HEALTHY WAY TO COOK VEGETABLES

Raw vegetables consumed in salad form are very beneficial. But if vegetables have to be cooked at all, all efforts should be made to retain their nutritive value to the maximum.

Certain cooking precautions are mentioned below:

• Wash vegetables thoroughly with water.
• Chop vegetables into as large pieces as possible.
• Boil chopped pieces in water.
• Retain nutritive value by adding a pinch of salt. This helps preserve Vitamin-B Complex & Vitamin C.
• Avoid adding baking powder as they reduce effectiveness of pancreatic juices.

• Vegetables should be cooked over a low flame slowly.
• This helps retain their natural flavor and aids easy digestion.
• Valuable nutrients are destroyed when vegetables are cooked quickly over large flame.

• Cook vegetables in minimum water.
• Add enough water to only cover the vegetables.
• The cooking vessel should be covered tightly while cooking.

• Cook for a very short time and serve hot.

• Earthenware, copper and enameled brass vessels are best for cooking and they retain effectiveness of pancreatic juices. Avoid cooking vegetables in aluminum vessels.

HOW MANY MEALS A DAY?

• Diet of diabetics should be well planned.
• Eating at regular intervals is very important.
• Heavy meals and overeating must be avoided.
• Six small meals a day is ideal. Or eating four times a day is a must.
• Small frequent small meals help the distribution of carbohydrates over the day.
• As a result load over the pancreas is reduced and sufficient quantity of insulin is produced.

• Avoid fasting and skipping meals.
• You may feel giddy which indicates low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.
• Drink fruit juice or eat an apple immediately to provide energy.
• If hypoglycemia is left unattended it may lead to serious complications.

EATING RULES

Diabetics should follow certain eating rules:

• Avoid overeating or eating to a full stomach. Whenever you leave the table you should have the feeling that you could have eaten more.
• Avoid eating and drinking together. Water or other liquids should be taken half an hour before meal and one hour after meal. However vegetable soups, milk and buttermilk can be taken along with meals.
• Avoid eating when you are feeling low, tired, excited, worried or in bad temper because they hinder the manufacture of digestive juices. Always dine with a relaxed mind.
• Meals should never be hurried. Chew food as thoroughly as possible and eat slowly.
• If you lack appetite miss a meal or two till appetite returns.
• Avoid conversation while eating.
• Avoid heavy work after a sumptuous meal.
• Raw fruits and vegetables should never be eaten together.

IMPORTANCE OF ALKALINE FOODS

• In diabetes patients there is a slowdown in fat and protein metabolism. This promotes hyperacidity condition.
• Therefore fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and milk products and other alkaline forming foods should be taken in liberal quantities.
• Alkaline foods help check hyperacidity.

• An ideal diet in a normal person comprises of 80 % alkaline and 20 % acid food.

FOODS RICH IN POTASSIUM

• Potassium rich foods play a significant role in the treatment of diabetes.
• The intake of Potassium improves the functioning of pancreas.
• Potassium is capable of healing and revitalizing cells of pancreas, provided interference from other food elements are avoided.
• Wheat, raw peanuts, skimmed milk powder; dried peas and melons are rich sources of potassium and can be taken liberally.

• Potassium supplements however can cause ulcer and therefore are best avoided.
• Potassium can build up in blood and tissues in people whose kidneys are not functioning properly. Hence, their diet should be planned under medical supervision.

BENEFITS OF RAW FOODS

• Raw foods have a clear advantage over cooked foods.
• Cooking increases Glycaemic responses of food; destroys cellulose and starch is easily absorbed into the system.
• The excess starch needs to be eliminated and so appears as sugar in the urine.

• Whereas in raw starchy foods, saliva and digestive juices in the small intestine control the quantities required to be changed into sugar for the body’s needs.
• The unused and undigested raw starchy foods are harmless because they do not ferment immediately.

• About 80 % of the diet should include raw foods as they boost and increase insulin production.

• In some cases diabetic who were on a diet comprising 90 % raw foods were able to eliminate medication altogether.

EAT MORE DIETARY FIBER

• High fiber diet is recommended for people suffering from diabetes.
• Fiber is digested very slowly and as a result blood sugar level rises very slowly.

• A high-fiber diet that includes fiber rich fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, zucchini, oranges and raisin helps reduce insulin dosage by 25 %.

• There are two types of fiber water-soluble and water insoluble fibers.
• Water-soluble fiber is especially helpful in diabetic patients. It includes gums, pectin and mucilage.
• Gel found in fruit, legumes and plant seed’s are rich sources of water-soluble fiber.

• Soluble fiber present in fruits, oatmeal, barley and dried beans helps reduce blood sugar levels considerably.
• Such soluble fiber should be gradually introduced into the diet of a diabetic.

