What are the best foods for you, if you are a diabetic?
Go easy! Keep your portions small.Avoid regular soda, fruit punch, sweet tea, and other sweetened drinks. Choose water and caloric-free drinks instead. Cut back on high calorie snack foods, and desserts like chips, cookies, cakes, and ice cream. Replace "bad" fats from fatty meats, full fat dairy, lard, butter, and sour cream with good fats.
The best choices are fresh, frozen, canned vegetables and vegetable juices without added sodium, fat, or sugar:
* asparagus
* broccoli
* green beans
* carrots
* cabbage
* cauliflower
* eggplant
* mushrooms
* onions
* peppers
* spinach
* tomatoes
Fruit:
If you use canned fruit in syrup, drain and rinse the fruit with water to wash away the extra syrup.
The best choices are fresh, frozen, and canned fruit without added sugars such as:
* apples
* blueberries
* cherries
* grapes
* grapefruit
* oranges
* peaches
* pears
Milk:
The best choices are non-fat and low-fat milk and yogurt without added sugars such as:
* fat-free or low fat milk (1%)
* unflavored soy milk
* plain, non-fat yogurt
* "light" yogurt
Grains and Starchy Vegetables:
* The best choices are whole grains, dried beans, peas and lentils and starchy vegetables without added fats, sugars, or sodium.
Best Sources Of Whole Grain Foods:
* Look for cereals (choose a cereal with at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 6 grams of sugar per serving) breads, and grains with these whole grains as the first ingredient:
* whole-wheat flour
* whole oats/oatmeal
* whole grain corn/corn meal
* popcorn
* brown rice
* whole-grain rye
* whole-grain barley
* buckwheat/buckwheat flour
* triticale
* bulgur (craked wheat)
* millet
* quinoa
* sorgham
* wild rice
Best Choice of Legumes/Lentils
* beans such as black, pinto, and kidney beans
* lentils and dried peas
* fat-free refried beans and vegetarian baked beans
Best Choice of Starchy Vegetables
* acorn squash
* butternut squash
* green peas
* corn
* parsnip
* pumpkin
* sweet potato
* plantain
Meat and Meat Substitutes:
The best choices are plant-based protein foods and lean meats such as:
* dried beans and lentils
* nuts and seeds
* fish and seafood
* chicken, turkey and duck sans skin
* buffalo, rabbit, and venison
* lean cuts of beef, lamb, and pork such as chuck rump roast, round, sirloin, T-bone steak and tenderloin
* cheeses, hot dog, and processed meats with 3 grams of fat or less per ounce
* egg substitutes and egg whites
Fats:
Best choices or "good fats" are unsaturated fats like omega 3, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats:
* avacado, olives, and seeds such as flax, pumpkin, or sesame
* nuts such as almonds, brazil, cashews, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine, pistachios, and walnuts
* vegetable oils such as olive, canola, corn, flaxseed, safflower, soybean, and sunflower
* salad dressings and mayonnaise
* trans-free margarine and margarines with plant stanols or plant sterols
Omega 3 fatty acids are good for your heart:
Consider these foods:
* albacore tuna
* mackerel
* herring
* salmon
* sardines
* trout
* English walnuts
*halibut
A Great Potein Source: Don't sleep on dried beans, hummus, lentils, nuts, soy-based "nuggets" and "burgers". Use plant-based proteins in your meals instead of beef, poultry or fish.
Diabetic Super Foods: Try adding these to your diet:
* Berries
* Sweet potatoes
* Far-free milk and yogurt
* Nuts and seeds
* Whole grains
* Citrus Fruit
* Salmon and fish high in omega 3 fatty acid
* Tomatoes
* Dark green leafy vegetables
* Beans and lentils
For more information on nutrition and diabetes , call 1-800-DIABETES.
Posted By: Marsha Jones
Monday, July 5th 2010 at 6:00PM
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