Diabetic Friendly Foods to Satiate All the Cravings!

People who are suffering from diabetes mellitus (commonly known as diabetes) are at a higher risk of heart diseases. Along with heart diseases, they are more prone to mental disorders like depression. As per a report, Coronary heart disease is known to be the reason behind the death of 80% of people who have diabetes. Many people suffering from one of the two types of diabetes assume that not eating or eating less than required can help them get over the very problem. Being on a diabetes diet does not mean craving for one's favorite food. However, a balanced diet is way more effective than deprivation. It only calls for nutritious and healthy food choices. One must eat the foods that stave off hunger while not augmenting the effect of diabetes. Sticking to diabetic friendly foods & exercising regularly are two small yet effective lifestyle changes to make. Here's a round-up suggesting some easy to make changes in the regular diet for a diabetic person.

Diabetic Friendly Foods: Replacement to the Cravings!

There are two types of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the body stops producing insulin. Due to which, person suffering needs to take shots of insulin. In type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced in the body, however, the cells are not able to use it effectively. In the beginning, the pancreas produces more insulin to help glucose reach the cells, however, that does not help and the sugar is built up in the blood. In both cases, leaving food to avoid or improve the condition is not helpful. However, eating the right kind of food is a must. Here are some of the diabetic friendly foods one must consider:

1) Raw Fruits/Veggies VS Juice

Fiber helps to keep the stomach full for a longer time and is readily found in raw veggies and fruits. Thus, instead of drinking juices, one must stick to raw fruits and vegetables like orange, apple, carrots, etc. Where orange as fruit has 3g of fiber, orange juice has 0g.

2) Butter/Vegetable Oil VS Cooking Sprays

Butter and vegetable oil are loaded with calories, sodium, and fat. On the contrary, nonstick cooking sprays are low in these categories. One must look for fat-free cooking sprays before buying, to ensure the effective use of the replacement.  In 1 tbsp of butter, there are 100 calories, 12g fat, and 80 mg of sodium. In 1 tbsp of vegetable oil, there are 124 calories, 14g fat, and 0 mg of sodium. On the other hand, 1 nonstick cooking spray serving has 2 calories, 0 g fat, and 0 mg of sodium.

3) Yogurt VS Cream Cheese

Full fat cream that everyone mixes in different desserts and drinks is high in fat and calories. However, it can be easily replaced by yogurt or fat-free ricotta cheese. Instead of putting cream in a blender, one can use these replacements. 1 tbsp of cream cheese has 50 calories and 5 g of fat. However, 1 tbsp of plain yogurt or fat-free ricotta cheese has 15 calories and 0 g of fat.

4) Muffin VS Bagel

One can easily swap saturated fats with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to avoid the risks of heart diseases. Muffin has 158 calories and 4 g of fat, however, the bagel has 156 calories, but only 1 g of fat.

5) Artificial & Natural Sweeteners VS Sugar

Artificial sweeteners are readily available in the market in order to help people suffering from diabetes. These sweeteners taste the same, yet do not add to the blood sugar. These sweeteners pass away from the body with minimal to no absorption. Not only this, one can opt for natural sweeteners as well. Turbinado (raw) sugar, brown sugar (molasses), Barley malt, date sugar, honey, palm sugar, and Organic Cane Sugar are healthier and less processed.

6) Quinoa VS White Rice

Quinoa is better than white rice for diabetic people. These both cook in the same way and are best suited for casseroles and baked dishes. 1/3 cup of white rice cooked has 70 calories, 0 g of fiber and 1 g of protein. However, 1/3 cup of quinoa has 70 calories, 2g of fiber and 3g of protein.

7)  Seasoning Blends VS Salt

One can not control the amount of sodium in the form of salt, food companies, and restaurants add to the food. However, one can always take care of the manual intake of salt. One might not know, but, the amount of sodium in salts is quite higher than that of seasoning blends available in the market. I tbsp of salt contains 2,325 mg of sodium. However, sodium in 1 tbsp of seasoning blends is 2,000 mg sodium.

8) Fat-free Milk VS Whole Milk

Whole milk or pasteurized milk contains 31/2 percent of milk fat and per serving it equals to 8 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat. However, fat-free milk contains less than 1/2 percent milk fat, say, 0 grams of fat, and slightly more protein than the whole milk.

9) Whole Wheat VS All Purpose Wheat

All purpose wheat is good to provide energy as it has refined carbohydrates in it. However, other than that there are little benefits of protein and fiber, which are not present in a huge amount. On the contrary, whole wheat flour has fiber as well as protein. 1 cup of all-purpose flour has 3 g fiber and  13 g protein. On the other hand, 1 cup of whole wheat flour has 15 g of fiber and 16 g of protein.   Bibliogrpahy https://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/diet/sugar-substitutes-for-diabetes/#04 http://www.diabeticlivingonline.com/diabetic-recipes/low-fat/healthy-recipe-substitutions?page=11 http://www.healthcommunities.com/diabetes-diet-and-exercise/diet-trick-15-food-substitutions.shtml https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/type-2-diabetes#3 https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/diet-type-1-diabetes#1