Diabetes is a health crisis in Hong Kong. According to statistics, it claimed about 12500 inpatient discharges and inpatient deaths in all hospitals, and 586 registered deaths in 2020.
It was the tenth commonest cause of deaths in Hong Kong. With the condition now being classified as an epidemic in the area, the importance of diabetes management and treatment became even more pronounced. Of these, one of the most important prevention measures is that of having a proper diet routine suitable for diabetes management.
A proper diabetes diet is, simply put, a healthy-eating plan. It involves taking in moderate amounts of food from the right food groups such as healthy carbohydrates, fiber-rich foods, and good fats.
How To Plan A Healthy Meal
Different people require different diets because meal plans are dependent on many factors such as weight and age, but here’s an example of a 1,200 calorie meal plan shared by Medical News Today that can give you an idea of what a regular day should look like if you’re a diabetic.
Breakfast: one poached egg, one small avocado spread on a slice of bread, and one orange
Lunch: Mexican bowl made with low-sodium pinto beans, spinach, chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, cheese, and salsa
Snack: 20 pieces of baby carrots with hummus Dinner: 1 cup cooked lentil penne pasta and veggie tomato sauce with 2 oz ground lean turkey
Avoid Skipping Meals
One thing that many people don’t realize, however, is that there is more to diabetes management than just getting the right food in your system. If you really want to control and lower your blood sugar, sticking to regular mealtimes should be considered, too.
Why? Because skipping meals alters the right balance of food intake in the body, which, in turn, also affects insulin production.
A proper diabetes diet meal plan should follow a regular schedule of consuming the right amount of carbohydrates, because these break down into glucose at the right intervals throughout the day. By sticking to a consistent schedule, you can help prevent blood sugar spikes and manage your condition better.
People with Type 2 diabetes should particularly give attention to this. When you skip meals, your body goes into fasting, which then alerts your body to look for a source of energy. If you haven’t consumed any food, this source will come in the form of glucose released by the liver. The problem is that people diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes don’t have healthy-working livers that realize how much glucose they should release to the body, which then leads to an excess of it in the bloodstream.
You Can Do More Than Eating Regularly
The good news is that a proper diabetes diet plan is easy to follow as long as you stick to healthy lifestyle habits. This can be done by only eating unprocessed foods, consuming the right amount of nutrients, doing exercise, and taking the right medications.
Of course, introducing other habits into your diabetes treatment is also a good idea. While these methods do not—and should not—replace doctor prescriptions and an overall healthy lifestyle, integrating other alternatives into your routines such as drinking sugar cleansing teas can also help.
A good example is our product here at Lowsutea which was specially formulated to help you better manage your blood sugar levels. It comes with two natural ingredients: guava leaves which help block the absorption of sugar entering the blood vessels, and bitter melon which removes sugar, sodium, and cholesterol in the urine while also improving blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
Manage Your Diabetes With Lowsutea
A proper diet for diabetes will not be as effective if not complemented by other healthy lifestyle habits, which is why Lowsutea developed five programs for diabetes management. Read the journey of our very first brand ambassador, no other than Cory Quirino herself, for an extra dose of inspiration on how to lead a happy life with diabetes.
Visit our website today for more information on Lowsutea’s diet program.