What Is The Best Diet For Prediabetes – One in three adults in the US has prediabetes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That means 96 million people across America have higher than normal blood sugar. Prediabetes, as the name suggests, is a precursor to diabetes – a serious medical condition that occurs when your body can’t properly use insulin, the hormone that helps glucose get to your cells and helps your body function.
When you hear the word “diet,” you probably think of restricting calories to lose weight. In this case, the goal is to prevent prediabetes from progressing to type 2 diabetes. There is no specific diet for prediabetes, like the DASH diet for hypertension.
What Is The Best Diet For Prediabetes
“A diet high in protein, low in carbohydrates, and rich in greens is the most ideal way to eat,” says Keta Pandit, MD, an endocrinologist at Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology. This means including lean meats, legumes, beans, tofu and vegetables – while cutting back on pasta, bread and processed foods.
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“The best diet (aka way of eating) for prediabetes is one you can maintain,” says Erin Phillips, a registered dietitian and diabetes specialist in Seattle. Restriction diets usually fail because of the shame cycle that occurs if you mess up and eat the foods you’ve forbidden. Instead, try to include a variety of foods.
As for name-brand diets, Phillips doesn’t recommend keto, because “when someone’s been on a keto diet and then reintroduces carbs — their insulin needs are huge.
“Understanding the glycemic index (GI) of different food groups can be an important tool for balancing insulin levels” because “Foods that have a lower glycemic index have fewer carbohydrates,” says Dr. Pandit. This scale rates how carbohydrate-containing foods affect your body’s sugar from 0 to 100. The Mediterranean diet follows many of the same principles as the glycemic index, so modifying it to meet your glycemic needs is likely to keep your insulin levels in balance, according to American Heart Association. US News and World named it the best overall and best diet for diabetes in 2022.
The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or high blood pressure, also calls for the use of whole grains, fewer carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables over processed foods and saturated fats. Therefore, if you already follow DASH or want to, it would suit your diabetes and hypertension prevention needs.
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Foods with a lower glycemic index (GI), such as those containing complex carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats, do not raise blood sugar as quickly. These foods are digested and absorbed over a longer period of time, keeping blood sugar and insulin levels in balance. Low glycemic index foods that are good for people with prediabetes include.
Unlike refined carbohydrates like white bread and pastries, whole grains have a lower glycemic index and don’t affect blood sugar levels as quickly as refined carbohydrates. Swapping out white rice for brown rice or white bread for whole grain rice can make a difference in your blood sugar. Other whole grains include barley, buckwheat, quinoa and millet. RELATED: What Are Carbohydrates?
With a high water content and little or no starch, vegetables like broccoli, leafy greens and bell peppers are high-fiber foods that won’t raise blood sugar like starchy vegetables like white potatoes and zucchini. “Fiber is our best friend for improving insulin sensitivity,” says Phillips. Fresh, frozen and canned vegetables are good sources of nutrients. If you like vegetable juices, limit those with added sodium, fat and sugar. More is better when it comes to vegetables, but eat three to five servings a day.
Beans, whether black, kidney or garbanzo, and legumes such as lentils, peas, chickpeas and peanuts are great sources of fiber and protein. In addition, they have a low glycemic index. While beans and legumes contain carbohydrates and are on the avoidance list of some low-carb diets, people with prediabetes should eat them if they enjoy them because they contain low GI complex carbohydrates. They also contain many minerals such as folic acid, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium, all of which your body needs.
Prediabetes Diet: What To Eat
Made from soybeans, tofu contains plant-based protein and fiber, which appeals to people who want to limit their consumption of animal protein. For people with prediabetes, it is a good choice due to its low glycemic index with a high amount of protein and fiber. Tofu is filling without a big impact on blood sugar levels.
Meat, poultry and fish do not have a glycemic index because they do not contain carbohydrates. So, they do not raise the blood sugar level. Lean meats include certain cuts of beef, lamb and pork. Some low-sodium sausages may be considered lean meat. Most poultry is also considered a lean protein. For beef, you’re looking for lean means less than 10 grams of fat and 4.5 grams of saturated fat with less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams of meat.
Unsweetened, Greek yogurt is high in protein and doesn’t have a high GI, meaning it won’t spike your blood sugar. Unlike other forms of dairy products, daily consumption of yogurt has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 18%. The study’s author explains that this is because “the probiotics in yogurt may help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation.” Eating Greek yogurt with fruit in the morning, blending it into a smoothie, or using it instead of sour cream are good ways to include it in your diet.
Research shows that people who eat fish are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Fish is a good source of protein and vitamin D, and people with diabetes are often deficient in vitamin D.
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Nuts contain fat, fiber, and protein without a lot of carbohydrates, so they’re another good low-GI choice for people with prediabetes. Studies of people with type 2 diabetes show that people who eat more nuts are less likely to die from heart disease. Five servings of nuts per week, with each serving being about one ounce, improves results. Nuts such as pistachios, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds seem to have the most positive health effects.
It’s more about balance than limitations. It is important to focus on “balancing” insulin levels, not just on low glycemic index foods. In other words, you don’t have to completely eliminate every item below from your diet plan, but they are high-glycemic foods that should be eaten in moderation.
Fruit is high in fiber, so it’s not all bad. According to studies, eating fresh fruit can help prevent diabetes. Those with a lower GI include berries, apples, pears and peaches. Stick to servings of these products combined with a good balance of protein and vegetables. Fruits that cause a spike in blood sugar include watermelon, bananas and dried fruit. In addition, you should avoid fruit juice, because it contains a lot of sugar, without fiber, which slows down its digestion.
Avoid foods like chips, packaged baked goods, cereal bars, frozen dinners, and canned soup. They have added sugar, sodium and other additives that cause blood sugar spikes. Unlike high-fiber foods, highly processed foods break down quickly, meaning you need more fuel sooner. Studies show a link between processed foods and diabetes.
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High-fat animal products, such as bacon, ground beef, cheeses, and partially hydrogenated oils found in other foods like microwave popcorn, all have increased amounts of saturated and trans fats, which are not good for diabetes prevention. The American Diabetes Association urges people to read labels and prioritize monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as those from fish, avocados and olive oil. Keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes.
Sugary drinks like sodas, fruit drinks, alcoholic drinks, sweetened coffee and iced tea are low in nutrients and have no fiber. They do nothing but spike your blood sugar. High blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia, in people with diabetes can cause complications such as coma or death if left untreated.
Like highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates such as pasta or baked goods made with white flour instead of whole grains are digested quickly, causing a larger spike in blood sugar. Often these carbohydrates also have added sugars, which is why they make every list of what not to eat to avoid diabetes.
Intermittent fasting has been a popular diet for quite some time, and you may have had to fast for a glucose test before. But fasting is generally not recommended for people who are at risk of diabetes or who have prediabetes or diabetes.
The Best Diet For Prediabetes
Phillips says that while “there’s a lack of long-term evidence on fasting for prediabetes,” when it comes to people who fast for dieting or weight loss, in her clinic she sees “a lot of people who go from fasting to feeling out of control. food, so it does not support fasting as a diet.
Since a third of people who have prediabetes don’t know it, the first step for all adults is to
