Contents
What Is Type 2 Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how a person’s body uses blood glucose. This type of diabetes often causes obesity. obesity. It usually occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or cells in the body. It also happens when they do not react to it properly. Diabetes symptoms include frequent urination, increased thirst/hunger & blurred vision so if you experience any one of these consult a doctor immediately. Read this to gain more knowledge about the best diet for type 2 diabetes.
Most cases of type two diabetes are preventable. These are by maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, exercising regularly, and managing any other health conditions. These other health conditions are high cholesterol or hypertension. Type two diabetes accounts for about 90% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes worldwide. This makes this disease severely debilitating across virtually every country.
Importance of Diet In Diabetes?
Diets are very important in managing diabetes. This is because it helps in keeping blood glucose levels under control without causing too much stress on the body. Diabetes is a disease that requires you to have regular eating schedules and stick with your diet plan. By this, you can go a long way in ensuring that you are able to manage your condition well.
What Are The Best Diets For Type Two Diabetes?
There are many different diets out there that claim to be the best diet for type 2 diabetes. The truth is, they all have their strengths and weaknesses. If you want to start a diet plan, it’s important to know what are the options. These are before making any decisions. In this, there are some of the best diets for type 2 diabetes. This is in order to help you make an informed decision about which one might work best for your needs.
There are different diets for type two diabetes, which include:
Low Carbohydrate Diets
In this type of diet, the focus is on limiting carbohydrate intake. This means that you can only eat fruits that have low amounts of carbohydrates in them. You can also have vegetables with very few carbs too. The process involves reducing your daily calorie consumption as well as fat and proteins by up to 50%. These are depending on how much body weight you want or need to lose. Low-carbohydrate diets aim at pushing the human body into a state known as ketosis. This is where it uses fats instead of glucose for energy production.
This type of dietary approach is an effective way for people suffering from diabetes. This is because they can consume fewer calories without feeling hungry all the time. It is while still maintaining their blood sugar levels under control. It also helps those who find it hard to stick to a low-fat diet. This is because they can still eat other fats. These foods are like olive oil and fatty fish.
Paleolithic Diet
The paleolithic diet is one that follows the eating habits of our ancestors during the stone age era. It is where grains were not consumed as primary food sources. This type of dietary approach aims at reducing carbs even more than that allowed by keto diets. It also encourages you to limit your consumption of dairy products too if possible. This is because early humans did not domesticate animals. It is until after the agricultural revolution occurred which only happened around ten thousand years ago. The focus here is on foods high in fat & protein. These are especially meats white bread, pasta, cereal, etc. These are generally banned except for those who have complex carbohydrates (starch). Some examples are legumes.
Mediterranean Diet
The Mediterranean diet is based on the eating habits of people who live in countries like Greece and Italy where they consume a lot of olive oil, fruits & vegetables, fish as well as other healthy fats. This type of dietary approach involves making small changes that you can stick to for your daily food intake rather than completely changing what you eat overnight which will be difficult for most people to follow through with long-term. The focus here should be more on reducing carbs slightly while maintaining high consumption levels of proteins & fat, especially those found in nuts & seeds because these are considered better options compared to cereal grains or dairy products when it comes to improving diabetes conditions among individuals living an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.
Dash Diet
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is one that aims at reducing your intake of sodium while increasing the amount you get from foods like fruits & vegetables. The focus here should be on eating healthy, whole foods rather than processed ones because these tend to have higher levels of salt and sugar which can lead to several complications when it comes to diabetes management. This type of dietary approach has been found beneficial for people with type two diabetes especially if their condition involves high blood pressure as well since this makes it easier for them to control both conditions simultaneously instead of having one or the other.
Volumetrics Diet
The Volumetrics diet is a dietary approach that encourages you to consume low-calorie foods, but with high volumes. This type of eating plan focuses on how much food you eat rather than what exactly it is since many people find it easier to stick to their diets this way. In practical terms, the emphasis should be more on incorporating healthy options like fruits & vegetables which contain larger amounts of water and fiber into your daily meals while cutting back from fatty or sugary choices whenever possible.
