Best Diet Plan To Reverse Prediabetes
A great thing about prediabetes is that it is often reversible. In most cases, you do not even need medications, all you may need are the right diet plan, additional healthy lifestyle choices such as exercising and avoiding smoking, and a lot of dedication and patience.
There is no single “best diet plan for prediabetes”. If you ask 100 people, “What is the best diet for prediabetes?,” you may get 100 different answers â and they may all be correct.
Your plan should help you control your weight, provide the nutrients and healthy foods you need to lower risk for diabetes and other chronic diseases, and fit into your lifestyle so that you can make it work for the long term.
There are guideline to healthy eating when you have prediabetes, which we’ll go over below.
Foods To Eat In Moderation
While Chan notes that the bulk of your calories should come from whole foods like vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and lean proteins, you can still allow yourself an occasional treat.
Below are some examples of healthy treats you can occasionally enjoy on a prediabetic diet, according to Chan:
- Strawberries or cherries with dark chocolate
- Black bean brownies
- Homemade granola made with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit
- Arrowroot cookies or cookies made with almond flour
- Baked apple topped with cinnamon and vanilla Greek yogurt
- One-ingredient “ice cream” made with blended frozen banana and topped with chopped nuts
- Frozen yogurt with mixed berries and shredded coconut
As for how often you can enjoy these treats â your doctor or dietitian can help guide you, but as a general rule, try to limit your daily calories from sugar to about 5%. So for a 2,000 calorie diet, that would equate to 25 grams of sugar.
Results Of Following A Diabetes
Your specific results depend on where you started before embarking on your diabetes-friendly diet journey. But Palinski-Wade notes that there are short- and long-term results you can expect.
Pretty quickly, you should see benefits to your blood sugar at the outset. You will start to see your daily blood glucose readings improve within a few days, she says. Then youll notice your A1C start to get better in three to six months. These are a measurement of your blood sugar levels on average of the past three months, so consistent improvement for at least three months needs to happen to see this number decrease, Palinski-Wade adds.
If your doctor advises you to lose weight, making these diet changes along with increasing your activity level can help you lose weight and shed body fat. Be careful about monitoring the scale too closely in the early days. Its important to note that if your blood sugar levels were uncontrolled and weight loss resulted from this, you may notice an initial weight gain as blood sugar comes back to a normal level. Do not be discouraged. Generally, this weight gain is minimal, and once blood sugar stabilizes, weight stabilizes as well, she says.
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Watch Carbs With The Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a tool you can use to determine how a particular food could affect your blood sugar.
Foods that are high on the GI will raise your blood sugar faster. Foods ranked lower on the scale have less effect on your blood sugar spike. Foods with high fiber are low on the GI. Foods that are processed, refined, and void of fiber and nutrients register high on the GI.
Refined carbohydrates rank high on the GI. These are grain products that digest quickly in your stomach. Examples are white bread, russet potatoes, and white rice, along with soda and juice. Limit these foods whenever possible if you have prediabetes.
Foods that rank medium on the GI are fine to eat. Examples include whole-wheat bread and brown rice. Still, they arent as good as foods that rank low on the GI.
Foods that are low on the GI are best for your blood sugar. Incorporate the following items in your diet:
- stone-ground whole wheat bread
- nonstarchy vegetables, such as carrots and field greens
Food and nutrition labels dont reveal the GI of a given item. Instead make note of the fiber content listed on the label to help determine a foods GI ranking.
Remember to limit saturated fat intake to reduce the risk of developing high cholesterol and heart disease, along with prediabetes.
Eating mixed meals is a great way to lower a foods given GI. For example, if you plan to eat white rice, add vegetables and chicken to slow down the digestion of the grain and minimize spikes.
When Should I Eat If I Have Diabetes
Some people with diabetes need to eat at about the same time each day. Others can be more flexible with the timing of their meals. Depending on your diabetes medicines or type of insulin, you may need to eat the same amount of carbohydrates at the same time each day. If you take mealtime insulin, your eating schedule can be more flexible.
If you use certain diabetes medicines or insulin and you skip or delay a meal, your blood glucose level can drop too low. Ask your health care team when you should eat and whether you should eat before and after physical activity.
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Things You Should Do Every Day If You Have Prediabetes According To Dietitians
According to the American Diabetes Association, 96 million Americans 18 years and older had prediabetes in 2019. Being diagnosed with prediabetes doesn’t mean you’ll develop type 2 diabetes, especially if you follow a treatment plan and make healthy lifestyle choices. For some folks with prediabetes, moderate lifestyle changes can actually bring blood sugar levels back to a normal range, which can help prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Below are six healthy habits you can do daily that are recommended by registered dietitian nutritionists who specialize in prediabetes.
