. In addition, a small portion of food contains few carbohydrates, which will facilitate the work of the pancreas.
Alcohol
Due to its high caloric content (7 kcal per 1 g), alcohol can contribute to weight gain. In addition, it directly worsens the indicators of fat metabolism and blood pressure. Therefore, limit your alcohol intake as much as possible.
Alcohol is known to have adverse effects on the liver. It can cause hypoglycemia if a person with diabetes is taking glucose-lowering medications and insulin. Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach!