What is pre-diabetes? It's when your blood sugar level is higher than normal. The problem is that it's not high enough yet to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
If you know that you have a history of diabetes in your family or you are overweight and your diet isn't optimal, then you might be at risk for pre-diabetes. One easy way to help prevent a diagnosis of diabetes in the future is to eat a pre-diabetic diet.
In this article below, we will outline all the ins and outs of a pre-diabetic diet.
History of the Pre-Diabetic Diet
The term pre-diabetes was coined in 2003 by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) as they lowered the impaired fasting glucose threshold to an FPG of 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/l). The term was encouraged to make physicians and patients take the risk of diabetes more seriously.
To ensure that patients were making lifestyle changes that were sustainable and effective, the pre-diabetes diet came into being and was perpetuated throughout the world.
What Is Pre-Diabetes?
Pre-diabetes, as mentioned earlier, is when you have higher than normal blood sugar levels. It's a major indicator that if you keep on going on the path you are going on without making any lifestyle or health changes, that you will end up getting Type 2 diabetes.
It's a useful diagnosis to have because it can act as a warning sign for pre-diabetic patients to start making some important changes in their life.
Causes
There are many causes of pre-diabetes. The two major ones are a family history of diabetes and diet. Most people with a family history of diabetes can't do anything about their genetic predisposition to diabetes, but they can improve their diet to reduce the incidence (or the possibility) of diabetes in the future.
What Is the Pre-Diabetic Diet?
The pre-diabetic diet focuses on reducing the glycemic index (GI) of a meal. The reason why diabetes is becoming more prevalent in the world is that too many of us have diets that are high in GI and that cause our blood sugar levels and thus, our insulin levels to move up and down like a yo-yo.
What Are the Health Benefits of the Pre-diabetic Diet?
When you follow the pre-diabetic diet plan carefully, your blood sugar isn't affected by these upturns and downswings. It stays pretty stable, allowing your pancreas to rest and not overproduce insulin to keep up with the blood sugar influx. Thus, your body doesn't get insulin-resistant, alleviating the possibility of getting diabetes or reducing it.
Who Can the Pre-Diabetic Diet Help?
Everyone could do with a better and healthier diet, of course. But some people would do especially well being on the pre-diabetic diet.
People with High Blood Pressure
Having high blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease. But having both high blood pressure and diabetes is a dangerous combination, and many people who have type 2 diabetes also have high blood pressure at the time of their diagnosis.
People with a Family History of Diabetes
If you know that there is a history of diabetes in your family, perhaps one or both of your parents has it, or all your older siblings have it, then it's highly likely that you will end up with a diabetes diagnosis as well.
People Over the Age of 40
If you are over the age of 40, there's a chance that you have accumulated a lifetime of bad eating habits and have been sedentary more often than not. It's also likely that you are overweight or obese because weight gains accumulate over time. All these are risk factors for diabetes and can be alleviated using a pre-diabetic diet.
Foods to Eat
Let's get into the meat (or grain) of the pre-diabetic diet. What does it entail and what foods can you eat on the diet?
Healthier Grains and Starches
Healthier low GI grains and starches like quinoa, barley, farro, buckwheat, and wild rice will ensure that your blood sugar doesn't jump up high. When you eat such grains and starches, being complex sugars, they will cause sugars to be released slowly into your bloodstream. This ensures your blood sugar stays stable and your insulin levels don't become erratic.
Some examples of healthy grains and starches are:
- Quinoa (any colour)
- Buckwheat
- Farro
- Wild rice (not from the rice family despite the name)
- Black, brown, or red rice
- Barley
- Whole wheat bread or pasta
Choose healthier grains like the ones above and you are well on your way to stabilizing your blood sugar levels.
