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Last updated on August 18th, 2022
In the past few years, India has witnessed a steep hike in the number of diabetes patients. This is due to imbalances in the changing lifestyle, physical activities, and diet patterns. Diabetes takes your blood sugar to a higher level. This may lead to several health complications including heart attack, stroke, liver and kidney problems, and more. Therefore, it is important to follow healthy lifestyle habits to maintain your blood sugar levels. The primary way to control diabetes is your Indian diet plan. Read this blog to know about the best Indian Diet Plan for Diabetes.
Importance of a Healthy Diet Plan for Diabetes
A diet plan plays an important role in maintaining your health. If you have symptoms of diabetes then your doctor will recommend you to see a dietitian. He/she will help you to prepare a healthy eating plan. A proper and planned diet for Diabetes patients helps them to control their blood sugar levels. Consumption of extra calories and fat enables your body to increase your blood sugar levels. However, healthy eating habits can keep your blood glucose levels in a normal range.
Know the Dietary Requirements of Your Body
Everybody has a different body. Hence, it is obvious that your body’s dietary requirements are different from the other members of your family. Before starting with an Indian diabetic diet, you should consult both your doctor and dietician. A dietician will help you with a correct diet plan to meet your dietary requirements on the daily basis. This helps in maintaining your healthy blood sugar levels and supplying nutrients to nourish your body.
Indian Diet Plan to Control Your Diabetes
There is a huge misconception related to Indian food. In fact, Indian staple foods contain a high amount of carbs and sugar. Therefore, Indian food cannot sustain a healthy lifestyle. In reality, there are a lot of Indian superfoods that help in managing your blood sugar levels. They also let you enjoy good food while keeping your blood sugar levels in control. Indian diet plan for diabetes mainly contains a balanced amount of calories to control your body’s glucose.
Read More: Check your Glucose level at Home by Best Glucometers of 2022
Enjoy a Balanced Diet in Diabetes
It is important that a diet plan for diabetes patients should include fibre rich food, healthy proteins and good carbs. People suffering from diabetes are required to eat food that releases energy and blood sugar slowly. There are lots of vegetarian and non-vegetarian diabetes-friendly food items that you can include in your meal.
Also Read: Know What is Glycosuria – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment
Indian Food Items to Add to Your Diabetic Meal Chart
A variety of Indian food items are of nutritional value. Furthermore, adding them to your diet on the daily basis helps you to control your blood sugar levels. Some of the food items which you can add to your meal plan are:
Healthy Fat
Persons with diabetes should replace their carbohydrate and saturated fat intake with healthy fats. Healthy fats like polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) help in controlling the insulin levels in your body. This helps in lowering your blood glucose levels. However, you need to take healthy fats in the right quantity to regulate your blood sugar levels.
Sources of healthy fat: Fish, Fish Liver Oil, Walnuts, and Seeds like Sunflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Flaxseeds, and Pumpkin Seeds.
Healthy Proteins
A healthy protein meal mixed with carbohydrates helps in improving the secretion of insulin in your body. It helps in regulating blood sugar levels. Thus, consumption of high-quality protein does not change the post-meal increase of blood glucose levels.
Sources of healthy protein: Kidney Beans, Soy Beans, Lentils, Tofu, Chicken, Pumpkin Seeds and Fish (Rohu, Magur, Hilsa, Singi, Pomfret).
Vegetables
There is no doubt that vegetables are highly nutritious and healthy. They are rich sources of protein, vitamins, minerals, fibre, and antioxidants. Your body needs at least two servings of vegetables to improve your immunity, promote weight loss, and control your blood sugar levels. Indian food for diabetes and non-diabetic both include a variety of vegetables. Vegetables for diabetes diet: Peas, Cauliflower, Spinach, Beans, Garlic, Bottle Gourd, Bitter Gourd, Tomato, Capsicum, Sweet Potatoes, Brinjal, Beet Root, and Beans.
Dairy Proteins
Dairy products are great sources of protein, Vitamin D and calcium. They exert a beneficiary role in the stimulation of secretion of Insulin for diabetes management.
Sources of Dairy protein: Milk, Yoghurt, cheese, Unflavored Soy Milk, Egg Whites, and Low-Fat Sour Cream.
Summary:
Foods that contain healthy fats and majorly proteins must be included in your diet.
Also Read: Can Diabetics Eat Jaggery?
Fruits that You Can Have in Diabetes
There are lots of fruits that you can include in the diet plan for diabetes patients in India. Fruits are the perfect alternatives for your sweet cravings. You can eat gooseberries, apples, black plum (Jamun), raw papaya, unripe guava, grapes, kiwis, and pineapples. These fruits have low fructose content. You can also eat fruits with high fructose content like mango, litchi and banana. Just make sure to control your portion of fruits with high fructose content.
Also Read: Know What Kind of Bread Good for Diabetics
8 Functional Indian Food Items for Diabetes
There are some functional food items as well for diabetes patients. Such foods have some properties which help in controlling blood sugar levels. The list of such superfoods is:
Fenugreek
It contains certain compounds which help in the release of insulin from the pancreas. Fenugreek seeds also lower insulin resistance thus vital organs and some body tissues respond better to insulin. Therefore, it is helpful in controlling diabetes.
