Diet and lifestyle play a very important role in Diabetes management and need proper care and attention. The importance of diet cannot be overemphasised. In this article, I will try to cover some of the most common mistakes that we make on a daily basis.
1. Having long gaps between meals: Large gaps between meals lead to high levels of sugar fluctuation. When you starve, your sugar level falls and when you suddenly eat, it spikes. To avoid this, small and frequent meals are suggested.
2. Skipping meals: Skipping meals to reduce calorie intake is not a good idea. It leads to erratic blood sugar levels, low energy levels and fatigue and increased food intake in the next meal.
3. Fruit Juice intake: Intake of fruit juice leads to an immediate spike in sugar levels. Fruit juices are deprived of fiber, contain only sugar, thus gives rise to a sudden increase in blood sugar level.
4. Avoid Carbohydrate: Cutting Carbs is not a great idea. It is important to have complex carbs(e.g, brown rice, whole grain breads, pastas) and avoid simple carbs(e.g, raw sugar, brown sugar, white bread, corn syrup etc).
5. Avoid Fruits: Fruits contain sugar and hence people avoid it. Fruits contain sugar but lower amounts as compared to other sweetened items. Fruits provide both sugar and fiber. This fiber helps in slow release of sugar from fruits to blood stream. Thus eating whole fruits is recommended for diabetics, provided, they are consumed in moderation.
6. One Cheat day of Sweets: Having controlled diet for six days a week certainly doesnot permit you to break all barriers and eat unlimited sweets during one cheat day. This will lead to blood sugar spike resulting an increase in HbA1c levels.
7. HbA1c is within desired range: Often people think that their diabetes is cured when HbA1c is within the range. They stop taking medications and relax on their diet and lifestyle. This is risky and can lead to complications.
The original article appears on sugarcare.in and is available here.
