3 Healthy Eating Strategies for Patients with Diabetes
/
Patients with diabetes have been hearing variations on the same diet advice from the moment of their diagnosis:
Eat more fiber
Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables
Choose lean meats
Avoid processed foods and products with added sugar.
Monmouth County’s podiatry experts at Affiliated Foot & Ankle Center support these tried-and-true strategies. A healthy weight and managed blood sugar means that the devastating effects of diabetes on your feet can be slowed down or even eliminated.
Since November is National Diabetes Awareness month, we’re taking a moment to re-position this classic diet advice. Eating healthy for those with diabetes can look new and fresh when you consider some new strategies like these:
Strategy #1: Piggy-back on the Paleo craze
With a little creativity, it’s possible to enjoy previously forbidden foods “Paleo-style.” For example, you may love Chinese food, but you shouldn’t be indulging in carbohydrate-heavy stir-fried rice. Borrow from the Paleo model by making your own, using no-carb cauliflower rice. Cauliflower that’s chopped into small pieces can be made in your own food processor or bought pre-packaged in the grocery store. Simply search “cauliflower rice” on the web for a ton of great recipes.
Strategy #2: Use all 5 senses to enjoy food
Focus not only on how food tastes, but on how it looks, smells, feels in your mouth, and even how it sounds. Research shows that we associate how a food sounds while we chew it with past experiences. All of our senses, whether we’re aware of them or not, influence how we enjoy food. Slow down and use them all!
Strategy #3: Build a creative plate
Think “variety” when you fill your plate. Fill half with vegetables and change the color of the veggie for each meal. Be creative with different types of protein and carbs that fill the rest of your plate.
There’s no “right” eating strategy for keeping diabetes under control. The plan that’s right for you is the plan that you can stick with and that works. For more creative strategies for a diabetes-appropriate diet, talk to your primary care doctor or one of our board-certified podiatrists, Dr. Samantha Boyd, Dr. Hal Ornstein, Dr. Joseph Saka, or Dr. Katy Statler. Contact us online or call us at our office in Howell, NJ at (732) 905-1110.