Turmeric
Turmeric has therapeutic properties. People with diabetes can drink turmeric milk before bedtime. This reduces their blood sugar levels and diabetes-related complications.
Garlic
Garlic helps in improving the glycemic status of your body. People with diabetes type-2, who consume garlic on a daily basis, can potentially see a drop in their fasting and postprandial blood sugar levels. Garlic is a rich source of Vitamin C and Vitamin B6. These help in maintaining blood sugar levels and improving carbohydrate metabolism respectively.
Legumes
Pulses and legumes have a low glycemic index. Thus, they help in preventing glucose spikes in people with type-2 diabetes. Along with this, they are also good sources of protein and fibre.
Brown Rice
It is the perfect alternative to white rice. It is rich in fibre and processes a lower glycemic index. Brown rice is also a rich source of manganese that helps in the production of superoxide dismutase. It is an enzyme that is responsible for the production of antioxidants in your body.
Quinoa
Quinoa is a superfood that has started gaining popularity in India. It is a good option for people with type-2 diabetes. It is rich in protein and fibre. You can look for recipes in the Indian diet plan for diabetes type 2 pdf online.
Cinnamon
It is the commonly used Indian spice. There is strong clinical evidence that cinnamon assists in controlling blood glucose levels. In a study, it was found that consuming 1 to 6 teaspoons of cinnamon for 40 days daily reduced the blood glucose levels by up to 24%.
Nuts and Oilseeds
Almonds, walnuts and flaxseeds are the best sources of protein and fibre. These keep your blood glucose levels in control. They are also rich sources of fatty acids like omega-3 which helps in prevents heart diseases.
Summary:
Foods such as fenugreek (methi dana), turmeric (Haldi), garlic (Lehsun), and cinnamon (Dal-Chini) along with others help in controlling blood sugar levels in the body.
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Sample Indian Diet Plan to Control Your Blood Glucose Level
It is a fact that some of the Indian staple food items are rich in carbs and sugar. However, there are many more food items that help you in sustaining a healthy lifestyle. Indian superfoods help in stabilizing your mismanaged blood glucose levels. They also nourish your overall health. The sample meal plan for people with diabetes is as follows:
Early morning
Avoid tea/coffee to start your day. It increases cortisol levels and destabilizes blood sugar. You can start your day with a refreshing and detox drink and also You can have warm water with soaked fenugreek seeds first in the morning. You can also have 1 fist of soaked nuts along with this drink.
Breakfast
It is the most important meal of the day. There are a lot of delicious options for Indian breakfast for diabetic patients. You can eat daliya (porridge), fresh smoothies, vegetable stuff chapatis with no oil/butter, or a bowl of fresh fruits. Boiled eggs are a good option for non-vegetarians. Wholegrain wheat bread, upma, poha, ragi idli and dosa, are also healthy options for breakfast. You can also have a glass of milk for breakfast.
Mid-morning
Satisfy your mid-morning cravings with low glycemic index foods. You can have healthy nuts and seeds in mid-morning. It will fulfil your cravings and control your blood sugar levels as well.
Lunch
Your lunch platter should include a big serving of well-cooked and low-carb veggies. A good serving of pulses (daal) contains rich nutrients. Mong daal is a rich source of protein. Along with veggies and daal, you can have 1 or 2 whole wheat, ragi, barley, jowar or gram flour chapati. Steamed or grilled meat/seafood is good for non-vegetarians instead of veggies and daal. Quinoa and brown rice are the healthier alternative to white rice.
Mid-meal snack:
Roasted chana, chivda, greek yoghurt, a fruit bowl and jaggery are the best options for mid-meal snacking. Refrain from processed foods like chips, biscuits, packed namkeens and fried snacks. These can easily spike up your blood sugar levels. You can also have tea/coffee but in low-fat milk. Otherwise, green tea is a good option.
Dinner
It is the last meal of the day. Make sure to keep it light and healthy. Low fat or low carb foods are the best for dinner. You can have soup, a bowl of salad, grilled paneer or tofu for dinner. Non-vegetarians can have grilled fish or chicken. You can also keep your dinner the same as your lunch but in reduced quantities.
Summary:
Although the condition of each patient differs from the other, therefore the diet plan also varies from person to person. However, to begin with, one can follow a standard diet plan.
Read More: Top Home Remedies to Cure Diabetes at Home
General Tips for Eating in Diabetes
People diagnosed with diabetes do not have to restrict their diet. Instead, they have to control their glycaemic intake. You just have to choose the foods which do not increase your blood glucose levels. Well, there is a wide range of food options available in India for the diabetic diet. You can control your diabetes by following healthy eating habits:
- Avoid consuming fruit sauces and jams. They contain added preservatives and sweetening agents. Hence, they will increase your blood glucose levels.