Biggest Loser Diet
The Biggest Loser diet is one that employs the use of meal replacements & protein shakes for weight loss which is often provided by medical professionals. The problem with this type of dietary approach is that it can be difficult to maintain in real-life situations since most people who suffer from diabetes need healthier options like fruits or vegetables instead, not powdered drinks.
Ornish Diet
This diet is based on the methods used by Dr. Dean Ornish who has found it effective for people living with diabetes to help them control their condition better. The focus here is mostly on avoiding certain types of fat & cholesterol while increasing your consumption levels from healthy options like vegetables, fruits, legumes & soy because these are considered helpful in keeping blood sugar levels under check without causing too many dietary restrictions or changes that you may have a hard time sticking to over an extended period of time.
Atkins Diet
Famous cardiologist Robert C started this diet. Atkins back in 1972 as a solution for controlling his patients’ weight problems through carbohydrate restriction which he believed could be done safely if they only followed the guidelines he set out himself instead of blindly following whatever their doctors told them. The focus here should be on reducing carbs from your daily diet while increasing consumption levels of proteins & fats, especially those found in meat because these have been shown to cause less strain on the heart compared to other choices like cereal grains or dairy products which are considered problematic for people suffering from diabetes conditions.
Paleo Diet
The Paleo diet is one that has gained a lot of momentum ever since Dr. Loren Cordain published his book about it back in 2002 with the goal being similar to Atkins’ approach. It is without completely eliminating non-vegetable carbohydrates from your menu options either. In practical terms, this means teaching individuals how they can incorporate healthy sources of carbohydrates into their diets. This is by consuming things like fruit and whole grains at the same time as your meals. These are while removing other types of foods that can be problematic for people with diabetes. Some food examples are dairy products and cereal grains.
Flexitarian Diet
This type of dietary approach is currently gaining traction with people. These are those who want to incorporate healthier choices into their diets. It is without having to completely cut certain things out. The focus here should be on choosing plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables & legumes instead of meat which has been shown to provide better results for individuals who suffer from diabetes compared to the Atkins or Paleo diet that only focuses on one type of food group.
Sugar Busters Diet
Drs. H and Jacqueline A Tauro developed sugar busters diet. It was back in 1998 as a solution for improving blood sugar levels through dietary changes aimed at removing different types of sugars & carbohydrates found in common foods like baked goods while increasing consumption levels from healthy options like fresh fruits, vegetables & whole grains instead.
South Beach Diet
Dr. Arthur Agatston developed this diet. It was back in 2003 following his own personal battle against heart disease. He was able to successfully defeat this through dietary changes. He incorporated a low-carb approach into his daily health routine with the goal being similar here too, only without completely eliminating carbs from your menu options either just like what’s done on the Flexitarian diet. In practical terms, this means teaching individuals how they can incorporate healthy sources of carbohydrates into their diets while removing foods known for causing problems to people who eat them including dairy products & cereal grains along with other things like processed meats or baked goods containing high amounts of sugar instead.
Benefits of Type 2 Diabetes Diet
These are some benefits of a type 2 diabetes diet:
- Following a diet helps to lower the cancer risk.
- Maintaining a healthy diet helps to lower the risk of heart disease.
- Reducing weight through dietary changes can significantly reduce blood sugar levels & improve insulin resistance issues over time.
- It helps to lower blood pressure issues.
- It can also help to reduce the risk of kidney disease and other related problems. Type 2 diabetes can be a cause of these problems.
- This helps in increasing the life expectancy of a person with type II diabetes.
- The dietary changes that are included in this approach can also help to reduce the fatigue experienced by people who suffer from type two diabetes issues.
Conclusion
It is important to find the best diet for Type 2 diabetes if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The right kind of food will help your body function better. It may even prevent or slow down the progression of this serious disease. You have many options when it comes to following an effective type 2 diabetes diet, so take some time researching what works best for you. You can also Contact Mantra Care for more information related to diabetes.
If you are facing diabetes-related issues, MantraCare is here to help. Book your free trial online diabetes consultation session now to connect with a specialist diabetologist.