Auntie Xu has been suffering from diabetes since she switched from fine grains to coarse grains, “I hate to eat coarse grains every day,” but her blood sugar is getting higher and higher. The doctor asked questions and discovered some of the problems.
The doctor suggested that the main food should be coarse and fine, and that eating more coarse food can help reduce sugar.
After hearing this, Auntie Xu paid attention and every time she ate dinner, she would rack her brain to think of dishes, even if she ate coarse grains, she had to make flowers: Hibiscus corn soup, colorful corn kernels, salted egg yolk pumpkin, plucked sweet potatoes, which is a good intention.
Corn jelly
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Coarse grains are good, but you can’t eat too much of them
In fact, in terms of carbohydrate content, staples such as flour, rice, millet and corn are comparable (about 70+ grams per 100g), roughly between 70% and 80%. However, because millet and corn are rich in dietary fiber, they can slow down the absorption of glucose in the intestine. Therefore, there is a difference in the degree of postprandial blood glucose elevation when consuming the same amount of coarse and fine grains.
Roughage
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For these reasons, people with high blood sugar may want to replace fine grains with coarse grains. And usually, there should be a combination of coarse and fine grains. However, both coarse and fine grains should be prescribed by the diabetic diet, and coarse grains should not be eaten in excess.
Eat less finely processed coarse grains
While eating coarse grains is good for your health, processed coarse grains like instant cereal, grains and beans powder, red bean and barley powder, and other such processed coarse grains are best avoided by diabetics.
These processed “fast foods” often contain large amounts of dextrin. Dextrin is a short-chain hydrolysis product of starch that has been heated or primed by enzymes. Diabetics should not drink porridge because it is boiled and contains a lot of dextrin, which is more easily digested and absorbed than starch, and is broken down into glucose in the body, which raises blood sugar more quickly.
Processed roughage
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For people with diabetes, it’s better to choose coarse grains over fine grains as the glycemic index of unrefined coarse grains is low, for example, rice has a glycemic index of 83.2, brown rice 70, and grits porridge 51.8. Fast glycemic coarse grains that are refined “fast foods” are not really coarse grains.
Glycemic index of common foods
This is how people with diabetes can choose their diet
The 2017 edition of the Chinese Diabetes Dietary Guidelines focuses on people with type 2 diabetes and introduces eight core recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Eat a reasonable diet, eat and move in balance to control blood glucose
1. Exercise at different times has different effects on postprandial blood glucose, and postprandial walking is more effective in lowering postprandial blood glucose;
2. Regular exercise, mainly aerobic exercise, at least 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes each time;
3. People with diabetes should maintain a healthy weight.
Recommendation 2: Ration staple foods, coarse and fine, with 1/3 of whole grains and mixed legumes
1. Staple food “rationing”: particularly important, random increases and decreases can make blood sugar high and low, making it difficult to manage blood sugar; the amount of staple food varies from person to person, depending on one’s height, weight, activity level, and diabetes condition.
2. Match coarse grains with staple foods, accounting for about 1/3: The combination of coarse and fine grains helps stabilize blood sugar and increase satiety, but some sugar lovers eat mainly coarse grains in order to control blood sugar, which is not good for the body in the long run.
Recommendation 3: Eat more vegetables and fruits in moderation, in a variety of types and colors
1. Increase the amount of fresh vegetables: 300-500 grams of daily vegetable intake, with dark vegetables accounting for more than 1/2, including at least 70 grams of green leafy vegetables; it is recommended to eat vegetables for breakfast, lunch and dinner; fruits and vegetables should be rich in variety and color, with red, yellow, purple, green and white all in rotation.
Healthy eating
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2. Sugar lovers can eat fruit: but choose fruit with low glycemic rise, pay attention to the time and amount you eat, and recommend eating fruit between meals, about 150 to 200 grams each time.
1) Fruits suitable for sugar lovers: cucumber, tomato, cherry, watermelon, peach, orange, grapefruit, lemon, strawberry, etc.;
2) Fruits to be used with caution for sugar lovers: bananas, oranges, apples, pears, mangoes, lychees, etc.;
3) Fruits that should not be chosen by sugar lovers: red dates, persimmons, cantaloupe, yellow peaches, etc. Dried and preserved fruits such as dried dates, honey dates, raisins, cinnamon, etc. are especially not recommended.
Recommendation 4: Eat fish and poultry often, eggs and animal meat in moderation, and limit processed meats
1. Eat fish, shrimp, chicken, duck, poultry, and eggs in moderation (no more than 1 egg per day), and cattle, sheep, pig, and livestock meat (this is the main meat we eat, so reduce it appropriately);
2. Limit consumption of processed meat products such as cured, baked, smoked, etc., and reduce fatty meat intake.
Recommendation 5: Dairy beans every day, snacks plus meals reasonable choice
1. Ensure a daily intake of 300 grams of liquid milk or an equivalent amount of dairy products;
2. Emphasize the intake of soybeans and their soy products, 30-50g per day;
3. Snack additions can be low-calorie foods, with nuts such as pistachios and lentils.
Recommendation 6: Eat lightly, drink enough water, and limit alcohol consumption
1. Cooking should be done with less oil and less salt. Adults should keep cooking oil to 30 grams or less and salt to no more than 6 grams per day;
2. It is recommended to drink plain water, but you can also choose light tea and coffee;
3. Alcohol is not recommended for people with diabetes.
Diet and exercise
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Recommendation #7: Eat regularly, chew slowly, and pay attention to meal order
1. Encourage glucose patients to eat less, not more, and at regular intervals (small, frequent meals can help control blood sugar);
2.
2. Control the speed of meals: 15 to 20 minutes for breakfast and about 30 minutes for lunch and dinner;
3. Chew slowly, preferably 25 to 30 times per mouthful of food;
4. Chew slowly, preferably 25 to 30 times per mouthful of food;
4. Change the order of meals (very important! An important means of stabilizing blood sugar): vegetables first, then meat, then the main meal last.
Recommendation 8: Focus on self-management and receive regular individualized nutrition guidance
1. Focus on self-health management: self-management in six areas including diet control, regular exercise, medication compliance, blood glucose monitoring, foot care, and high and low blood glucose prevention and management;
2. Purposeful blood glucose monitoring as needed can help understand the effects of diet, exercise, and medications on blood glucose, while paying attention to preventing hypoglycemia from occurring;
3. Receive regular individualized nutrition coaching from a nutrition (medical) professional at least four times a year (the right diet plan can make all the difference in diabetes management).
This advice, although recommended primarily for people with type 2 diabetes, is a universal dietary guideline for glucose patients that is easy to understand and easy to follow, making self-diet management more feasible and effective.