All the powerful animals like Elephants, rhinos, bison, wildebeest and horses have something in common when it comes to food, they lead the way for a healthy eating plan: That is by following a vegetarian diet.
Although everyone should eat foods for good health and energy, for those with diabetes, choice of food plays a vital role in managing levels of blood sugar.
Research shows that diets focused on herbs and plants clearly offer positive outcomes for people with diabetes, in the form of reduction in blood sugar, lipids and body weight.
Even for those people who cringe at the thought of moving towards a plant-based diet plan, they may change their mind after reading this.There are several ways by which consuming more plant-based food benefits people against diabetes.
When speaking of plant-based meals, it doesn’t mean all or nothing. Begin with taking small steps to achieve the ultimate goal of getting blood sugar readings in target range and of improving overall good health.
Moving towards a plant-based eating plan can start with simply adding more vegetables to one meal per day or maybe, going vegan for a meal per week.
You might have heard about a campaign called Meatless Monday, basically here you replace out animal protein for plant protein every Monday. Incase Monday’s don’t work for someone’s schedule, they can mingle items from another day of the week, for instance Tempeh Thursday or Salad Bowl Sunday.
Here is why small steps towards a plant-based diet can make a huge difference in your health status:
More fiber helps better blood glucose management:
A typical American diet falls far short of the ideal daily intake for dietary fiber, that ranges from twenty one grams to thirty eight grams, depending on one’s age and gender.
A veggie based eating plan forms of consuming foods that are higher in fiber like whole grains, fruits, vegetables and also plant-based proteins that include legumes (lentils and chickpeas), beans (black beans to lima beans), soy (edamame, tofu or tempeh) and nuts and seeds (for example peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, almond butter, pistachios, walnuts or chia seeds).
Although many of these foods are carbohydrates, the fiber manages to slow down the absorption of carbohydrate, that blunts spikes in blood sugar.
A plant-based dieting plan will gives us an average of 40 grams of fiber every day, exceeding the recommendations of the Institutes of Medicine.
Heart benefits:
People with diabetes have around two to four times higher risk of developing heart disease than an average person. Items like nuts, seeds, beans and legumes have heart health benefits as well.
Nuts contain heart-friendly unsaturated fats, while beans contain soluble fiber, which has been proven to help flush out cholesterol from our arteries. Also, consuming protein from plant sources instead of meat is likely to reduce intake of saturated fat.
Weight management:
A survey was conducted where study of people with type 2 diabetes were compared according to their diet plans; a low-fat vegetarian plan versus a diet which controlled carbohydrates and restricted calories.
Those who followed the vegan plan revealed comparatively greater improvements in glycemic control, lipid levels as well as weight loss.
Almost 50% of the participants on the vegan plan managed to reduce their type 2 medications as a result as well, even though those following this vegan plan had no calorie or portion restrictions. Isn’t that an amazing bonus!
There are so many healthy pros and benefits of eating more plants it’s impossible to review them all. However for those trying to regulate sugar levels in particular, here are a few ways.
- One day at a time: as mentioned earlier, this isn’t an all or nothing requirement. Begin by adding more vegetables and fruits to your meals and then move to swapping an animal protein with a plant protein. A plant-based eating plan doesn’t have to be meatless, it just means less meat.
- Beans not beef: begin using legumes as your main protein source. Beans help to prevent spikes in blood sugar and studies have proved that they continue to keep blood sugar readings regulated even five hours after meal time.
- Nuts are a must: Include nuts like almonds, pistachios, peanuts or walnuts with every meal. They can be eaten either as part of a meal or even as a separate snack.Nuts have the potential to keep you satisfied as munchies and they add more plant protein to your meal plan which in return reduce spikes in blood sugar.
- Lack of vitamin B12: When you replace consumption of animal protein with plant protein in your diet, you will need to use a B12 supplements, that’s because the best sources of B12 are in animal protein foods. If you are on the Metformin medication, you may have already been advised to supplement it with B12. Metformin decreases the absorption of B12 in the guts that causes B12 deficiency over time.
- Choosing vegan: If you decide to swap all animal-based proteins off your diet plan, you will also be missing on good sources of vitamin D. Consult your doctor about adding a vitamin D supplement to your daily routine to avoid deficiency.
- Keep check in pairs: Monitor your blood sugar right before a meal and two hours after the meal to evaluate that whether or not the eating plan is working well for you.
