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What effect can vegetables and fruits have on the disease?

Most fruits and vegetables have a low or medium glycemic index, so they do not cause a spike in blood glucose levels compared to other carbohydrate-containing foods, such as white or whole grain bread and sweets.

Vegetables play an important role in diabetes because they provide the body with essential vitamins and minerals, and the fiber they contain slows down the absorption of glucose. Vitamins A, D, E, K are fat-soluble, so you should add olive oil, nuts or seeds to your greens 1.

Research has shown that certain types of fruit are beneficial for the primary prevention of many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Eating three servings of blueberries, apples or grapes per week significantly reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Contraindications for diabetics and the likelihood of harm from bananas

Bananas are not always suitable for diabetics. First of all, this is due to the high calorie content of the fruit. We should also not forget about pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you are overweight, you should remember about bananas, which have a higher than average glycemic index. This is due at least to the fact that they do not contribute to weight loss, but on the contrary are capable of increasing weight.

The benefits and harms of apricots and their seeds for diabetes mellitus

Endocrinologists call another limitation an increased degree of blood clotting, thrombophlebitis. The presented list also includes stomach problems, for example, increased gas formation. The fact is that the fruit increases such processes in the gastrointestinal tract, increasing the degree of their activity.

Thus, when talking about a banana for diabetes, it should be taken into account that the presented product can be consumed. This is acceptable even despite the high calorie content. However, in order to avoid any negative reactions with any of the two types of diabetes, it is recommended to first consult with a specialist. Otherwise there is no reason to assume that it will be useful.

What fruits are good for different types of diabetes?

Increasing fruit consumption is recommended for primary prevention of many chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes 3. For diabetes, it is recommended to consume any fruit, but with some restrictions.

Fruits differ from each other in glycemic index (GI):

• melon, bananas, grapes, raisins have high GI (60-70);
• medium (47-59) – prunes, blueberries, grapefruit;
• low GI (34-46) in apples, pears, oranges, peaches, plums, apricots, strawberries.

The most useful are gooseberries, pineapples, watermelons, avocados, lingonberries, peaches, lemons, black berries (especially blueberries), cherries, grapefruits, pears, apples, blackberries, raspberries, tangerines, melon, apricots, papaya, oranges, currants (white and red), wild strawberry, strawberry, cherry, cranberry.

Some of the recommended fruits may vary greatly in composition depending on the variety and growing conditions. Therefore, it is worth checking after each meal whether the fruit has caused an increase in blood sugar levels. To do this, every person living with diabetes must keep a diary and meticulously record all the foods and dishes of their diet in it 3.

Types of diabetes

SD has three main types:

• first;
• second;
• gestational.

1. The first type is called insulin-dependent. This definition is due to the fact that the pancreas, under the influence of certain factors, loses the ability to secrete the required amount of the hormone insulin, which regulates the metabolism of carbohydrates in the body.
2. The second type of disease develops when the gland produces insulin in sufficient quantities, but the patient’s tissues lose sensitivity to it, and as a result, elevated sugar levels are recorded in the blood.
3. The gestational type can occur in women during pregnancy, although before pregnancy the glucose level did not go beyond normal limits.

Approximately 85% of patients are diagnosed with the second (insulin-resistant) type of the disease.

The disease develops for a number of reasons, including nutritional disorders, obesity and cardiovascular disease. All these factors are interconnected and mutually reinforce each other. Therefore, dietary issues are of particular importance for patients with this type of disease.

There are many foods that you can find conflicting advice on the Internet regarding the use of for diabetes. One such product is bananas.

Dessert bananas

Not recommended fruits

Dietary recommendations do not prohibit the consumption of fruits, even if their glycemic index is relatively high 4. For people with type 1 diabetes, you need to be able to recalculate the carbohydrate load of fruits in bread units in order to compensate for their intake with increasing insulin doses.

