“A diabetes-friendly breakfast is one that includes a combination of carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats in the right proportions, which helps balance blood sugar,” says Al Bochi. A simple diabetes-friendly breakfast she recommends is a plate of eggs and avocado on whole-grain toast.
Tips for healthy breakfasts for diabetes:
Switch from white toast to wholegrain versions like seeded batch bread, multi-seed, granary, soya and linseed. These are better for your diabetes and digestive health. They're more filling, too. If you're making rotis and chapattis, use wholewheat flour.
However, it is often high in carbohydrates, so people with diabetes may wonder if they can still eat it. The good news is that bread can form part of a healthy diabetes eating plan. It is one of many carbohydrate-containing foods a person can choose to include within their carbohydrate budget for each meal or snack.
How Much Bread Can You Eat with Diabetes? "People with diabetes can eat bread as long as it fits either their meal plan or within their carbohydrate counting allowance," says Kitty Broihier, M.S., RD, LD. "In general, that means choosing a slice that has 15 grams of carbohydrates for sandwiches."
Even high-quality, whole grain starches elevate blood glucose to some degree, so it's still important to limit portions — stick with ½ to ¾ cup cooked grains or just 1 slice of bread at meals.
Try to eat more of the following: oats, pasta, rice (particularly basmati or brown varieties), wholemeal, granary and rye breads, wholegrain cereals (e.g. Shredded Wheat, Weetabix, Porridge, Branflakes), wholegrain crackers, fruit, vegetables and salad, beans and pulses e.g. lentils, butter beans, kidney beans.
But white and whole-grain breads have a high glycemic index (GI), meaning they can quickly and steeply raise blood sugar since they're made with refined wheat flour, a carb your body processes quickly. Levels data shows that this popular food combination is a common culprit of glucose spikes.
That said, the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found toasting bread does have one health benefit. It lowers the glycemic index, so it is less likely than regular bread to spike blood sugar. Toasting bread does not lower calorie count. If you want to toast your bread, lightly toast it.
Eating a healthy breakfast is important for everyone, especially for people who have diabetes. A morning meal can help keep blood sugar steady throughout the day.
People with type 2 diabetes should limit or avoid high-fat cuts of meat, such as regular ground beef, bologna, hot dogs, sausage, bacon, and ribs, because like full-fat dairy, they're high in saturated fats, explains Kimberlain.
Oatmeal, that hearty, humble breakfast staple, can be a great addition to a diabetes diet. A widely available whole grain, oats are rich in fiber along with essential minerals, such as magnesium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and iron, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
While toasting bread is proven to lower its glycaemic index, giving it a less dramatic effect on blood sugar and insulin levels, there are a few disadvantages of toasting your bread. Starchy foods like bread naturally contain the amino acid asparagine.
The glycemic index is a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods. About 140 grams of tomato has a GI of less than 15, which makes it a low GI food and an excellent food for diabetics. Any food that has a GI score lower than 55 is good for diabetics.
Healthy, low GI food choices
Milk and dairy foods – reduced or low-fat varieties of milk and dairy foods are the best choices for people with diabetes. Bread – wholegrain, fruit loaf and sourdough. Breakfast cereals – traditional porridge, natural muesli and some high fibre varieties.
Unless you have a medical condition such as celiac disease, wheat allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is no need for you to avoid bread! In fact, bread can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet every day – yes that is correct, every day!
When you pair peanut butter with whole-grain toast you're getting a healthy dose of fiber and protein as well, which also help fuel your morning and keep you full.
While eating bread every day can help you reach those nutrient goals for the day, it is still a carbohydrate-containing food that can cause a spike in blood sugar, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Limit or avoid refined grains and sugars.
If cereal is your go-to breakfast, look for options that are low in added sugar (aim for less than 5g per serving) and higher in fiber (at least 3g per serving). You can apply this same rule to other sweet breakfast foods like muffins or granola bars.
How Many Eggs Can People With Type 2 Diabetes Eat? Both research and health experts indicate that individuals living with type 2 diabetes, or at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, can include between 6 - 12 eggs per week as part of an overall healthy diet. So you can enjoy up to 2 eggs, 6 times a week.
Move breakfast earlier.
A study in Chicago recently discovered that adults who ate their first meal before 8:30 a.m. each day showed lower insulin resistance compared with those who ate after 8:30 a.m., regardless of their eating interval duration.
Potatoes and diabetes. Share on Pinterest In moderation, a person with diabetes may eat potatoes. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommend eating starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, as part of a healthful diet. Starch is a complex carbohydrate that takes the body longer to break down than simple sugars.
If you have been diagnosed with any diabetes type, you can consider including millet cookies, multi-grain sugar-free cookies, sugar-free biscuits, oats and almond cookies, etc. Britannia nutrichoice is also a good biscuit choice for diabetics.
High in fiber and protein, beans are digested slowly in your body, making them great for managing blood glucose levels in a type 2 diabetes diet. Just ¼ cup of any type of beans will provide as much protein as 1 ounce (oz) of a meat protein equivalent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).