Currently, diabetic patients can choose to eat various foods just like normal people, but they need to learn how much they can eat without causing high blood sugar levels. Eating less rice or not eating rice at all and increasing other foods such as fruits and meat in large amounts is not the correct practice. It may also cause high blood sugar and blood fat levels.
Principles of Choosing Appropriate Foods
Patients should choose to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients the body needs by selecting foods from the following groups:
- Group 1: Foods such as rice, noodles, bread, taro, potatoes, dry beans, 1 serving contains 15 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of protein, and provides 80 kilocalories of energy.
Diabetic patients can eat foods in this group just like normal people. It is not necessary to avoid or overly restrict them because rice is a source of energy that the body needs for various activities. The amount to eat depends on age, body weight, and the activities or labor the patient performs daily. For example, overweight patients can eat 2 small ladlefuls of rice per meal, while those who are not overweight can eat 3 ladlefuls per meal. When choosing to eat noodles or bread, rice in that meal should be reduced or avoided according to the specified proportion. Foods in this group can be eaten 2-4 servings per meal. Diabetic patients should choose to eat brown rice or bread made from unrefined flour to increase fiber intake.
- Group 2: Various vegetables, 1 serving contains 5 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, and provides 25 kilocalories of energy.
This group contains vitamins, minerals, and a lot of fiber. Diabetic patients should eat more vegetables at every meal, especially fresh or cooked green leafy vegetables, and can eat as much as desired. If vegetables are juiced, the pulp should also be consumed to get fiber. Fiber helps reduce the absorption of sugar and fat from food, lowering blood sugar and blood fat levels. Diabetic patients should eat 2-3 cups of vegetables daily, both fresh and cooked.
- Group 3: Fruits, 1 serving contains 15 grams of carbohydrates and provides 60 kilocalories of energy.
All fruits contain sugar. Although they have fiber, eating more than the specified amount can cause high blood sugar. Diabetic patients should choose to eat 1 type of fruit per meal, 2-3 times a day after meals. They should avoid very sweet fruits such as durian, jackfruit, sapodilla, or dried fruits, fruit preserves, candied fruits, pickled fruits, and canned fruits. Eating large amounts of fruit at once, even if the fruit is not sweet, can cause high blood sugar.
- Group 4: Meat, lean meat, 1 serving contains 7 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, and provides 55 kilocalories of energy.
This group mainly provides protein. Patients should have it at every meal, 2-4 small spoonfuls per meal, and should choose lean meat without skin, eat fish and tofu more often.
- Group 5: Fats, 1 serving contains 5 grams of fat and provides 45 kilocalories of energy.
Both plant and animal oils provide the same energy, but plant oils contain no cholesterol. Coconut oil and coconut milk contain a high amount of saturated fatty acids, which increase cholesterol production in the body.
Diabetic patients should choose to use plant oils such as soybean oil, rice bran oil, peanut oil, and palm olein oil instead of lard for cooking. Additionally, they should avoid fried foods, baked goods with a lot of butter (bakery products), and foods containing coconut milk regularly.
- Group 6: Milk, 1 serving contains 8 grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and the energy amount varies depending on the fat content of the milk type.
Diabetic patients should avoid flavored milk, flavored cream yogurt, and ready-to-drink fermented milk because these contain added sugar or syrup. They should choose to drink low-fat or non-fat milk.
