Allowed and useful products for diabetes

Understanding nutrition for a diabetic is easy. It is enough to know which foods can be in limited quantities, and which should make up the bulk of the diet. Knowing also about the glycemic index, cooking methods and combinations, you can build a quality diet aimed at maintaining a stable state.

13 approved food groups for diabetes

Diabetes imposes serious restrictions on the patient's diet, but the overall list of products is impressive even with strict treatment adjustments.

The list of allowed products includes:

1. lean meat . This is mainly poultry, fish, rabbit. In this case, not only the meat itself plays a role, but also the method of its preparation. The best ways are to stew, bake, cook. Read more about meat allowed for diabetics. Seafood is also allowed - shrimp, scallop.
2. Whole grain baked goods . Bread for diabetics is possible, but it should be wholemeal bread enriched with fiber. Rye bread is also allowed.
3. Some cereals . The best porridge for diabetes is the one made from pearl barley. You can also cook buckwheat or oatmeal. Although their glycemic index reaches 50, in any case, cereals are needed, despite their not low glycemic index. Read more about choosing cereals -.
4. Any legumes and mushrooms . Vegetable protein is a worthy alternative to meat. Beans, peas and lentils can and should be included in the diet. Mushrooms fit in nicely too.
5. Hot first courses . Soups and broths are allowed only if they are not excessively fatty or prepared in a vegetarian version.
6. Some dairy products . Some dairy products are allowed for diabetics. For example, kefir, curdled milk, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, milk. Eggs are also allowed.
7. Vegetables . In addition to boiled potatoes, beets, carrots and zucchini, other vegetables can be included in the daily menu, especially if served raw. Greens can also be included here.
8. Fruits and berries with a low glycemic index. Most fruits and berries are allowed, but you need to watch their GI.
9. Pasta from wholemeal flour. Usually such pasta differs in taste and color, but unlike white pasta, they will not harm the body.
10. Tea coffee . By themselves, these drinks are almost harmless, unless, of course, you exceed the allowable daily allowance. Read about the effect of different types of tea on the body of a diabetic and much more from this article. But in any case, sugar should not be added to the drink.
11. soda . Allowed if they do not contain sugar.
12. Nuts and seeds . Any nuts, raw or roasted without salt, are allowed.
13. Special products for diabetics . They are generally adapted products with acceptable sweeteners. However, their number should be normalized, since even sweeteners cannot be abused.

The most useful foods for a diabetic are considered natural low-carbohydrate foods of plant origin. The diet for 2/3 should consist of vegetables, fruits, cereals, nuts, products from coarse flour. The second place is occupied by high-quality protein of animal origin, mainly dairy products and poultry. Some sweets are okay, but homemade vegetarian or diabetic options (store-bought) are considered the best option.

What sweeteners are allowed?

Permitted sugar analogues include:

• fructose;
• xylitol;
• sorbitol;
• saccharin;
• aspartame.

In a limited amount, sweeteners can be added to drinks, diabetic homemade sweets.

Low glycemic foods for diabetics

The glycemic index (GI) shows how a particular food will increase blood sugar. There is a product scheme, conditionally divided into three categories:

• Foods with a high glycemic index - from 70 to 100;
• With an average - from 50 to 70;
• Low - up to 50.

The most suitable foods for diabetes have a low and rarely an average glycemic index. They are allowed to be included in the daily diet.

A list of low GI foods for a diabetic can be viewed in the following table:

Based on it, you can include the following products in your daily menu:

• lettuce and greens;
• tomatoes and cucumbers;
• beans, broccoli and all types of cabbage;
• mushrooms;
• Green pepper;
• legumes;
• eggplant
• barley (sometimes buckwheat, oatmeal);
• citrus fruit;
• durum wheat pasta (brown and black).

However, when choosing products by GI, you need to know about some of the nuances:

• It is quite difficult to specify the GI parameters of each product for sure. For example, for white bread, a glycemic index of 70 is allocated, but if there is no sugar in this bread and it is all strewn with seeds, then its glycemic index will decrease.
• Heat treatment radically changes the glycemic index of the product in some cases. This applies to carrots, beets, pasta and cereals. The longer the heat treatment process, the more the glycemic index of the product will increase.
• Pay attention to foods with fiber. It guarantees medium and low GI. Bran bread has a GI of 45, while white bread has a GI of 85-90. The same goes for cereals: brown rice has a GI of up to 50, while white rice has a GI of 75.

