Importance of diet for diabetes management
Diabetes, or technically diabetes mellitus, can be either type 1 or type 2. The first category has its origin in auto-immune diseases and the second one in metabolic disorders. However, both of these are tough to deal with. Diabetes causes a major restriction, or alteration, to the diet pattern. It tends to alter the blood sugar levels, and the main role of diet is to keep these levels well within the required limits.
A vegetarian diet is beneficial when it comes to tackling diabetes. By vegetarian, we mean all diet that excludes animal slaughter in any form. Veganism is one step further, which avoids dairy and eggs as well.
The Goodness of Veganism
By veganism, we refer to both vegetarians and vegans here. Statistics say that more and more people are turning vegetarian, and even vegans because of the health benefits of consuming raw foods and avoiding meats and eggs.
- Nutrient Ratio: Vegetarian diet mostly includes grains, pulses, seeds, vegetables, and nuts, etc. These ingredients are naturally rich in many minerals, proteins, and antioxidants that are excellent for the human body.
- Low Cholesterol: Diabetes is a nuisance disease that affects your entire body. It will have an effect on your liver, your kidneys, your heart, and every organ of the body. And it is essential to maintain a low cholesterol level to keep heart problems at bay. A Vegetarian diet is especially useful when it comes to this. One can go for natural foods like fresh fruits and salads, eat cereals like Ragi and Pearl millet replacing wheat.
- Low Carb Diet: Among the three main components of diet: proteins, carb, and fats; carbs are the leaders that impact insulin levels in the body. And keeping them under a check by following a vegan diet is especially helpful. This will shift even the earliest signs of diabetes to the end of the rainbow.
How Will Veganism Help a Diabetic
Diet has a quick effect on insulin levels in our body. You would have seen people getting injected immediately before a meal if they are suffering from diabetes. See how the practice of veganism can have the edge over its non-vegetarian counterpart when it comes to diabetes.
- Weight Management: The first and foremost is weight management. If you are a diabetic, the first thing that your doctor wants is to keep your weight under control, and a vegetarian diet, especially the vegan one without dairy products is quite a low-calorie one. This will also lower BMI (Body Mass Index ) and save you from many side effects of diabetes like muscular dystrophy etc.
- Insulin Response: If you can improve the insulin response, which usually scales down during diabetes, you will have to take less medicine and be closer to normal body mechanisms. It would help if you eat more legumes and nuts than meats and fish to achieve this easily. In-fact, in subclinical cases, a vegetarian diet helps to keep diabetes at bay, especially in type 2 diabetes.
- Fiber you up: Vegetarian diet is very rich in fiber content. Foods like brown sugar, quinoa, and oats are rich sources of protein, so usually consumed by vegans. Now, these also help by the body by providing ample fiber especially insoluble fiber. Higher fiber leads to a lower glycaemic impact and in-turn helps diabetes.
Tips Beyond:
- Eat small and frequent meals.
- Opt for some form of regular physical activity like yoga for weight management.
- Control your overall calorie intake.
- Consult a doctor and get yourself tested at fixed intervals.
- Include spices like Cinnamon, Turmeric, and Cloves in your diet.
- Keep your genitals clean and hygienic, as diabetes is a leading cause behind urine infections and cleanliness helps.
- Avoid tobacco and its associates at all costs.
Staying vigilant is crucial when it comes to diabetes. It decapitates the body to heal from sickness or some local injuries quickly so, be extra careful. Also, a vegetarian diet only cannot cure diabetes. Further, excess of everything is bad and even a vegetarian diet would need careful planning for being effective. A good doctor, a great lifestyle and a vegetarian diet is a must for diabetes.
Prevention is Better Than Cure!
Conclusively, you must keep in mind that diabetes is slowly becoming the biggest epidemic of our generation. About 10% of the US population is diabetic and type 2 is more common. However, a vegetarian diet can help combat the side effects and keep this problem under a check. Incorporate foods like salads, fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc. in your diet even if you are non-vegetarian but diabetic.