People with type 2 diabetes should avoid eating large quantities (more than 400 g per day) of fruits with a high glycemic index (bananas, melon, very ripe pears and plums), as well as candied fruits and candied fruits, which contain a lot of sugar and have a high calorie content. It is also not recommended to consume a lot of jams, preserves, sweetened syrups, canned fruits in sweet marinade, jam, marmalade and fruit juices, especially with added sugar 1, 4.

UZ "Mogilev City Emergency Hospital"

If you have diabetes, it is recommended that you purchase 2 scales: kitchen scales and one for measuring body weight .

In addition, you need to learn to understand the labels on food packages and get used to planning meals in advance.

Nutrition for diabetes mellitus has the following goals:

1. maintaining normal body weight;
2. maintaining normal cholesterol levels;
3. maintaining normal glucose levels.

Maintaining normal body weight and cholesterol levels is important for all people, not just for patients with diabetes.

There are general principles of healthy eating that are recommended for all people (both with and without diabetes):

• eat foods high in dietary fiber (vegetables, wholemeal bread, whole grain cereals);
• eat vegetables and fruits at least 5 times a day;
• eliminate or minimize the consumption of refined carbohydrates (sugar, baked goods, sweet drinks, butter and puff pastry);
• eliminate or minimize the consumption of trans-unsaturated fats (processed vegetable fats found in margarine, confectionery, mayonnaise and ready-made sauces, etc.);
• choose meat with reduced fat content (for example, skinless chicken);
• exclude from the diet by-products, sausages, smoked meats, semi-finished products, frozen foods, fatty meats, butter;
• reduce table salt consumption to 2.4 g/day;
• eat fish at least 2 times a week;
• consume foods high in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (fatty sea fish, boiled or baked, at least 140 grams per week, and preferably 280 grams per week for women of childbearing age and 560 grams per week for men and women in menopause, with this is no more than 100 g of fish per day ; olive, flaxseed, soybean, cottonseed and rapeseed oils, but no more than 2 tablespoons of any oil per day as part of the entire meal);
• eat at least 3 times a day, and preferably 5-6 times a day in small portions.

Nutrition for overweight and obesity is discussed in the section “Nutrition for Obesity.”

To maintain normal glucose levels, patients with diabetes need to know:

• what foods increase blood glucose;
• glycemic index of foods.

Carbohydrates increase blood glucose. If you have diabetes, it is important to learn how to determine the presence of carbohydrates in foods. Sometimes patients ask if carbohydrates are excluded from the diet, will blood glucose normalize without pills and insulin. Answer: Carbohydrates should make up 55-60% of a person's diet, both with and without diabetes.

Carbohydrates are found in cereals, bread, vegetables, fruits, milk, kefir and other products without which a healthy diet is impossible. And all these foods increase blood glucose.

Often on products there are inscriptions: “sugar-free”, “diabetic”. These inscriptions must be viewed critically. Just because a package says “Sugar Free” does not mean “No Carbohydrates” and does not mean the product will not raise your blood glucose. The more carbohydrates, the more glucose will increase. You can see the amount of carbohydrates on food packages in the “Nutritional Value” section.

To determine how a certain product will increase blood glucose, the concept of “bread unit” (XE) is introduced. 1 XE = 10-12 grams of carbohydrates. For convenience, it is better to take 1 XE of carbohydrates. 1 XE on average increases the level by 2-2.8 mmol/l.

There are approximate systems for counting grain units:

This method of calculating carbohydrates is very approximate.

A more precise composition of products is given in the section “Tables with the composition of products” (the tables provide approximate data; according to different sources, data on the nutritional value of the same products may differ).

If a person is receiving insulin therapy, it is important to accurately determine the amount of carbohydrates (especially in children). These issues are discussed in the section “Nutrition for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus.”

However, even foods with the same carbohydrate content raise blood glucose differently. Carbohydrates are simple (fast) and complex (slow).

