Diabetes can be easily managed with the inclusion of nuts in your diet. Tree nuts such as almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts are packed full of beneficial nutrients for people with diabetes.
Avoid nuts that are coated in salt — Dobbins notes that sodium is bad for your blood pressure — and sugar. More bad news if you love the sweet-and-savory combo: Chocolate-covered peanuts and honey-roasted cashews are high in carbs and not the best choice when you have diabetes, Dobbins says.
The most important nuts for people with diabetes are probably the ones that improve cardiovascular health: almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, namely. If you only incorporate a few nuts into your diet, choose these ones. But be sure to avoid the salted varieties.
Peanuts — a legume often grouped with nuts — are seemingly low in carbohydrate but can also raise your blood sugar more than you'd expect. Peanut butter often has a small amount of sugar added to it, increasing the carb-count modestly, but it's often enough to raise your blood sugar.
About 28 grams or three-four tablespoons of walnuts may help reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes significantly.
It is normally recommended to consume 6-8 almonds a day but for a diabetic patient, the quantity should be more. Controlling the overall calorie count is very crucial. But the safe limit is 6-8 almonds." Ruchika added.
In a 2018 study, researchers gave 300 participants with type 2 diabetes either a cashew-enriched diet or a typical diabetes diet. Those on the cashew-enriched diet had lower blood pressure and higher levels of HDL cholesterol after 12 weeks. The cashews also had no negative impact on blood glucose levels or weight.
Steel-cut oats are best for type 2 diabetes because they are the least-processed version of oat groats. “Rolled oats have a higher GI than steel-cut oats as they actually have been partially cooked, making them increase your blood sugar faster,” says Kaufman.
Data suggests that pistachios have a glucose- and insulin-lowering effect, promote a healthier metabolic profile, and reverse certain metabolic deleterious consequences of pre-diabetes. Snacking can be tricky for the diabetic. Pistachios seem to be an excellent option to help maintain appropriate glucose levels.
Chock full of unsaturated fat, fiber, and minerals, nuts can help control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Tree nuts, which include walnuts, almonds, and pistachios, seemed to offer the strongest benefits in the study.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes consume fruit in moderation, including bananas. This doesn't mean you should ignore those carbohydrates, but you should consider how many carbs you need daily.
Whilst not regarded as an inherently 'sugary food', nuts naturally contain some sugar (around 2-6g/100g, depending on the nut type) in the form of sucrose. Pistachios contain the most sugar (5.9g/100g) and Brazil nuts the least (2.1g/100g).
Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water is important for everyone, but it's especially important for people with diabetes. Aim for at least eight cups of water per day and try to drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
Apart from the fruits that are good for diabetic people, there are some fruits that a diabetic should avoid as they can raise blood sugar levels. These fruits are cherries, ripped bananas, mangoes, figs, lychees, pineapple, grapes, tangerines, raisins, sweetened cranberries, etc.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommend yogurt as part of a healthful diet for people with diabetes. There are many different types of yogurt available. The examples below are also available with added probiotics: Greek yogurt contains double the protein of conventional yogurt.
Protein-rich foods like eggs can play an important role in regulating blood sugar levels for people with diabetes. Plus, eggs contain many essential vitamins and minerals, and have just 80 calories each.
Milk. Switching to lower-fat milk, such as semi-skimmed milk (green top) from whole milk (blue top), which contains the most fat, is a good start. To make even more of a difference, try 1 per cent fat milk (orange top) or even better skimmed milk (red top).
Apples can be a good snack for people with diabetes. Their fiber may help prevent spikes in blood sugar, and insulin levels, and fructose may be more beneficial for insulin levels than glucose. Apples also contain many nutrients.
Grapes are adored, nourishing fruits and are safe for diabetics. People can eat them and add them to their diabetic diets as they do not harm or spike glucose levels. Consuming grapes help to reduce the susceptibility to developing type 2 diabetes.