Position statement: Efficacious suggestion from the doctor’s team of Aimil Health Care

December 16, 2017 | Blog

Food Recommendations and Interventions for type 2 Diabetes:

Food recommendations are of great significance in forestalling diabetes, managing existing diabetes and in the improvement of complexities related to diabetes. The aim of these recommendations is to make people, diabetics and healthcare providers aware about the beneficial dietary interventions. Food recommendations, as illustrated in table-1 play a major role at four levels:

Maintains the blood glucose levels in the normal range or as close to normal range.
Decrease the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease by promoting healthy food choices.
Preventing or slowing down the rate of emerging complications of diabetes by
modifying dietary intake.
Maintaining the pleasure of eating by only limiting food choices.

Food category	Recommended food to eat	Occasionally recommended food	Food not to eat
Total grams of carbohydrate should be individualized based on glucose control, medication and physical activity. Consume more complex (unrefined) carbohydrates with fiber.
Whole Grains	Multi grain flour (wheat, Sorghum, Millet barley, Pearl Millet); Roasted chickpeas; Gram flour, Oatmeal.	Semolina (suji), Boiled brown Rice	White four, Bread
Fruit consumption should be done twice daily, preferably with lunch and dinner. One serving equals: ½ c. canned fruit or juice, or 1 c. fresh fruit. Avoid juices (except when hypoglycemic) which may cause the blood glucose to rise very rapidly.
Fruits	Berries, gooseberry, Papaya, Cherries, Guava, Plum, Kiwi, Sweet orange	Apple, Orange, Pomegranate, Watermelon, Unripe banana	Grapes, Lychee, Mango, Banana, Sapota, Sugar cane, Dates, Custard apple, Muskmelon
Eat 4–6 servings of non-starchy vegetables each day. One serving equals: ½ c. cooked vegetable, ½ c. vegetable juice, or 1 c. raw vegetable.
Vegetables	Tomato, Onion, Garlic, Bitter Gourd, Cabbage, Brinjal, Fenugreek Leaf, Peas, Pointed Gourd, Radish, Turnip, Cucumber, Beans, Lady finger,Lotus Stem,drum-stick,Chenopodium (Bathua), lemon	Beetroot, Jackfruit, Potato, Sweet Potato, Carrot	Potato, Colocasia (Arbi)
Eat 2-3 dried fruit in number for fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants
Dry fruits	Almonds, Walnuts, Pine Nut (Chilgoja)	Cashew nut and Figs	Prunes and Raisin
Limit liquid consumption to moderate amount (less than 1 drink per day for adult women and less than 2 drinks per day for adult men, 1 drink = 180ml)
Beverages	Vegetable juice, lemonades, Soups, goose berry juice	Coconut water	Soft drinks, Sweet lemonades, Syrups; Alcohol (Use with doctor’s approval)
Sucrose containing food can be substituted for other Carbohydrate choices in the meal plan, if added to the meal plan.
Calorie Sweeteners	Rich fibre biscuits	Sugar free tablet, sucralose, or Sugar free and sucralose containing substance	*sugar, jaggery, powdered jaggery,* jam, sweets, chocolates, cakes, pastry**
Limited intake of dietary cholesterol
Dairy products	Skimmed milk, butter milk with salt, Paneer	Curd, Home-made-butter.	Fried paneer, Condensed milk
Use more of mono-unsaturated fats, i.e., olive oil or corn oils. Limited use of saturated fat, trans fatty acids (found in most commercially baked products).
Fat	Mustard oil, Olive oil, Mix cooking oil	Fried foods, Home-made-butter.	Refined oils, Ghee
Pulse consumption contributes to reduction of food intake and regulation of body weight, which helps in reducing risk of obesity and, in turn, improves the management of diabetes.
Pulses	All pulses	Kidney Beans,Chickpeas white	No pulse restricted
Conventional dietary methods to treat Diabetes include the use of culinary herbs and/or spices.
Spices	Cinnamon, Nigella, black Cumin, Fenugreek seeds etc. And rest all spices can also be taken. (Choose low-sodium salt)	Avoid sauces and Red chilli powder	High sodium salt and Chilli
Others	Green tea, tea and coffee without sugar	High fibre fast food like salad burgers.	Tea and coffee with sugar, Samosa, Chole bhaturay, Macaroni, Pasta and Chayavanprash,

Conclusion: Major food recommendations and interventions for diabetes listed in Table 1. Monitor the metabolic parameters, including glucose, A1C, lipids, blood pressure, body weight, and renal function to ensure successful outcomes.