- You should avoid eating junk food. Refined flour is used to make Bread and Buns. It has high-calorie content. In addition to this, the sauces also contain some flavouring agents and preservatives which are not good for your health.
- Avoid drinking canned juices. They contain artificial flavouring agents, sugar and preservatives.
- Do not skip your breakfast. Your body becomes more vulnerable to metabolic disorders by skipping meals, especially breakfast. This allows your body to gain weight and disturbs insulin function.
- You may feel cravings for diabetes, especially for the food that you should avoid. Thus, it is important to control your cravings. Yoga and meditation help you to overcome physiological fluctuations. Some yoga asanas help you to ease your digestion.
- Control your daily calorie intake. The main purpose of a diabetes diet chart is to control your calorie intake. Thus, you need to calculate your daily calorie requirements and adjust your calorie intake.
- Not all diabetes diet plans are suitable for everyone. You should consult your dietician first before starting any diet chart for diabetes. A dietician will figure out your body’s nutritional requirements to design the best diet chart for you.
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Upshot
Diabetes is getting common among people in India. High blood sugar levels give you serious complications including heart diseases. Therefore, diabetes management is vital for a healthy and long life. Diet control is the simplest and the easiest method to keep your sugar levels in control. You can contact your dietician to prepare the best diabetic meal plan. A well-planned Indian diabetic diet chart contains all the essential nutrients to keep you healthy.
Having diabetes doesn’t mean that you have to compromise with the food you love. You just need to control your portions and eat right to manage your blood sugar levels. There are many fruits, vegetables and other food items available in India. Therefore, it is quite easy to follow a healthy and delicious diet for controlling your blood glucose levels.
Also Read: Top 10 Homeopathic Medecines For Diabetes
FAQ’s:
Can I get rid of type-2 diabetes if I stop consuming carbohydrates and sweets?
What should be my carbohydrate count?
People with diabetes should get half of their calories from carbohydrates. If you are on an 1800 calorie Indian diet plan for diabetes type 2 then 800-900 calorie should come from the carbs you eat. It will help you to maintain normal blood glucose levels.
Is it okay to eat sugar-free items from the market?
These days, you can easily find sugar-free food items in the market. Such food items can be a part of the Indian diabetic meal plan but in a small amount. Many sugar-free food items still contain high carb content. It can be in the form of sweeteners. Therefore, eating such foods can easily affect your blood sugar levels. You need to check out the nutrition label of the sugar-free food items before purchase.
Do I need to limit my alcohol intake to control diabetes?
It is a fact that calories from alcohol add up your blood sugar level. Meanwhile, drinking alcohol empty stomach can drop your blood sugar level. Thus, passionate drinkers or addicts should get their blood sugar test before and after drinking. This helps them to know how alcohol is affecting their body. Men should not consume more than two alcoholic drinks in a day. Women should drink only one alcoholic drink a day.
Does bitter gourd juice control diabetes?
Yes. Many doctors suggest individuals drink bitter gourd juice. Bitter gourd has contains an insulin-like compound called polypeptide-p or p-insulin. It helps in bringing glucose to the cells for energy. Doctors also suggest drinking Neem juice as well to lower your blood sugar levels. Neem leaves contain flavonoids, triterpenoids, glycosides, and antiviral compounds. You can have boiled bitter gourd juice or Neem juice or chew few Neem leaves in the morning.
References:
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/indian-diet-plan-for-type-2-diabetes-sample-diet-to-control-blood-sugar-level/articleshow/81532996.cms
- https://emoha.com/blogs/health/indian-diet-for-diabetic-patients
- https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/diabetes-diet-plan-indians/
- https://www.narayanahealth.org/blog/foods-to-help-control-diabetes/
Disclaimer
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Hello BWB, My name is Gopal I am 44yrs old and my body weight is 70kg I am having a height of 5’6″
I am Diabetic from last 6 years.
Current diabetic status: fasting blood sugar 220; post-prandial 333.
I am experiencing weight loss problems for the previous few months. Please help me with the diet plan to maintain a healthy weight.
As per your info, it’s a case of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. And, your case can be managed using a customized diet plan and practicing a healthy lifestyle. We would require some more details concerning your daily routine i.e., morning to a bedtime routine. Also, let us know about your likes, dislikes, dietary pattern, and habits. Directly contact us for crafting a customized diet chart.
Some tips for you: use more fibrous fruits and veggies. It is a must for you to have salads. Limit the consumption of milk and dairy products. Use more and more of sprouts in your meals. Cut down the sugar intake and reduce your carbs intake as well. Take fat and protein in moderate limits. Consume one glass of water before 30 minutes of every meal. Remember, early to bed and early to rise must be always followed.
I am Gaurav Gupta. 23 years old, weight 55 kgs. I am having a history of lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance. Please provide me a diet chart.
For lactose intolerance, you must not have milk and milk products. Instead, go for curd as it is a predigested fermented form of milk. And, it consists of a lot of healthy bacteria. Consume more of fermented food items. And, for gluten intolerance, you must not have wheat barley cereals. For more help, talk to our experts.