Healthy Proteins
Healthy proteins like eggs and others contain very few simple sugars. Thus, when you eat such healthy proteins, your blood sugar isn't spiked, and your insulin levels stay pretty stable. Some examples of healthy proteins to include in your diet are:
- Eggs
- Lean meats like turkey and chicken
- Fish (salmon is best)
- Cottage cheese
- Tofu (tempeh, natto, and other fermented versions are great too)
- Nuts and seeds (walnuts, brazil nuts, and almonds are best)
You can still eat all of the delicious things you normally eat. That's why a pre-diabetic diet is easy to inculcate into your life and so effective.
Fibrous Foods
Any food with lots of fibre in it is great for a pre-diabetic patient. This is because fibre attaches to the sugars in the food, and doesn't allow it to spike your blood sugar levels as much as food without fibre would. In addition, fibre is great for you, because it keeps you fuller longer, allows you to eat less, helps you lose weight, and helps clean out your digestive system.
Non-Starchy Vegetables
If you are eating only a few kinds of vegetables daily - tomatoes in the form of sauces, and ketchup, potatoes in the form of fries and chips, and onions on your burgers, your vegetable intake will need a huge overhaul. Think non-starchy vegetables like:
- Carrots
- Artichoke
- Celery
- Sweet potatoes (potatoes, if eaten cold, become resistant starches)
- Green leafy vegetables (eat as much as you want of these)
- Asparagus
- Beans
- Eggplant
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Leeks
- Rutabaga
- Turnips
- And so many more
As you can see, the pre-diabetic diet isn't restrictive at all!
Foods to Eat In Moderation
When on a pre-diabetic diet, you need to be careful of some foods and eat them in moderation.
Fruit
Even though fruits get lauded as a healthy food on most diets, for a pre-diabetic patient they can be akin to a bomb dropped into their system. Certain fruits are filled with sugars, and even though they contain fibre, they can still result in a huge blood sugar spike in your body that can raise your insulin levels.
The best option for you has to be berries (of all kinds) and kiwi, as they don't spike your blood sugar as much and are filled with healthy antioxidants which will protect your blood vessels from insulin spikes.
Alcohol (Must Be In Moderation!)
You should reduce the amount of alcohol you drink if you want to ensure you don't end up diabetic. Lots of alcoholic beverages are mixed with sugary drinks, like coke, or fruit juices. If you are going to drink, mix your drinks with water only or drink it straight, and keep it to a maximum of 2 drinks a night.
Foods to Cut Out
The following are foods you should try to cut from your diet as they can be hazardous to someone with pre-diabetes.
Sugary Drinks
As expected, sugary drinks of all kinds, soda, fruit juices, sugary alcoholic beverages, coffee drinks, and more. They spike your blood sugar instantly and cause your insulin levels to rise.
Foods with Added Sugar
Whenever you are about to put a sugary treat into your mouth, consider that processed foods are made so that that that sugar from such treats is absorbed almost instantly and transported to your bloodstream fast! That's why they feel so good. But that's also why they are so bad for pre-diabetic people.
Avoid sweets of all kinds, baked goods (pastries, cakes, cookies and more), jams/jellies, and honey and syrups of all kinds (agave, coconut, and more).
Empty “White Foods”
Many of the foods that Canadians consume are empty calories, that is, they don't have any nutritional value to them, but are just simple sugars that enter your bloodstream quickly and cause your insulin levels to yo-yo.
Avoid white bread, white pasta, white rice, chips, and crackers. Replace them with healthy grains, non-starchy vegetables, and healthy proteins and feel fuller longer.
Protect Your Body with the Pre-Diabetic Diet
If you are ready to protect your future self from diabetes, then you should consider getting on a pre-diabetic diet plan as soon as possible. It's not that hard to insert into your life, and bit by bit, you can ensure that you live a long healthy life without type-2 diabetes.
Check out Insurdinary's comparison of critical illness insurance plans. Take the extra step and cover yourself against medical emergencies.
Insurdinary isn't a medical health service. We are a financial marketing service. Read our legal disclaimer here.