• Many patients on high-fiber diet have decreased or eliminated the need for anti-diabetic medications or supplemental insulin.

FOODS HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS

• The risk of heart disease is 3 times more in diabetics.
• Hence, they should be extra careful and eat foods rich in antioxidants, beta-carotene and Vitamin C and E.
• The LDL (bad cholesterol) is more susceptible to oxidation, can become toxic and clog arteries.

• High levels of sugar in the blood lead to dangerous oxidation.
• Oxygen free radicals are released (during metabolism of sugar) and make cholesterol toxic. The bad effects can be reduced by constant supply of antioxidants.
• Antioxidants or free radical scavengers clean up the destructive reaction.

• Antioxidants are the best bet against high blood cholesterol, heart disease and cancer.

Good sources of antioxidants are:

• Beta-carotene: Yellow and orange vegetables and fruits and dark green leafy vegetables, carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, mangoes, peaches, melons, apricot, cherries, peas, spinach and broccoli.

• Vitamin C: Citrus fruits, Indian gooseberries, tomatoes, green peppers, green leafy vegetables, raw cabbage, potatoes, strawberries, kiwi fruit, black currant.

• Vitamin E: Seeds, whole-grains, nuts, almonds, soybeans, green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils especially sunflower oil and fish liver oils.

VEGETABLES: THE MORE THE BETTER

• Vegetables are low in calories, full of vitamins and minerals and are healthy. Some vegetables are rich sources of fiber too.

• Garlic and onions are extremely beneficial vegetables that help reduce blood sugar.
• Green leafy vegetables should form part of regular diet because it contains Manganese (an important ingredient of insulin).
• Bitter gourd lowers blood and urine sugar levels.

• Diabetic patients can liberally use most vegetables because they contain negligible amounts of carbohydrates and calories.
• Vegetables that can be consumed in larger quantities by diabetics are: Cabbage, celery, lettuce, fenugreek leaves, mint, spinach, amaranth, bitter gourd, ash gourd, eggplant, lady’s finger, French beans, cauliflower, cucumber, drumstick, turnip, snake gourd, ridge gourd, radish, onion stalk and pumpkin

• There are other vegetables that contain carbohydrates and therefore have a high calorific value than leafy vegetables.
• Vegetables that should be consumed in limited quantities by diabetics are: Root vegetables like carrot, potato, beetroot, colocasia, sweet potato, yam, tapioca and other vegetables like artichoke, green plantain, tender jackfruit, broad beans, double beans, cluster beans.

ARE FRUITS SAFE?

• Diabetics can eat fresh fruits though they contain starch and sugar.
• Very few fruits contain carbohydrates more than 15 %.
• Most fresh fruit (especially juicy ones) contain a lot of water.
• Of the little sugar present in fruits 50% comprises of glucose and nearly equal proportion of fructose. The calorie value of both glucose and fructose is similar.

• However in a diabetic fructose has an advantage over glucose because it is well tolerated and does not require insulin for metabolism.
• Diabetics therefore can consume fruits like any other normal person.
• A diabetic can eat two fruits a day.
• Each serving can comprise of 1 medium fruit or 115 grams chopped fruits or 170 milliliters juice.

• Fruits also provide fiber, vitamins and minerals required for good health.
• Vitamin C present in citrus fruits helps ward-off disease.
• It also contains manganese that is an important ingredient of insulin.

• Diabetics who can restrict their daily calorie intake to 1500 or less and follow a diet comprising of approximately 60 % carbohydrates, 25 % fat and 15 % protein are able to control blood sugar level successfully.

• The carbohydrate food should be natural, slow digesting and unrefined. Whole grains like oats, and millets are good examples.
• Diabetics usually have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. These can be brought back to normal by decreasing fat intake, increasing fiber rich foods.
• Individuals consuming high fiber diet rarely suffer from diseases.

• Fats that we consume can be from either visible or invisible sources.
• Fats from oils, butter are visible fats. While, Fats from milk and milk products, meat, eggs, cereals and pulses are invisible fats.
• Both the quantity and type of fat, influences the body and cholesterol levels.
• Intake of saturated fats (animal fat) in diabetics should be controlled because their cholesterol level is usually high.
• Most vegetable fats are polyunsaturated and are healthy.

• About 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is Recommended Dietary Allowance.
• Children, pregnant and lactating women require more protein for growth, development and psychological needs.

• Nuts, pulses and legumes, meat and meat products are all rich sources of protein.
• But proteins from vegetable source add fiber and do not contain cholesterol so they are better than animal sources.

Food Exchange Lists – How much of each food can you eat?