To make it easier to navigate, consider any food containing sugar as a product in the high GI category. And if the product or its neighboring products in the dish contain proteins and fats, then the GI will be either medium or low.

Food table for type 2 diabetes

To make it easier to navigate what is allowed and what is prohibited in type 2 diabetes, use the table:

	Can	In limited quantities
Bread products and cereals	Rye bread, some cereals	Black bread, pasta	White bread, pastry, rice and regular pasta
Vegetables	Everything except prohibited	Boiled potatoes and beets, canned vegetables	French fries, margarine-fried vegetables, boiled carrots, zucchini, pumpkin
Fruits and berries	Fruits and berries with a glycemic index of up to 70 and below	Melon, watermelon, bananas	Fruits and berries with added sugar or canned
condiments	Any natural spices	homemade sauces	Mayonnaise, ketchup
Broths, soups	Vegetables, low fat	Broths and soups with cereals	broths for meat
Milk products	Kefir, fermented baked milk, low-fat milk, low-fat cheeses	Yoghurts, cheese	Butter, full fat cheese, sour cream, condensed milk, heavy cream
Fish with seafood	Fish fillet, shrimp	Oily fish, oysters, mussels, squid	Canned fish, herring
Meat	Bird, rabbit	Veal, beef	Fat meat
Fats	Olive oil, low-fat vegetable oil	Sunflower unrefined oil	Salo, margarine
Dessert	-	Sweets for diabetics	Sweets with sugar

Learn more about diet for type 2 diabetes.

Foods for type 1 diabetes

The best approved foods for type 1 diabetics include:

• cereals (these can be cereals from barley, buckwheat, oatmeal, etc.);
• baking, but without the use of yeast (for example, rye bread);
• almost the entire list of vegetables, except for potatoes, boiled carrots, pumpkins, beets, zucchini;
• fruits, except sweet;
• sugar-free drinks (compotes, tea, mineral water, etc.);
• soy products (tofu);
• raw nuts and seeds.

Processing methods must also be strictly regulated. In particular, fried foods should be forgotten. Steamed, baked dishes are welcome, but fresh or slightly thermally processed foods are best.

If possible, you need to replace traditional tea with tea with rose hips, decoctions and tinctures, as they reduce blood sugar levels.

What dairy products can be with diabetes?

It is important to understand that dairy products from the menu of a diabetic are not completely excluded, but rather corrected. Dairy products are a protein of animal origin, without which the nutrition of diabetics is severely limited.

Consider what is possible with diabetes from dairy products:

• Cow's milk . Of course, regular full-fat milk is not suitable. It is necessary to select one in which initially a small fat content. At the same time, you can drink no more than 2 glasses of milk per day. Consider servings of milk in meals.
• Goat milk . Such milk is possible, but in very limited quantities, carefully counting the calorie content and monitoring the sugar level. Milk is fatty, but helps to strengthen blood vessels.
• Kefir, ryazhenka . You can add natural yogurt to the same list, but only if it is homemade, and yogurt. These products can be both high and low percentage of fat. You need to choose the last one. It is allowed to use kefir along with fresh berries, thereby making a delicious and natural dessert.
• Cottage cheese . Cottage cheese products are perhaps the best of all possible protein foods for a diabetic. A rich list of vitamins and the required amount of protein - a great option for several meals. However, even with cottage cheese, you can not overdo it and always monitor the total calorie content.
• Milk serum . Against the background of a complex of vitamins and nutrients, whey helps to regulate metabolic processes in the body. Its components calm the nervous system, normalize weight and have a positive effect on immunity.
• milk mushroom . It is also called mushroom kefir. Easy to prepare at home, does not require serious preparation costs. Mushroom kefir is useful for diabetics, as it lowers blood sugar, normalizes metabolic processes and restores the pancreas.

You can talk about prohibited foods for diabetes.

Diabetic nutrition is a rational diet that every person should adhere to. Knowing about useful products, you can eat hearty, full and tasty, and your health will not suffer. The main principle by which products for a diabetic are selected is naturalness and a low glycemic index.