Looking to prevent diabetes before it starts? You can! While age, gender, race and family history can increase your risk, the disease can be completely prevented through a healthy lifestyle and diet. You have control so don’t assume that if “Aunt B” or “Papa G” had diabetes you will too. When considering how to pursue a healthy lifestyle, begin by incorporating more “whole” foods and removing those that are processed. This is exactly what the writer of the question below is trying to do.
Q: I have pre-diabetes and am trying to lose weight. How many servings of fruit and veggies should I have each day?
Incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet is a great way to boost fiber intake, reduce calorie consumption and prevent disease. Fruits and vegetables are packed with phytochemicals (aka phytonutrients) that research has shown to lower the risk of many types of disease and cancer. Because they are full of fiber, they fill you up and improve GI and heart health. By munching on fruits and veggies at a meal or snack, you are less likely to reach for snack with minimal nutrient value like chips, cookies, candy and processed snack foods.
According MyPyramid, most adults should eat about 2.5-3 cups of vegetables per day and 2 cups of fruit per day. You can find out more about servings for different fruits and veggies at www.mypyramid.gov. It is important for diabetics and pre-diabetics to plan to eat fruit with a source of protein and/or fat to prevent an immediate sharp rise in blood sugar. The protein and fat slow the digestion of the food allowing your body to appropriately handle the blood sugar. Starchy vegetables like corn, peas and potatoes will increase your blood sugar quickly as well, so apply the principle above when eating these.
There are no rules for non-starchy vegetables. Eat as many as you want throughout the day! While we should always consider moderation, this is the one food category containing foods with minimal calories and carbohydrates and loaded with nutrients. Some foods in this group include, greens, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, squash, broccoli, cauliflower and peppers. The more colorful your diet the better because many of the nutrients are concentrated in the deep colors.
By simply focussing on eating more fruits and veggies and eliminating some of the processed foods in your diet, you should begin to see changes in weight and blood glucose levels. Wave goodbye to diabetes because it cannot keep up with you in the race towards health. Run strong!
Want more insight about diabetes prevention/management, check out http://foodpicker.org/
March 22, 2010 at 3:43 pm |
Prevention is our best defense against illness. Thank you for posting this blog. I appreciate it.