What Is The Best Treatment For Prediabetes – U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in three adults in the US has pre-diabetes. This means that 96 million people across America have higher than normal blood sugar levels. Prediabetes, as the name suggests, is a precursor to diabetes – a serious health condition that occurs when your body can’t properly use insulin, the hormone that helps glucose move into your cells and help your body function.
When you hear the word “diet,” you might think of calorie restriction for the purpose of weight loss. In this case, the goal is to prevent prediabetes from progressing to type 2 diabetes. There is no pre-diabetes diet like the DASH diet for high blood pressure.
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“A diet high in protein, low in carbohydrates and high in green vegetables is the most ideal diet,” says Keta Pandit, MD, an endocrinologist at Texas Diabetes and Endocrinology. That 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 stick to,” says Erin Phillips, a registered dietitian and diabetes specialist in Seattle. Restriction-based diets tend to fail because of the shame cycle that occurs if you mess up and eat the food you’ve banned. Instead, aim to include a variety of foods.
Regarding the named diet, Phillips doesn’t recommend keto because “when someone is following a keto diet and then starts reintroducing carbohydrates — their insulin needs go through the roof.”
“Understanding the glycemic index (GI) of different food groups can be an important tool to help balance insulin levels” because “foods with a low glycemic index are low in carbohydrates,” Dr. Pandit says. This scale rates how carbohydrates affect your body’s blood 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 balance your insulin levels. American Heart Association. Named Best and Best for Diabetes Diets in 2022 by US News & World.
The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, also calls for whole grains, low carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables rather than processed foods and saturated fats. So, if you already follow DASH or want to, it will meet your diabetes and high blood pressure prevention needs.
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Foods with a low glycemic index (GI), such as complex carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats, do not raise your blood sugar as quickly. These foods take longer to digest and absorb, keeping your blood sugar and insulin levels balanced. Foods with a low glycemic index are good for people with prediabetes.
Compared to refined carbohydrates like white bread and baked goods, whole grains have a lower glycemic index and don’t affect blood sugar levels as quickly as refined carbohydrates. Substituting white rice for brown rice or white bread for whole wheat can make a difference in your blood sugar. Other whole grains include barley, buckwheat, quinoa, and millet. Related: What Are Carbohydrates?
Being high in water content and little or no starch, vegetables like broccoli, leafy greens, and bell peppers are high-fiber foods that don’t spike blood sugar like starchy vegetables like white potatoes and butternut squash. “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 juice, limit sodium, fat and added sugar. More is better when it comes to vegetables, but shoot for three to five servings a day.
Beans, whether black, kidney beans or garbanzo, and legumes such as lentils, peas, chickpeas and peanuts are all great sources of fiber and protein. Moreover, they are low in glycemic index. Beans and legumes contain carbohydrates and are on the avoidance list for some low-carb diets, while people with pre-diabetes should eat them, as they are low GI, complex carbohydrates. They also contain many minerals like folate, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium, which your body needs.
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Tofu, made from soybeans, contains plant-based protein and fiber, which is attractive to people who want to limit their consumption of animal protein. For people with prediabetes, it is a good choice due to its high protein and fiber content and low glycemic index. Tofu is filling without much impact on blood sugar levels.
Meat, poultry and fish have no glycemic index because they do not contain carbohydrates. This means, they do not raise your blood sugar. Lean meats include certain cuts of beef, lamb, and pork. Some low-sodium sausages can be considered lean meats. Most poultry is also considered a lean protein. For beef, lean means less than 10 grams of fat and 4.5 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams of meat with less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol.
Unsweetened, Greek yogurt is high in protein and doesn’t have a high GI, meaning it won’t spike blood sugar levels. As with other forms of dairy, daily consumption of yogurt reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by 18%. The authors of the study explain that this is because “the probiotics in yogurt may help improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation.” Eating Greek yogurt with fruit in the morning, mixing it into smoothies, or using it in place of sour cream are all good ways to incorporate it into your diet.
Studies show 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 vitamin D deficient.
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Nuts contain fat, fiber and protein without a lot of carbohydrates, so they are a low-GI option for people with prediabetes. A study of people with type 2 diabetes showed that those who ate more nuts were less likely to die from heart disease. Five servings a week of nuts, each serving is about one ounce, improves results. Tree nuts such as pistachios, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds have the most positive health effects.
It’s more about balance than limitations. It is important to focus on “balancing” insulin levels rather than eating low glycemic foods. In other words, you don’t need to completely cut out every single food listed below from your eating plan, rather these are high glycemic index foods that should be eaten in moderation.
Fruit is high in fiber, so it’s not all bad. According to studies, eating fresh fruits can prevent diabetes. Those with a low GI include berries, apples, pears and peaches. Stick to servings of this with a good balance of protein and vegetables. Fruits that increase blood sugar levels include watermelon, bananas and dried fruits. Additionally, you should avoid fruit juice, as it packs a sugar punch, slowing digestion without fiber.
Avoid foods like chips, packaged baked goods, cereal, frozen dinners and canned soups. It has added sugar, sodium, and other substances that increase blood sugar. Unlike foods high in fiber, highly processed foods are broken down quickly, meaning you need more fuel quickly. Studies show links between processed foods and diabetes.
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Partially hydrogenated oils found in other foods like bacon, ground beef, cheese, and microwave popcorn all have increased saturated and trans fats, which are not good for preventing diabetes. The American Diabetes Association urges people to read labels and prioritize monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as fish, avocados, and olive oil. Keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level is linked to lowering your risk of diabetes.
Sugary drinks like soda, fruit drinks, alcoholic beverages, sweetened coffee, and iced tea are low in nutrients and fiber. They do nothing but raise blood sugar. High blood sugar, aka hyperglycemia, in a person with diabetes, can lead to complications such as coma or death if left untreated.
As with highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates such as pasta or baked goods made with white flour instead of whole grains are digested quickly, causing blood sugar spikes. Often, these carbohydrates also have added sugar, which is why they make every list of what not to eat to prevent diabetes.
Intermittent fasting has been a popular diet for a while, and you may have had to fast for a glucose test in the past. However, fasting is generally not recommended for people who are at risk of diabetes or who have pre-diabetes or diabetes.
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Phillips says that while there is “no long-term evidence for fasting for prediabetes,” when it comes to people who fast for diet or weight loss purposes, she finds in her clinic that “many people feel out of control from fasting. Food, so she doesn’t advocate fasting as a diet choice.
Since one-third of people with prediabetes don’t know it, it’s the first step for all adults