• Diabetic food is not as boring as it is anticipated.
• There is a wide variety of food that can be well planned and made into interesting, tasty, rich and satisfying food.
• Food Exchange Lists help classify different foods into groups.
• Vegetables, fruits, cereals, pulses and legumes, milk and milk based products; fats, oils and meat can all be classified.
• Each group contains foods with similar amounts of carbohydrates, proteins,fats and approximately the same number of calories.
• As the proportion of the nutrients and number of calories is the same, food item in any group can be exchanged or substituted with other food in the same group.
• This provides wide variety in food and diet planning for diabetics. This explains the concept of food exchange.
• But this concept is beneficial only when all the groups work together to supply nutritional needs for good health.

LEAFY VEGETABLES EXCHANGE LIST
These vegetables can be used in any quantity because their carbohydrate and calorie content are almost negligible.

Vegetable Exchange List

ROOT VEGETABLES EXCHANGE LIST
These vegetables provide  Carbohydrates: 10 grams       Calories: 50

Root Vegetable Exchange List

FRUITS EXCHANGE LIST
These Fruits provide       Carbohydrates: 10grams             Calories: 50    

Fruits Exchange List

MILK EXCHANGE LIST
These Milk Products provide Protein: 5grams                Calories: 100

Milk Exchange List

CEREAL EXCHANGE LIST
Within this list one food item can be exchanged with other. A portion of 30 grams each Provides:
                                   

Cereals Exchange List

FAT EXCHANGE LIST
Any food item in this list can be exchanged with another in the same list.
These Products provide  Fat: 11grams              Calories: 100        

Fat Exchange List

LEGUME AND PULSES EXCHANGE LIST
One food item can be exchanged with another in the same list. But it cannot be exchanged with cereal exchange list.
A portion of 30 grams each Provides:

Legume and Pulse Exchange List

• In general the diet should provide balanced quantity of nutrients to the body.
• The special nutritional requirements of a diabetic should also be taken into consideration.

• Medical research has proved that high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet with adequate protein and dietary fiber is ideal for fighting diabetes.

• Such diet provides more volume and is more filling even if they are low in calories.
• Diets low in saturated fat, reduce cholesterol, help in weight control and keep diabetes away.

• Starches, fruits, vegetables and milk products are healthy foods although they raise blood glucose levels more quickly than fats and meat.

GLYCAEMIC INDEX OF SELECTED FOODS

• Foods containing same calories or carbohydrates may respond differently to blood glucose levels.
• Some carbohydrates like table sugar increase blood glucose quickly. While rice, wheat, potato other starches increase blood sugar slowly (complex carbohydrates)
• Glycaemic index measures how soon blood sugar levels increase after consumption of various foods.
• Foods that increase blood sugar quickly are called High Glycaemic foods. While those that cause a slow increase in blood sugar are called Low Glycaemic index foods.

• Diets with low glycaemic index are considered better for diabetics.
• However, wheat, carrots have high Glycaemic Index, but are still good for diabetics. These have complex carbohydrates (slow sugar) and so are preferred over food with simple carbohydrates.

• On the other hand milk has low Glycaemic Index but is bad for diabetics because of high calories and fat content.
• It increase body weight and lead to obesity, which is a high risk factor for diabetes.

GLYCAEMIC INDEX OF SELECTED FOODS

Foods with low glycaemic Index increases blood sugar slowly and are considered better for diabetics than diet with high glycaemic index.

• 10 to 19 %  –  groundnuts and Soybeans.
• 20 to 29 %  –  lentils, kidney beans and fructose.
• 30 to 39 %  –   apple, tomato soup, chickpeas, black eyed peas, skimmed milk, curd, yogurt and ice cream.
• 40 to 49 %  –  Bengal gram, black gram, beans, dried peas, sweet potato, whole meal oats and orange juice.
• 50 to 59 %  –  frozen peas, white noodles, potato chips and sweet corn.
• 60 to 69 %  –  white bread, beetroot, raisins, shredded wheat, sucrose, banana and sprouted green gram.
• 70 to 79 %  –  potato, broad beans, whole meal bread, millets and white rice.
• 80 to 90 %  –  honey, maltose, mashed potatoes, carrots and corn flakes.
• 100 %   –  glucose.

WHITE FLOUR

• Wheat with its coating of bran, vitamins and minerals is an excellent food.
• It is one of the most commonly used cereals in the world.

• But, wheat used as refined white flour is accompanied with a lot of health complications.
• Refined white flour causes loss of vitamins and minerals.
• It leads to digestive disturbances and nutritional disorders like diabetes.
• Hence, white flour is a contributing factor for diabetes and can even aggravate things further.   

WHITE SALT

• Common salt helps maintain acid-base balance of the body.
• It is also essential for the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach.
• Thus the body requires about 10 to 15 grams of salt per day.