Fast carbohydrates are quickly absorbed and quickly increase blood glucose. They should be limited in case of diabetes (no more than 10% of daily calories). To consume such carbohydrates during insulin therapy, you must be able to compensate for them.

Fast carbohydrates include sugar, honey, fruit juices, baked goods, sweet drinks, grapes and other sweet fruits, breakfast cereals, etc.).

Slow carbohydrates are porridges (buckwheat, pearl barley, whole grain oatmeal (not cereal), brown rice, durum wheat pasta).

The degree to which foods increase blood glucose is called the glycemic index . The glycemic index shows how quickly a given product is converted into glucose and ends up in the blood. In some cases, white bread is taken as the starting point (GI -100), and in others, glucose. The GI of all other products is calculated relative to these values.

The higher the glycemic index, the faster your blood glucose will rise. There are foods with low, medium and high glycemic index. Low GI - 55 or less, medium - 56-59, high GI - 70 or more.

Fast carbohydrates are foods with a high glycemic index.

Depending on the method of preparation, the GI of the same product may differ. For example, the GI of hot boiled potatoes is up to 80, boiled potatoes from the refrigerator - 50, fried potatoes - 60-75, mashed potatoes - 85-95.

Tables with the glycemic index of foods can be found on the Internet.

Most vegetables have a low GI (but, for example, beets and carrots have a high GI). Porridges made from crushed cereals, instant cereals, semolina, and corn porridge have a high glycemic index; it is better to exclude them from the diet and eat whole grain porridges.

There are some tricks to lower the glycemic index.

For example, bran can be added to some products.

Pasta should not be brought to an overcooked state, it should be firm, this will reduce the increase in blood glucose.

If you prepare porridge or pasta and do not eat it right away, but put it in the refrigerator and then reheat it the next day, then the glycemic index of such a product will be lower than that of freshly prepared food.

Sweeteners

There are artificial and natural sweeteners.

Artificial sweeteners (sweeteners) are aspartame (E 951), saccharin (E 954), acesulfame K (E 950), cyclamate (E 952), sucralose (E 955), neotame (E 961). They do not increase blood glucose and contain no calories.

Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar, does not withstand heat treatment, is not recommended for phenylketonuria, the permissible dose per day is 40 mg/kg of body weight.

Acesulfame K is 130-200 times sweeter than sugar, can be used for baking, the permissible dose per day is 15 mg/kg of body weight.

Cyclamate is 30-50 times sweeter than sugar, can be used for baking, is limited in case of renal failure, the permissible dose per day is 11 mg/kg of body weight.

Saccharin is 300-500 times sweeter than sugar, is added after cooking, has a bitter taste, the permissible dose per day is 5 mg/kg of body weight.

Sucralose is 600 times sweeter than sugar, can be used for baking and cooking, the permissible dose per day is 9 mg/kg of body weight.

Neotame - created on the basis of aspartame, 7000-13000 times sweeter than sucrose, can be used in baking and cooking.

Artificial sweeteners are not recommended for use during pregnancy and for children under 3 years of age.

Natural sweeteners

fructose;

sugar alcohols (xylitol, sorbitol, isomalt, maltitol, mannitol, erythritol and lactitol);

stevia.

Fructose contains calories. It is absorbed more slowly in the intestines than sugar, but it also increases blood glucose in the same way.

Sugar alcohols contain calories and carbohydrates, but they do not increase blood glucose. However, they can cause nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea.

Stevia is a sweet herb that contains no calories and does not increase blood glucose. It has a specific taste that the stevia product, stevioside, does not have. If the ingredient says “stevia,” it means it contains stevia leaves ground into powder. If it says “stevioside”, the composition contains a purified extract from these leaves.

There are sweetener mixtures that contain different sweeteners in different proportions. For example, Fitparad No. 7 contains erythritol, stevioside and sucralose.

Alcohol

If you have diabetes, drinking alcohol is not recommended.

