Eating Clean For Dummies by Jonathan Wright

Author:Jonathan Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2011-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

Eating enough fiber and whole foods

Fiber and clean, whole foods are the keys to managing diabetes. As you increase your intake of healthy foods, eliminate junk foods, processed foods, and refined flour and sugar from your diet.

As soon as you know you have diabetes, talk to your doctor about which foods you can eat and how you can manage your blood sugar.

Fiber

Fiber-rich foods not only fill you up but also can help lower blood sugar levels. Fiber is considered a “free food” for people with diabetes. Because your body doesn’t digest much of it, even though it’s a carbohydrate, it doesn’t affect your blood sugar.

Most Americans don’t get enough fiber. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people with type 2 diabetes can lower blood sugar levels by eating more fiber — up to 50 grams a day. The trick is to increase fiber intake gradually so that you can avoid digestive problems.

When adding fiber to your diet, focus on eating soluble fiber to manage diabetes. Soluble fiber forms gels in the stomach and intestines, and these gels help feed friendly bacteria and delay the emptying of your stomach so that you feel full longer. Soluble fiber also slows down the digestion of carbohydrates and sugars by trapping them in the gels so that your blood sugar levels don’t spike after a meal or snack. It can also increase your cell’s insulin sensitivity, which may reduce the need for added insulin. In addition, soluble fiber can remove cholesterol from the foods you eat, which may help prevent heart disease, a major risk for those with diabetes.

Try to get soluble fiber from as many different whole foods as possible:

Whole grains: People who get lots of fiber from whole-grain sources have lower blood pressure and a lower body mass index (BMI). Oats are a very good source of soluble fiber. However, many doctors specializing in nutritional medicine recommend that people with type 2 diabetes follow the Paleo (caveman) diet, which excludes grains and dairy products (see Chapter 6 for details). Fortunately, you can find many excellent nongrain sources of fiber, too (just read the rest of this list for details!).

Whole vegetables: Try to eat vegetables unpeeled for more fiber content. The vegetables with the highest soluble fiber content include artichokes, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, and celery.

Fresh fruit: Eat the skin of apples and pears for the most soluble fiber content. Other fruits high in soluble fiber include oranges, strawberries, blueberries, and other berries. But remember that many people with diabetes have to cut down on fruit because this food category is high in sugars.

Dried fruit: Like fresh fruit, dried fruit is high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, but it’s also high in sugar. Talk to your doctor about adding dried fruit to your diet.

Nuts and seeds: These foods have lots of good fats that can help you feel satisfied longer, along with a good dose of soluble fiber. Include

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