• Use of extra salt causes high blood pressure that is closely linked to diabetes.
• Excess salt causes water retention that may lead to obesity, a major cause of diabetes.
• Excess salt hastens the onset of diabetes and is thereby harmful.

• Most processed foods are loaded with salt and sodium preservatives. Hence, salted snacks and pickles are best avoided.

TEA AND COFFEE

• Drinking tea and coffee is a serious health hazard for the diabetic.
• Caffeine present in both tea & coffee is an addictive drug; stimulates Central Nervous System.
• Daily intake increases blood sugar level and may lead to diabetes or aggravate symptoms.

ALCOHOL AND DIABETES

• If you are suffering from diabetic complications or are not able to control blood sugar then alcohol is best avoided.
• Alcohol can worsen high blood pressure, damage nerves and cause coronary artery disease.
• Alcohol can only add calories and has no nutritional values.
• It can promote obesity. It affects the diet of a person and can lead to hypoglycemia.

Let us now learn pros and cons of consuming White Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners.

WHITE SUGAR

• Diabetes is common in persons who eat too much sugar.
• Increase in consumption of white sugar has led to an alarming increase in diabetic cases.
• When sugar is refined due to heat, life sustaining vitamins and minerals are destroyed and only sugar crystals are left behind.

• White sugar is difficult to digest, irritates stomach, robs the body of vitamins, leads to digestive disorders, increases need for insulin and  promotes development of diabetes.
• It is also associated with obesity, which is a contributory factor for diabetes.

• Diabetic patients should keep an eye on total carbohydrate intake rather than only on amount of sugar they consume.
• Diabetics can eat sugar, but in moderation. Moderate amount is safe and it should be in substitution of other carbohydrates.

ARE ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS SAFE?

• A wide variety of artificial sweeteners are available that are far less harmful than sugar.
• Saccharine and aspartame are non-nutritive sweeteners, which diabetics can use except during pregnancy.
• Artificial-sweeteners in beverages having meager amount of calories can be taken safely.

• But the problem is that many sugar free products are rich in saturated fats and cholesterol.
• Diabetic biscuits, chocolates, candies, other goodies that are available may contain no sugar but their calorific values maybe high due to  presence of other ingredients and affect blood sugar level. Therefore diabetics should be more careful and keep an account of the calories they  consume.

• Processed, semi-processed and ready to eat foods usually have direct sugars added to them and should be avoided.
• Dextrose, maltose, fructose, corn sugar, granulated sugar, sucrose, lactose, brown sugar and high fructose corn syrup are different terms of direct  sugar that are mentioned on food labels and should be avoided.

SHORT JUICE DIET

• Fasting over a long period is not advisable for diabetes.
• 3-day diet of orange juice and water exerts no harm.
• Fresh orange juice is to be diluted with equal quantity of water.
• This should be taken every 2 hours from 8 am to 8 pm for 3 days.
• Administer warm water enema to cleanse bowels during this period.
• It helps eliminate all accumulated morbid toxic matter.
• This juice therapy aids regeneration of beta cells of pancreas and stimulates liver to absorb glucose well.

ALL FRUIT DIET

• An all fruit diet usually follows a short juice diet (of orange juice and water).
• Fresh fruits should be eaten at 5 hourly intervals.
• Pear, Peach, Apple, Pineapple, Grapefruit and Orange are highly advisable.

FRUIT AND MILK DIET

• Fruit and milk-diet can follow an all-fruit diet for 5 days or more.
• Each fruit meal can be taken with a glass of milk.
• Thereafter a low-calorie, low-fat, lacto-vegetarian alkaline diet of good quality natural foods should be adopted.
• Vegetables, fruits, nuts, dairy products and whole meal bread form a good diet.
• These foods should be eaten in dry form to promote salivation during process of digestion.

Other Foods Beneficial for Diabetes

• Almonds: Almonds from which oil has been extracted out are considered beneficial in diabetes treatment. It is free from starch.

• Banana: Unripe bananas cooked as a vegetable are considered very valuable for diabetics. Bananas with skimmed milk help in weight reduction in treating diabetic patients.

• Buttermilk: Lactic acid present in buttermilk helps in the treatment of diabetes. It stimulates the secretion of the pancreas and thereby helps control blood sugar levels.

• Flour: Whole grain cereals help lower sugar in diabetics. Mixture of flours made from legumes, pulses, grains and cereals are especially beneficial. Example wheat bran, barley, jowar, Bengal gram, black gram and soybean flour

• Sour Fruits: Sour fruits stimulate the pancreas and increase insulin production. Sour citrus fruits and some apple are beneficial.

• Legume: Lentils and legumes release energy slowly, hence are very effective in diabetes treatment

• Tea: Tea prepared from parsley lowers blood sugar. Tea made from tender walnut leaves helps control diabetes.