Healthy Eating and Diabetes
If you have diabetes, adopting a healthy eating plan can have several benefits:
- Maintaining general good health
- Better management of blood glucose levels
- Achieving target blood lipid (fat) levels
- Maintaining a healthy blood pressure
- Maintaining a healthy body weight
- Preventing or slowing the development of diabetes complications
Healthy eating for people with diabetes is no different from healthy eating for everyone else. You don't need to prepare separate meals or buy special foods. So, relax and enjoy healthy eating with the rest of your family.
Physical Activity and Diabetes
Alongside healthy eating, physical activity plays a crucial role in managing diabetes. Incorporate various forms of activity into your routine as much as possible. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. Regular physical activity can have numerous benefits:
- Lowering blood glucose levels
- Reducing cholesterol
- Lowering blood pressure
- Decreasing stress and anxiety
- Improving mood and self-esteem
- Enhancing the quality of sleep
- Increasing muscle and bone strength
If your goal is weight loss, aim for at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week. If this seems too daunting, you can break it into smaller blocks of 10–15 minutes spread throughout the day.
Resistance activity is highly recommended for all individuals, particularly those with diabetes. An exercise physiologist can assist you in creating a safe resistance activity program. Aim for resistance exercises at least twice per week, which could include:
- Body weight exercises like push-ups, squats, or lunges at home
- Using dumbbells and resistance bands (e.g., Thera-Bands™) for resistance exercises at home
- Engaging in tasks around the home that involve lifting, carrying, or digging
- Joining a gym and performing weights or other resistance exercises
Additionally, strive to reduce sedentary behavior throughout the day, whether at work, home, or elsewhere. Incorporate small activities to minimize sitting time:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park further away from your destination and walk
- Alight public transport one stop earlier and walk the remainder of the way
- Stand up to get a drink of water regularly, at least once every hour
- Complete chores, such as ironing, while watching TV
- Engage in active play with children or grandchildren at the park
- Get up and converse with work colleagues rather than emailing them
Basic Eating Guidelines for Diabetes
If you have diabetes, it's important to follow a simple and healthy eating plan. Here are some basic guidelines:
- Eat regular meals throughout the day.
- Make vegetables the main part of your meal, aiming to fill at least half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables or salad at both lunch and dinner time.
- Consider reducing the serving size of your meals and snacks to avoid weight gain and make diabetes management easier.
- Include a small serving of high-fiber carbohydrates at each meal, such as wholegrain bread, cereals (like oats, Vita Brits®, All-Bran®, and natural muesli), wholemeal pasta, brown rice, quinoa, fruits, and starchy vegetables (such as corn, sweet potato, and potato).
- Opt for reduced-fat or low-fat dairy products with minimal added sugar, such as Greek yogurt with fresh fruit.
- Choose lean meats and alternatives like skinless chicken and turkey, fish, eggs, legumes (beans, lentils), tofu, and nuts.
- Limit intake of unhealthy saturated fats found in full-fat dairy products, butter, cream, fatty and processed meats, fried foods, cakes, pastries, and foods containing palm oil and coconut oil.
- Replace saturated fats with healthy unsaturated fats like olive, canola, or sunflower oil, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated margarines, oily fish, avocado, seeds, and nuts.
- Incorporate oily fish such as salmon (tinned or fresh), sardines, mackerel, herring, or tuna into your diet at least 2 to 3 times per week for heart health.
- Save baked items like cakes, biscuits, slices, and desserts for special occasions.
- Avoid candies and sweet drinks like soft drink, cordial, sports drinks, flavored waters, and energy drinks.
- Avoid adding salt during cooking or at the table, and reduce consumption of high-salt foods.
- Use herbs and spices to enhance the flavor of your food.
- Limit alcohol intake to 2 standard drinks per day, with some alcohol-free days each week.
Sample Meal Plan for Healthy Eating with Diabetes
Choose foods that you enjoy and that keep you satisfied. Include a small serving of carbohydrate foods in each meal or snack to help manage blood glucose levels. Your main meal can be eaten at lunch or dinner.
Breakfast
Some breakfast choices include:
- 3/4–1 cup of high-fiber breakfast cereal with low-fat milk and one piece of fruit
- 1/2 cup natural muesli or rolled oats with milk or reduced-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 slices of wholegrain toast with thinly spread peanut butter, baked beans, grilled tomato with avocado, poached or boiled eggs, ricotta cheese and tomato, or sardines
- Water, tea, or coffee
Light Meal
Some light meal choices include:
- One sandwich made with wholegrain bread or one roll or 6 small high-fiber crackers with thinly spread avocado
- Lots of salad vegetables
- 65–80 g of lean meat or skinless poultry or 100 g of fish or other seafood OR 2 eggs OR 40 g of reduced-fat cheese or 1 cup of cooked legumes (such as beans or lentils)
- Water, tea, or coffee
Main Meal
Some main meal choices include:
- 1/2–1 cup of cooked rice or pasta or one to 2 small potatoes
- Lots of other vegetables
- 65–80 g of lean meat or skinless poultry or 100 g of fish or other seafood, or one cup of cooked legumes (such as beans or lentils)
- Water, tea, or coffee
Between-Meal Snacks
Not everyone needs to include snacks between meals. Consult your diabetes educator or dietitian if you are unsure. If you do include snacks, select healthy choices such as:
- Fresh fruit
- A small serving of reduced-fat natural yogurt with fruit
- A glass of low-fat milk
- One slice of wholegrain bread with toppings such as thinly spread peanut butter, ricotta or cottage cheese and tomato
- One slice of fruit bread
- High-fiber crackers with similar toppings as above
Consult a dietitian: People with diabetes should discuss their food habits with a dietitian so that appropriate dietary recommendations can be designed for their needs.