For a long time, people have been worried and wondering about diabetes and its solution. Probably, some have tried multiple treatments and medications but somehow this disease keeps on clinging to lives without letting people feel relaxed or eating carelessly, for even a day. A healthy diet is what is needed for all to get cured gradually of this ailment. Diabetes is an increase in levels of blood glucose level from the optimum value. People often tend to gain weight or become obese so right away they think losing a few kg can help them. It is not so. Sweets and foods with added sugar, colours and preservatives are harmful to diabetic people. Also, items with high saturated fats can be potentially dangerous. The Forbes Health Editorial Team has consulted the board of around 7 nutritional experts from across countries who have come up with the right nutritional chart mentioning how effectively proper food and lifestyle can cure average people from this disease. Let us look into some of them in detail:
The DASH Diet
It includes lean meat, poultry, grains, fish, fruits and vegetables. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. The main motto of this diet is to reduce sodium-levels of your diet and curb mental tension which is believed definitely to increase diabetes. People also get cardio problems through excessive tension. Thus, if proper blood pressure can be controlled and foods rich in magnesium can be taken, then this can very well balance insulin levels in our bodies.
The Vegan Diet
A vegan diet primarily focuses on the intake of vegetables daily. It is more of being vegetarian rather than consuming a non-vegetarian diet. The foods include soy, legumes, nuts, whole grains and large amounts of water-based fruits and vegetables. Generally, animal-based foods are rich in protein and do no good to diabetic people. It increases the chances of being more prone to diabetes. Since there are two kinds of diabetes, so it has been surveyed and reported that a vegan diet can help treat both of them. The glucose level of blood, the tendency to become obese, etc issues can be carefully planned through a vegan diet.
The Mediterranean Diet
As the name suggests, this diet is a combination of both plant-based and animal-based food items and it chiefly includes nuts and legumes, fish, food with extra virgin oil, whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables. This diet mainly focuses on completely reducing the glucose levels of blood so that there is no risk of its occurrence in the future. It is best for female diabetic patients as it has been found that this has reduced the risk of diabetes dropped to 30% in them. There are prospects of lowering diabetes in people with haemoglobin A1C levels with Type 2 diabetes.
The Vegetarian Diet
This diet includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes along with nuts and seeds. For a long time and even in older days, we have seen that plant-based foods have always done well to reduce several diseases. While people often think eating protein-rich foods like dairy, eggs, and meat can do well, what they don’t know is that a solar-energy-based vegetarian diet can offer multiple health benefits and even cure diabetes. It has been surveyed and found that people across the globe that richly intake a vegetarian diet have reduced their chances to become diabetic to around 50%.
The Ornish Diet
More or less like a vegan diet, it includes legumes, soy, fruits and vegetables and grains. The name as given has come from its Managing Director- Dean Ornish. His motto was to establish a proper diet that caters to the human heart and keeps the blood pressure under control. He also mentioned that surplus to diet needs proper exercise, a healthy lifestyle and a sleep-wake cycle to be effectively synchronized so that the nutritional supplement can do their work well. His diet chart is a nutritional program that gives specific guidance to reduce glycemia and emphasizes protein intake. Patients, who are under this diet program, can also enjoy a diet with carbohydrates. However, alcohol consumption must be avoided as it increases triglyceride levels.
Thus, today diabetes is no longer a challenge as long as people cling to the right diet and proper lifestyle. Refined carbs, sugar-rich foods on a prolonged basis and excessive consumption of concentrated sweeteners can increase diabetes. This disease is nothing serious as long as proper precautions are taken. So next time eat well and remember to consume foods which can easily break down glucose levels and maintain their optimum range.