The use of any medication for type 2 diabetes still cannot fully compensate for the impact of malnutrition on blood glucose levels.Eating right is an essential part of effectively managing type 2 diabetes and will help you reach your blood glucose targets.
Nutritional approaches for people with type 2 diabetes with or without overweight, arterial hypertension, etc. will vary somewhat.
The vast majority of obese people with type 2 diabetes. Excess weight prevents the effective work of their own insulin, which is why the blood glucose level remains high.Therefore, weight loss is an indispensable condition for rational treatment!Even moderate weight loss (by 5-10%) improves carbohydrate metabolism, especially in the early period of the disease.
How to achieve weight loss?
It should be noted right away that there are no specific products or herbs for weight loss. At the moment, there are no drugs that by themselves, without a diet, could provide a very effective and completely safe weight loss.
The only reliable way is to limit the intake of energy in the body.(it is indicated in calories), i. e. following the ruleslow-calorie food. The resulting energy deficit leads to the fact that the energy reserves "stored" in fat tissue will be spent on various needs of the body, and the weight will definitely decrease.
Energy carriers in food are its three components:proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The most caloric of them 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 the diet is to reduce the fat content. This is not only safe, but also useful for the modern person, because our diet, unfortunately, is saturated with fat. Compared to fats, the caloric content of proteins and carbohydrates can be considered moderate, however, in order to achieve a good effect in weight loss, it is still necessary to limit them a little.
There are a number of products that should not be restricted when losing weight. On the contrary, it is these products that can compensate for the above limitations and compensate for the reduced amount of food. This group of foods is mainly represented by vegetables, which are poor in nutrients, but rich in water, as well asplant fiberswhich do not digest. Plant fibers bring many benefits to the body: they improve bowel function, help vitamin absorption, 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: rich in fat, alcohol, sugar and confectionery
examples:any oil, fat, cream, mayonnaise; cream, fatty cottage cheese and cheese; fatty fish, poultry skin, canned meat; fish and vegetables in oil; fatty meat, smoked meat, sausages; sugar, sweet drinks, honey, jam, jams, sweets, cakes, cookies, chocolate, ice cream, nuts, seeds, alcoholic beverages.
Limit in moderation (eat half of your previous usual portion)
Medium-calorie products: proteins, starches, dairy products, fruits and berries.
examples:milk and sour milk products with normal fat or low fat / skim, cheeses under 30% fat, fresh cheese less than 4% fat, eggs, lean meat, fish, pasta, bread and lean pastries, cereals; fruits, potatoes, corn, ripe peas and beans.
Use without restrictions
Low-calorie foods: vegetables (excluding potatoes, corn, ripe peas and beans) and low-calorie drinks.
examples:radish, radish, beetroot, carrot, mushroom, cucumber, tomato, pepper, zucchini, eggplant, bean pods, green peas, lettuce, greens, spinach, sorrel, any cabbage; tea, coffee without sugar and cream, mineral water.
Is it possible to maintain a low-calorie diet without counting calories?
This is quite possible if you are guided by the above principles of product selection. Moreover, experts have long recognized that it is not the number of calories that a person should consume that is important (it is quite difficult to determine exactly for each person), but what is important is the number of calories that a person actually reduces his diet!
The indicator of correct compliance with the principles of low-calorie diet will be the achievement of results: weight loss! If the weight does not decrease, it indicates that it has not yet been possible to significantly reduce the caloric content of the diet.
How do different carbohydrates affect blood glucose levels?
Carbohydrates are the only nutrients that directly increase blood glucose, but this is no reason to drastically limit them.
There should be enough carbohydrates in the diet of every person, including people with diabetes (at least 50% of total calories), because they are a source of energy for the body. In addition, different carbohydrates have different effects on blood glucose levels.
It's heresimplecarbohydrates (they are called sugars), which are very easily digested, because they consist of small molecules and are quickly absorbed in the digestive tract (after 10 minutes). They immediately and very strongly increase the level of glucose in the blood. Sugar, honey are made from these carbohydrates, there are a lot of them in fruit juices (there are also natural fruits, but due to the presence of fibers, the absorption of carbohydrates is not so fast), beer. Such carbohydrates are also found in liquid dairy products, but due to the fat content, the carbohydrates are not absorbed as quickly.
Another type of carbohydratecomplex(starches), they also raise blood glucose levels, just not as fast and not as much as simple carbohydrates. Representatives of such products: bread, cereals, pasta, potatoes, corn. The starch molecule is large, and the body has to work hard to assimilate it. Because of this, the glucose produced as a result of the breakdown of starch is absorbed more slowly (after about 30 minutes), which increases its level in the blood to a lesser extent.
Culinary processing of starchy foods (any grinding, prolonged thermal exposure) contributes to an increase in blood glucose levels. This means that a strong increase in blood glucose when consuming starch can be prevented by using certain processing and cooking methods. For example, it is more correct to cook potatoes not in the form of puree, but to cook them whole in their skins, so that they remain thick. It is also better not to cook the porridge for too long. It is preferable to cook them from large uncrushed grains (buckwheat, rice).
Enriching food with vegetable fiber prevents an increase in blood glucose levels. Therefore, it is better to buy bread made from grains or bran, rather than from fine flour. Fruits and berries should be consumed in their natural form, not in the form of juices.
There are such 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 amounts (except potatoes). For example, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, dill, radish, turnip, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkin, pepper, etc. Among the products of this group, the largest amount of carbohydrates is found in turnips and carrots, but the increase in blood glucose after them is not very high. Therefore, if you eat them in moderation (as a side dish, no more than 200 g), you can ignore them.
Should I be counting carbs?
A person with type 2 diabetes who takes oral antidiabetic drugs or who is only on a diet does not need to accurately calculate the amount of carbohydrates in food. Many people with diabetes have heard of the so-called bread units. Such a calculation system exists for those who receive insulin. It allows you to correlate the amount of carbohydrates consumed with the doses of short-acting insulin that these people with diabetes inject before meals.
Special "diabetic" products
Sweeteners can make food taste sweeter without raising blood glucose levels or making you gain 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 at all. However, most "diabetic" foods (cookies, chocolate, waffles) contain sorbitol, xylitol or fructose instead of sugar, which are almost as caloric as sugar. Therefore, with overweight, they must be limited as much as possible, like ordinary sweets.
Fractional nutrition
Fractional method implies multiple meals during the day (5-6 times, but still not more often than 2. 5-3 hours) in small portions. This is useful 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 little carbohydrates, which will facilitate the work of the pancreas.
Alcohol
Due to its high calorie content (7 kcal per 1 g), alcohol can contribute to weight gain. In addition, it directly worsens indicators of fat metabolism and blood pressure. So limit your alcohol intake as much as possible.
Alcohol is known to have a negative effect on the liver. It can cause hypoglycemia if a person with diabetes takes glucose-lowering drugs and insulin. Never drink alcohol on an empty stomach!