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Is The Nhs Advice Sensible
Whilst a number of these points are undoubtedly sensible, some of the recommendations have been criticized by patients and some leading UK healthcare professionals.
The following points are sensible:
- Eat plenty of vegetables
- Cut down on salty processed foods
However, some of the recommendations may inadvertently lead to poorer diet choices.
The recommendations for people with diabetes to eat plenty of starchy carbohydrate and avoid fat from meat and dairy could lead to poorer blood glucose control, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes.
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Understanding The Glycemic Index Scale
- Low GI: 55 or less
- Medium GI: 56â69
- High GI: 70â100
Low GI foods include 100% whole wheat bread and pasta, beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, sweet potatoes, and steel-cut oats. In a prediabetes diet, medium GI foods, such as corn, brown rice, and whole wheat bread, may be consumed in moderation.
High GI foods significantly impact your blood sugar levels due to their lack of fiber and should be consumed minimally on a prediabetes diet. These include sugary beverages, white rice and bread, fruit juice, and white potatoes.
While enjoying foods from each category is OK, emphasizing low GI foods will be most beneficial to your blood sugar management and overall health.
The Glycemic Index Helps You Pick Foods That Will Not Cause Dramatic Changes In Blood Sugar
The Glycemic Index is a number that tells you how fast or how slow your body converts carbohydrates into blood sugar. The scale ranges from 1 to 100 for a prediabetes diet, the lower the number, the better:
- 55 or less = Low
- 56 – 69 = Medium
- 70 or higher = High
Research suggests that focusing on foods with low-glycemic index carbohydrates and high fiber may protect against diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Specifically, another study found that increased fiber may improve glucose control within the cardiovascular system. You can use food labels to estimate the Glycemic Index value of a particular food. There are also efforts to add a “low GI” symbol to packaged foods.
Glycemic Index labeling is also supported by various scholarly publications. There are a few things to keep in mind, however. The Glycemic Index value for a specific food can vary depending on:
- How you cook it
- For example, the longer you cook pasta, the lower the glycemic index.
- The glycemic index increases in fruits as they ripen.
As we have mentioned elsewhere, portion size is nearly as important as the specific food you eat. Within the GI framework, this is called Glycemic Load. Whereas the index indicates how quickly glucose enters the blood stream, Glycemic Load tells you how much glucose per serving could be introduced into your system.
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List Of Grains And Starches Good For Pre
Starches and grains form an important part of a pre-diabetes diet. The requirement of these foods depends on the sex, age, and activity level of the pre-diabetic individual, but varies from 150 to 250 gm a day for most adults aged over 19 years. For managing their health and weight, 50% of a pre-diabetics grain and starch choice should be whole-grains. Whole-grain foods contain more fiber than refined grain foods, and since fiber takes longer to get digested, it keeps the individual feeling fuller for long. Brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole-grain pasta, cereal, and crackers, oatmeal, pretzels, popcorn and quinoa are good starch and grain choices for pre-diabetics.
Help Lose Weight While Reducing Your Hunger:
As a ketogenic diet emphasizes fats over carbohydrates, it suppresses your appetite, which means you wont be hungry as frequently. This indirectly aids in quick weight loss.
People who follow a low-carb diet tend to lose weight faster than those who follow a low-fat diet.
Carbohydrates increase the production of insulin, the bodys primary fat-storing hormone. By lowering the quantity of insulin in your bloodstream, your body will be prompted to burn its existing fat reserves rather than create new ones.
Low-carb and keto diets are heavy in fats and proteins, which have been reported in studies to lower appetite and reduce calorie intake.
Many studies have suggested that low-carb diets cause fast weight reduction in the first 6 to 12 months. Weight reduction is not just due to water loss but also due to fat loss. In terms of long-term diet maintenance, research suggests that a low-carb diet is the most efficient approach to losing weight and keeping it off.
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Stay Safe When Blood Glucose Is High
If you have type 1 diabetes, avoid vigorous physical activity when you have ketones in your blood or urine. Ketones are chemicals your body might make when your blood glucose level is too high, a condition called hyperglycemia, and your insulin level is too low. If you are physically active when you have ketones in your blood or urine, your blood glucose level may go even higher. Ask your health care team what level of ketones are dangerous for you and how to test for them.Ketones are uncommon in people with type 2 diabetes.
Best Lunch: Mega Salads
No surprise for any meal plan, but particularly for a prediabetes diet, non-starchy veggies should take up the most space on your plate. This includes picks like leafy greens, zucchini, broccoli, bell peppers, onions, mushroomsthe list goes on! Not only does a larger intake of produce help drive down type 2 diabetes risk, but these foods are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber, plus thousands of phytonutrients, which work in numerous ways to protect your heart and keep blood sugar under control.
Feel free to top your mega salad with legumes, like lentils or beans, or lean meats like sliced chicken, plus an olive oil-based vinaigrette.
