For those recently diagnosed with diabetes and those who have been living with it for some time, diabetes can be managed by making dietary changes and maintaining an active lifestyle.
We know it’s one thing to talk about healthy living but it is an entirely different story trying to walk the walk so we have created a green, amber and red plan that we hope will be easy to follow and might make it easier for those struggling with making a lifestyle change.
Green
- Increase your intake of green vegetables, fish-especially those high in omega 3, egg whites, low fat yoghurt and pulses.
- Try to incorporate aerobic exercise and resistance training- start by taking walks and incorporate more fun exercises into your weekly plan as you go along
- Try a low glycemic Index (GI) diet or a Mediterranean diet to help improve your blood sugar control
Amber
Your intake of fatty food and simple carbohydrates should be limited and more complex carbohydrates should be introduced into your eating plan which will place you in the green (which is where you want to be).
Simple carbohydrates are sugars such as glucose and fructose. They are found in refined sugar and in fruits. Complex carbohydrates are starches found in beans, nuts, vegetables, and whole grains which include fibre.
Alcohol consumption should be limited to a glass or two during the week unless you are strong enough to abstain and drink infrequently.
Red
This is probably the hardest part of the change as the best things are usually the worst things to eat!
Avoid sugary food, fruit juices, refined starches (white rice, pasta and bread), most baked goods and full fat dairy as mentioned earlier.
This is easier said than done but your body will thank you for making the change and over time you will see a healthier happier you in the mirror.
For those who are living with type 2 diabetes, we would like to hear from you on how you have been dealing with this disease and any tips you can share promoting a healthier way of living.
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