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Eating a balanced diet is essential for anyone, but it’s a matter of life and death for type-2 diabetes sufferers. Every snack or meal you have will alter the body’s blood sugar levels, which must be kept within the correct range. In the long term, having a poor diet can lead to diabetes type-2 complications. Therefore, if you’ve got signs of having diabetes type-2 and you’re awaiting a diagnosis, implement these five dietary changes right now.
A Diagnosis and Dietician Visit
If you suspect diabetes type-2, it’s essential to visit your GP and have them run tests using medical diagnostic machines. However, in the meantime, get started on eating the correct diet. If you’re struggling to eat healthily, you’re not alone and there are professionals out there to help. For example, a visit to a dietician can help you create a suitable diet that you’re more likely to engage with.
Reducing Refined Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates are products like cookies, fizzy drinks, sweets, white rice/bread/pasta, and various fruit juices. All of these foods have a high-calorie count and barely any nutritional value. Eating too many of these will lead to significant weight gain, which won’t help with managing potential diabetes.
This doesn’t mean you can’t eat this type of food, but limit your intake to special occasions. Instead, get into the habit of eating whole-grain foods, which will increase your fibre and nutrient intake.
Opting for Healthy Fats
Experts at Harvard University have found that the types of fat in a person’s diet are more significant than the amount. It’s now recommended to increase the amount of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats you eat, which include:
- Olive oil
- Soybeans (tofu)
- Avocado
- Corn oil
- Fatty fish (mackerel, sardines, tuna, and salmon)
- Various seeds (sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin)
The types of fats you should look at reducing are high-fat dairy products and meats, lard, and poultry skin.
Increasing Nutritious Food
Whether your diabetes diagnosis comes back positive or negative, increasing the number of nutritious foods you eat will do wonders for your health. Nutritious-rich foods include:
- Fish and eggs
- Fruits and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Legumes (lentils and beans)
- Dairy products
- Nuts and seeds
- Lean proteins like pork and chicken
Although these foods are great for your general health, your circumstances may limit which ones you’re able to have – your dietician will be able to advise you.
Implementing Portion Control
Overweight people are more susceptible to high blood sugar levels, which isn’t good news for a diabetes sufferer. However, the Journal of Diabetes Care notes that a 5-10% reduction in body weight will play a significant role in keeping those blood sugars low. As well as this, losing weight will help protect you from developing heart disease and other diabetes-related complications later in life.
Diabetes type-2 is a manageable condition that involves careful consideration of the types of foods you eat. Therefore, if you suspect that you may have diabetes type-2 and you’re waiting on a diagnosis, start to introduce everything outlined above into your daily diet.
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