But if you decide to drink alcohol, you should keep in mind:

Acceptable alcohol consumption is 1-2 standard alcohol units. 1 standard alcoholic unit is 15 g of pure ethyl alcohol (300 ml of beer, 140 ml of table wine, 40 ml of spirits).

Alcohol lowers blood glucose, which can lead to hypoglycemia. This occurs because alcohol blocks the liver from releasing glucose. There are known cases of severe hypoglycemia in patients with diabetes (including fatalities) due to alcohol consumption, when others believed that the person was simply drunk. Therefore, when drinking alcohol, you should eat, measure your glucose often and not be alone.

Beer and sweet wine can increase blood glucose (depending on the amount of food and physical activity).

Alcohol is incompatible with metformin.

What vegetables are allowed to eat if you have diabetes?

Many recommendations for creating a diet for people with type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus advise unlimitedly increasing the proportion of vegetables in the diet, such as avocados, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, zucchini, onions, chicory, green beans, mushrooms, sauerkraut, cucumbers. , olives, celery, eggplant, greens (spinach, dill, parsley, cilantro, green onions), peppers, radishes 1.

It is better to cook vegetables by steaming, stewing, baking in parchment or foil, or grilling without adding oil. It is better if the finished dish is slightly undercooked than overcooked. Al dente vegetables keep you full longer, and their carbohydrates are absorbed more slowly.

How to choose a healthy juice for diabetes?

Recent studies have shown that fruit juice consumption is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Replacing three servings of fruit juice per week with the same amount of fruit reduced the risk of developing diabetes by 7% 3.

Remember: it is better to eat whole fruits than to drink sugar-free juice! Juice causes a faster increase in blood glucose, and 1 liter of juice contains about 500 Kcal.

When choosing juices, you need to look at unsweetened vegetable juices: tomato, a mixture of spinach, celery, beets, cabbage and cucumber, freshly squeezed citrus juices without adding syrups. A table of glycemic indexes for each type can serve as a guide.

It is not always possible to find suitable juices on sale. Better consider purchasing a juicer to create fresh juices with an individual recipe.

Is it possible to eat dried fruits if you have diabetes?

Dried fruits contain minerals, vitamins and antioxidants, as well as healthy fiber. The polyphenolic antioxidants present in them improve blood flow, help support the digestive system, reduce oxidative stress and reduce the risk of developing many diseases. They are low in fat, sodium or cholesterol and can serve as natural substitutes for refined sugar. However, during the cooking process, some dried fruits are coated with sugar and syrup before drying to make them sweeter.

Different dried fruits have different glycemic index. Low GI dried fruits are the best choice because they have little effect on blood sugar and are relatively healthy.

Dates (different varieties from 60 to 140), raisins (59), figs (61), banana (65), mango (55-60), pineapple (50) have high and medium GI. Low-glycemic fruits - prunes (40), dried apples (35), apricots (dried apricots) 35, dried dogwood (20), melon (35).

Benefits of sweet fruits for diabetics

The benefits of banana desserts for diabetes are due to the beneficial composition of this sweet exotic fruit. 100 g of bananas contain:

• 1.55 g vegetable protein;
• 21 g carbohydrates (easily digestible);
• 72 g water;
• 1.8 g of healthy fiber;
• 11.3 mg vitamin C;
• 0.42 mg vitamin B;
• 346 mg potassium;
• 41 mg magnesium.

Important! Carbohydrates in sweet pulp are represented by sucrose and glucose, which are easily digestible. Therefore, when consumed in large quantities, the sweet tropical fruit does not benefit, but causes harm, causing a spike in insulin.

Bananas for diabetes help avoid stress due to the pyridoxine content and improve mood. Iron in the pulp prevents the development of anemia, potassium normalizes high blood pressure. Plant fiber improves intestinal motility and slows down the absorption of carbohydrates. The benefits of banana snacks for diabetes include eliminating constipation during pregnancy and gastrointestinal diseases. It improves the condition of diabetics with disorders of the heart muscle, kidney and liver diseases.