Food affects your blood glucose level directly. Some foods can instantly raise your blood glucose as compared to others. So, it becomes more important to managing diabetes is to understand what and how much to eat, what to avoid.

A healthy meal plan for diabetics helps them to stay fit and a healthy lifestyle also helps them to control blood glucose. The three basic nutrients found in foods are protein, carbohydrates (carbs), and fats.

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Important Nutrients In Meal Plan of Diabetics:

Here are the three most basic nutrients in meal plan for diabetics:

Proteins:

Proteins are the most essential part of a balanced diet. It can also help you to keep hunger away. Proteins are not directly shot up your blood sugar level like carbs. However, protein also helps to maintain your weight. If you are diabetic, then protein makes insulin work faster. It doesn’t mean you start trying to control your blood sugar level by protein shakes.

Carbohydrates (carbs):

Sugar, starches, and fiber in foods are carbs like grains, fruits, vegetables, sweets, and milk products. Crabs raise your blood sugar level faster and higher than other nutrients in foods like proteins and fats. If you are a diabetic person then you should know what foods contain carbs and the amount of carbs in a particular meal is helpful to control your blood sugar control. Carbohydrates or carbs are also important for energy. So, choosing carbs from healthy sources like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is preferred over carbs from sources with added sugars, fat, and salt.

Fats:

Fats are also one of the necessary parts of a balanced diet. Especially when we talk about healthy fats from fatty fish, nuts, and seeds. These fats do not raise blood sugar levels but are high in calories and can cause weight gain.

Meal Plan For Diabetics: Food To Eat And Avoid With Diabetes

There is a list of food item that you can add in the meal plan for diabetes:

Vegetable to Add in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Leafy green vegetables
• Bottle Gourd
• Brinjal
• Ladyfinger
• Tomato
• Zucchini
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower

Vegetable to Avoid in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Potato
• Carrot
• Beetroot
• Sweet potato
• Turnip
• Lotus stem
• Pumpkin
• Peas
• Jack fruit

Fruits to Add in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Apple
• Orange
• Guava
• Pomegranate
• Berries
• Papaya
• Pears
• Jamun
• Plums

Fruits to Avoid in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Mango
• Grapes
• Muskmelon
• Chikoo
• Banana
• Custard apple
• Pineapple
• Kinoo
• Sarda

Cereals to Add in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Bajra
• Buckwheat(Kuttu)
• Whole wheat
• Ragi

Cereals to Avoid in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Suji
• Refined flour
• Corn flour

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Nuts to Add in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Almonds
• Walnuts
• Peanuts

Nuts to Avoid in the Diabetics Meal Plan:

• Raisins
• Dates
• Cashew
• Pistachio
• Dry Apricot

Understand the Glycemic Index:

A diabetic person should use the glycemic index to select foods, especially carbohydrates. It is a method that ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on their effect on blood sugar levels. Consult with your dietitian about this method.

A Sample Meal Plan for Diabetics:

Whenever you are planning your meals, plan according to your weight and activity level. The following diabetic meal plan can help someone who needs 1,200 to 1,600 calories a day.

Empty stomach – A glass of soaked cinnamon or Methi water.

Breakfast (9-10 AM) –  There are so many options that you can opt-in your breakfast

•  Toned milk or Green tea or Tea without sugar Or Coffee without sugar (1 cup)
• Oats with milk or Vegetable Poha or Vegetable Daliya (1 bowl) or Stuffed chapatti or Besan chilla or Moong dal chilla or Oats chilla or Vegetable sandwich or Paneer Sandwich (1-2).

Mid –Morning –Fruits (apple/papaya/guava/moasmi/jamun/pear) (100 gm) or Coconut water/lemon water /butter milk.(100 ml)

Lunch (1-2 PM) –

• Wheat or Multigrain chapatti (1-2) or Brown rice (1 quarter plate )
• Vegetable 1 bowl
• Whole dal 1 bowl
• Curd (low fat) or Raita (any curd preparations)

Evening (4-5 PM)-

Tea with sugar-free biscuits or Fresh vegetable soup or Sprouts chaat or Roasted channa -1 bowl or Namkeen Dhokla or Khandvi or Besan chilla(1-2)

Dinner (8-9 PM)-

• Wheat chapatti or Multigrain chapatti or Oats idli with sambhar or Pao bhaji (1-2) or Brown rice biryani (1 quarter plate)
• Vegetable (1 bowl)
• Whole dal (1bowl)
• Curd (low fat) or Raita(any curd preparations)

Bedtime (10.30-11 PM)- skimmed milk without sugar or green tea or Methi water

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