Diabetes diet: 5 best foods to include in your lunch recipes for blood sugar control
Lifestyle choices, including your food habits, are key to managing blood sugar levels for people with diabetes. If you’re living with diabetes and are often confused about what to eat and what to avoid to ensure that your blood sugar levels are in a healthy range, the following tips might help. The good news is, being diabetic doesn’t mean you have to give up all your favourite dishes. What matters is how well you plan your diabetes meal, ensuring that you’re including plenty of nutrient-dense foods in your daily diet - such as fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, proteins, healthy fats, etc.
Adopting a healthy, balanced will not just help you maintain blood sugar levels, but also contribute to weight loss. It will also help strengthen your immune system, reduce your risk of developing chronic health conditions, including heart disease and cancer. Here are some of the best foods you can add to your diabetes lunch recipes to lower blood sugar naturally.
Foods to include in your diabetes lunch recipes
- Leafy greens: Spinach, kale and other leafy green veggies are low in calories, but high in nutrients and antioxidants that can help manage blood sugar, protect your heart and eyes among several benefits. They are also good sources of several vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C that may reduce inflammatory markers and fasting blood sugar levels in people suffering from type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. Vitamin C is also linked to a better immune function.
- Eggs: Whether or not you have diabetes, including this superfood in your diet can help you yield immense health benefits. Eggs are, in fact, considered the ‘perfect protein’ as they contain all amino acids in the amounts your body needs to keep you healthy. Eating eggs improves good or HDL cholesterol levels, decrease inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity. For instance, one study showed that eating two eggs as part of a high-protein diet caused improvements in blood sugar and cholesterol levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Eggs also have significant amounts of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that support your eye health.
- Fatty fish: Fatty such as sardines, salmon, herring are a great addition to a diabetes diet. They are an excellent source of omega-3-fatty acids DHA and EPA, which may reduce inflammation and improve heart health. Since diabetics have a higher risk for heart disease and stroke, getting enough of these fats can go a long way in managing diabetes as well as reducing complications from the condition.
- Greek yogurt: Yogurt is may promote healthy blood sugar levels in diabetics due to its high nutrient content, particularly calcium and conjugated linolic acid (CLA). Research suggests conjugated linoleic acid may improve insulin action, and decrease circulating glucose levels. CLA, a type of fat, may also help with weight loss and immune function. Yogurt is also high in protein, which can increase appetite and decrease calorie intake.
- Turmeric: Turmeric is a powerful spice with numerous health benefits. Curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice, can help reduce inflammation and, lower and blood sugar levels. Turmeric contains nutrients and antioxidants that may protect against heart disease and kidney problems. Spices and herbs such as turmeric, garlic and ginger are an essential ingredient in Indian cooking.
The bottom line is, a healthy, balanced diet will help you lose or maintain weight, prevent blood sugar spikes and reduce your risk of certain diseases.