Taste of Home
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Best Choices For Oils
Oils are a concentrated source of calories and intake needs to be limited, especially when trying to lose weight. Most adults need 5 to 7 teaspoons of oil, according to the USDA. Vegetable oils are low in saturated fat and make healthier choices than animal fats, like butter. Good oil choices for people with pre-diabetes include:
- Cooking oil, including olive, safflower and canola
- Salad dressings
Cut Out Sugary Drinks
As we know, several factors increase the risk of prediabetes. One of these is sugary drink intake. A study looked at the association between prediabetes and which foods were available to patients at home.
The study included 8929 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2007 and 2010. The results showed that those participants who had more access to sugary drinks tended to have prediabetes.
Sugary drinks should be avoided and include the following:
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What To Drink When You Have Diabetes
Your choice of drinks can make a difference in your blood sugar levels. Palinski-Wade recommends focusing on unsweetened beverages, such as water and seltzer.
If you like coffee or tea, you may notice that caffeine increases your blood sugar levels, so Palinski-Wade advises monitoring your glucose response after consuming these drinks to see where you stand.
Glycemic Index Vs Glycemic Load
For example, watermelon has a high Glycemic Index value , but a Glycemic Load of only 5 because the food has relatively little carbohydrates. You can calculate a food’s glycemic load by multiplying the per-serving carbohydrate level by the glycemic index and dividing by 100. Above 20 is high, 11 to 19 is moderate, and 10 and below is considered low.
Ultimately, when building a meal plan to better regulate your blood sugar, it is important to be mindful of all three key metrics:
- The total carbohydrates in your food
- The speed with which a food will increase your blood glucose: glycemic index
- The ultimate level to which your blood glucose could rise: glycemic load
This is just a start for your prediabetes diet. See our full list of glycemic index foods.
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Be Mindful Of Portion Sizes
Paying attention to portion sizes can help you keep your diet low on the GI scale.
Often, portions sizes in the United States are much larger than intended serving sizes. Food labels can help you determine how much youre actually eating. The label will list calories, fat, carbohydrates, and other nutrition information for a particular serving.
If you eat more than the serving listed, its important to understand how that will affect the nutritional value. A food may have 20 grams of carbohydrates and 150 calories per serving. If you have 2 servings, youll consume 40 grams of carbohydrates and 300 calories.
However, its not necessary to eliminate carbohydrates entirely.
A large 2018 study in more than 15,000 adults showed that a lower carb diet is associated with the same mortality risk increase as a high carb diet in adults.
The study noted minimal risk observed when people consumed a moderate amount of carbohydrates . On a 1,600-calorie diet, this would equal 200 to 220 grams of carbohydrates daily.
This is in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendation to consume 45% to 65% of daily calories from carbohydrates. Spreading intake evenly throughout the day is best.
Carbohydrate needs vary based on your stature and activity level. Its a good idea to consult a registered dietitian to discuss your specific needs.
Avoid cuts of meat, such as beef, that have visible fat or skin.
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Recommendations For Limiting Sugar
The World Health Organization advises limiting added sugars to less than 10% of your total energy intake. For added health benefits, you would limit sugar calories to 5% or less of your total.
For example, for someone on a 2,000-calorie daily diet, if they are following the 10% guideline, they would limit sugar calories to about 50 grams, which is about 12 teaspoons. For the 5%, they would stick to 25 grams, or about six teaspoons.
The American Heart Association is a little more stringent, and for people at risk for heart disease, including those with prediabetes, it recommends less than six teaspoons of sugar a day for women and less than nine teaspoons a day for men.
Thats not a lot. Seymour points out that one can of soda contains about 32 grams of sugar, which is about eight teaspoons.
We urge our patients to watch what they drink, Seymour says, noting that sweetened beverages such as sodas, sports drinks, juices and gourmet coffee shop creations account for some of the biggest concentrated sources of added sugar. Just one of these beverages can take up your entire recommended allotment of sugar for the day or even several days.
The 5-20 Rule
Another way to assess whether a product is overly high in sugar is to read the nutrition label. The general rule for sugar content is choose products with a sugar content of 5% or less of the daily requirement and avoid items in which the amount of sugar is 20% or more of the daily requirement, Seymour says.
A Professional Can Help Customize A Prediabetic Meal Plan
Because everyone is different and many people with prediabetes have other health issues, Seymour says it is important to tailor prediabetes food plans to the individual. For instance, patients with high cholesterol may do better with a lower-fat approach, while those with high A1C may benefit from a meal plan thats lower in carbohydrates.
Working with a doctor or dietitian can be helpful. People diagnosed with prediabetes can ask their primary care practitioner for a referral to a local registered dietitian, Seymour says. That way, they can get individual counseling to achieve their health goals.
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