Diabetes Management Through Food (Dr Sakina)

Diabetes Management Through Food

The key to managing your diabetes and not being weighed down by it is in a well-balanced lifestyle with the right diet plan, some amount of exercise and knowing your capacities. Dr Sakina Patrawala of Zeal Wellness Nutrition simplifies it for you in this column 

Do you want to keep suffering from diabetes or do you want to make your life easier? Diabetic cases have risen higher since a few decades now, thanks to our stressful lives, lack of physical activeness, mental imbalance, financial constraints, lack of emotional quotient and negligence about our own health.

The first detection

Recurrent episodes of high blood sugar levels, increased thirst, frequent urination, tiredness, etc., are some of the early symptoms indicating the fact that you need to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly. A blood test for detecting HbA1c (an average of your blood sugars of last 2-3 months) is another apt way to detect the occurrence of diabetes mellitus. HbA1c level below 5.7% is normal, a level between 5.7-6.4% is considered as pre-diabetes and levels above 6.4% indicate you are diabetic.

Treatment Course

The moment you are labelled as a “diabetic”, the next thing that you get to see is…

• Relatives: They give you an endless list of foods you need to avoid in your diet.

• Friends: They take you to a dessert café and enjoy yummy desserts whilst you look at their face and mourn.

• Doctors: A proper checkup is done, followed by the suggestive treatment and a few dietary measures are explained. The doctor then advises you to visit a dietitian for planning a proper diet for yourself. Timely follow ups are a must for monitoring your diabetes and to reduce the risk of the occurrence of other diseases that may be associated with it.

Why visit a nutritionist?

With any kind of health diseases, its symptoms, course of treatment, patient’s lifestyle, etc., is very different/unique for every patient. Hence, a personalised diet is something which I would highly recommend, where your diet is planned according to your health issues, lifestyle, likes/dislikes, current pattern of blood sugar levels.  That’s where a dietitian comes into the picture. His or her expertise will help you in:

• Better blood sugar control.

• Achieving a healthier lifestyle.

• Decreasing the risk of other life-threatening diseases related to uncontrolled diabetes.

A basic guide for diabetics

D-Dump sugary and oily foods away from you.

I- Increase your fibre (fruits, chia seeds, oats & veggies) intake in the day.

A- Arrange for a glucometer to check your sugars regularly.

B- Be physically active to ensure optimum insulin production.

E- Ensure smaller meals at an interval of 3-4 hours.

T- Track your sugars, diet and physical output with the help of your nutritionist.

E- Eat more of whole wheat products as compared to maida and other refined products (no bakery items).

S- Superfoods like methi seeds, jamun/ jamun seed powder, chia seeds, dalchini, pumpkin seeds and broccoli must be included in your diet.

The most common question…

Can I have rice? Yes, you can! Rice is NOT a complete no-no for diabetics. However, you need to understand the right way and the right time to consume it, not forgetting the right portion for yourself! So, leave this decision to your nutritionist. They will include it for you depending on your current blood sugar levels.

Did you know?

Broccoli, spinach and cabbage are extremely diabetic-friendly foods. Include them frequently in your diet in the form of soups, salads, frankie-fillings, appams, omelettes, etc.

Cut them down (reduce the intake, DON’T completely OMIT) from your daily list…

• Potato

• Sweet potato

• Sugary desserts

• Bakery items

• Deep-fried foods

• Fruits like banana, mango, custard apple, chikoo and grapes

• Fruit juices, high sugary drinks

The allowance or the removal of the above foods from your diet depends on your age, physical activeness, health issues, current blood sugar levels... Let your nutritionist be the decision-maker!

So, the key to manage your blood sugars is to follow a well-balanced, fibrous diet, indulging in some physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and taking your doctor follow-ups seriously!