Let's Act on Diabetes Now! - The Medicinal Cooking Collective challenge Week 1 - Diabetes

Diabetes is an illness that cannot be completely treated, However, this can be controlled by maintaining healthy lifestyle and eating habits. There are lots of causes of Diabetes including Family history, Aging, weight, lifestyle, pregnancy and even stress.

Diabetes runs in my family including myself, am having a Gestational Diabetes. My Father is dependent to Insulin now to help him control his blood sugar. Personally speaking, it’s hard! But the good thing is that we can control it. It just needed tons of discipline and proper knowledge about Diabetes.

It’s absolutely no fun to suffer gestational Diabetes when your pregnant, When you can’t eat the foods you like or as much as you like.

These are the strategies i used to maintain my ideal weight for pregnancy without Feeling frustrated

1. Every morning after waking up, I drink a glass of water or pure natural coconut juice.
2. Followed by a piece of Date and eat my porridge as my main breakfast (I consistently this routine everyday and it works for me)
3. 15 minutes before my meal i drink water, or eat salad or a piece of fruit or a soup before consuming my main meal, In this way i feel full up and making me eat less especially my carbohydrates.

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What Foods should we eat if we are a Diabetic?

If we are a Diabetic, Our body is not able to control Blood sugar (Glucose), Therefore consuming right foods is extremely important to control our blood sugar levels.

Breads and Cereals

• Brown rice, Brown bread, whole wheat flour and whole wheat pasta. Sugar- free cereals or bran.

Fruits

• Eat fresh fruit rather than artificial juices, (They are loaded with sugar)
• Eat fresh fruit instead of Fresh juice. (When you eat fresh fruit you only consume a small portion, a juice can contain a large quantity of fruits)

(Pear, peach, strawberry, pomegranate, apple, orange, grapefruit, melon and kiwi)

Dairies

• Low- fat milk or fat- free yoghurt.

Meat and Poultries

• Consuming low fat meats (remove fats and skin before cooking)
• Consuming white meats
• Ideal cooking methods like boiling, steaming or grilling.

(chicken, egg, fish and less red meat)

Oils and Fats

• Use vegetable based oils when cooking instead of animal based oil.
• Increase consumption of fish, white meat, starchy vegetables and oil.

(olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil)

Foods to avoid / limit when you are a Diabetic

1. Fast food
2. Avoid animal fats
3. Avoid sugary biscuits, fizzy drinks, pastries and ice cream
4. Avoid white rice and white bread
5. Fried starchy foods
6. Reduce consumption of butter or ghee
7. Avoid sugar and sauces or heavy dressings for salad

Lifestyle and Habits to control the Blood sugar naturally

1. Eat fruits and vegetables for proper portion
2. Maintain weight
3. Regular exercise
4. Change eating habits
5. Reduce the consumption of sweets
6. Whole grains and whole wheat

For a Healthy Diet plan

Bread/cereals and carbohydrates

• Oats (½ cup)
• Brown cornflakes
• Bran
• Whole wheat pasta (½ cup)
• A slice of wholemeal bread

Fruits

• Medium size of apple, banana or orange
• Fruit salad (½ cup)
• Dried fruits (⅛ cups)
• Strawberry or other berries (½ cup)
• Slice of melon or water melon

Meats and Poultry

• 90 gram of fish or chicken breast
• 50 gram of nuts
• 1 large egg

Vegetables

• Cooked vegetables
• Vegetable soup (½ cup)
• Vegetable soup (½ cup)
• Salad (1 cup)

Milk and Dairies

• Fat-free or low-fat milk (240 ml)
• Low -fat cheese (1 ½ cup)
• Cottage cheese(1/2 cup)

We can fight this world problem and control it within our hands if we have a discipline and proper knowledge towards Diabetes.

This article is my contribution to Medicinal Cooking Collective challenge (Diabetes) by @eco-alex. Thank you @eco-alex and @ecotrain for raising the awareness of this global disease.

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Image source through Pixabay

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