Suggestions for a Pre Diabetes Diet

Prediabetes is primarily characterized by a blood sugar level that is slightly higher than normal but not high enough to be categorized as diabetes. Therefore, prediabetes is simply a warning sign and not a life sentence.

You can easily make healthy changes that can improve your health and lower the risk of developing diabetes. Studies have shown that you can

lower the chances of progressing from prediabetes to diabetes by exercising and adopting a healthy pre-diabetes diet which mainly includes reducing fat intake and cutting calories.

Food for Pre Diabetes Diet

Whole grains

Consuming whole grains as part of your healthy diet lowers your risk of developing diabetes by almost one-third. You should consume at least three servings of whole grains per day. Some good examples of whole-grain servings include:

½ cup of whole-grain pasta
1 slice whole-grain bread
½ cup of slow cook oats or cooked steel-cut.
1/3 cup of brown rice

It is important to choose to slow-cook large-flake or steel-cut oats for breakfast due to their high whole grain content, rather than five-minute or instant oats.

Include Lots of Fresh Vegetables and Fruits in your Pre Diabetes Diet

Examples of vegetable and fruit servings include:

1 cup of blueberries
1 medium-size apple, orange or banana
2 cups of blackberries or strawberries
2 plums
½ a grapefruit
2 kiwifruit

A fruit smoothie can be a very easy and quick breakfast to include in your diabetic diet plan, that you can have all year round. You can always include fruit servings in your smoothies, thanks to various frozen berries.

Adding silken tofu or plain yogurt increases the protein in your smoothies, which keeps you feeling full longer. You can also add flaxseed (ground) for omega 3 fats and extra fiber, which are beneficial especially for people who are at risk of stroke and heart disease.

Boost your intake of vegetables by having dip pre-made and vegetables in the fridge as snacks that are instantly available whenever you feel hungry. Chop up cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, celery, or cherry tomatoes, and serve with eggplant or hummus.

Solutions for a Healthier Diabetic Diet

Choose variety

Ensure that you include something from each food group when planning your meals. A well-balanced meal that includes, fruits, vegetables, healthy sources of fat, and whole-grain makes you less likely to crave sweets and snacks because it keeps you satisfied for longer.

Eat breakfast

People who skip breakfast are likely to overeat later in the day, feel sluggish and gain weight. Besides fresh whole fruit, homemade smoothies, and oatmeal, other great breakfast choices include low-fat cheese, boiled eggs, or high protein yogurt (try Greek yogurt).

Be more selective about meat

Consuming processed meat increases the risk of developing diabetes. You should therefore limit high fat and high salt meat choices such as salami, hot dogs, and bacon. Do not take more than two servings (2.5 ounces of cooked meat per serving) of lean meat per week.

Nuts can reduce the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. Dry-roasted or raw nuts with no added sugar, salt, or fat are the best picks to use in your prediabetes diet plan. Add them to grain dishes or salads for extra nutrition or flavor. You can also top your morning whole-grain toast using natural almond or peanut butter.

Read about Practical food guidelines from The American Diabetes Association HERE!

What are Good Diabetic Menu Plans?

Need a good diabetic menu plan?

For most diabetics eating right isn’t a choice – it’s more like it’s part of their lives. Without the proper diet and exercise the diabetic’s body will begin to suffer damage and the end result will be a rather short and miserable life – not a pretty picture!

Common Diabetes is a very serious non-communicable disease that is currently spreading over the United States and the entire world.

One Simple Rule for Your Diabetic Meal Plans

If you want to have a great diabetic menu plan, you only need to follow one golden rule – avoid anything that is colored white.

Breads and potatoes are examples of this main rule. These foods are stuffed with complex sugar and will drive your blood sugar level to the sky. White sugar, and anything that has white flour in it are also items that you really need to stay away from.

That means the following should not appear on your diabetic menu:

Donuts
Buns
Cupcakes
Anything Sweetened with white sugar
Bagels

The bottom line is that a healthy diabetic menu isn’t that far off from the popular Atkin’s diet. Carbs and sugar are the enemy, while protein, vegetables and limited portions of fruit are the answer.

Why Diabetic Menu Plans are SO Good!

If you haven’t tried eating and following the rules on this page, perhaps you should. You might be doing yourself a massive favor. Not only will you start to feel better, your skin will likely become more clear, you’ll sleep better, you’ll have more energy, you’ll be more relaxed, you’ll feel lighter.

There’s a whole bunch of benefits to eating like this even if you are a non diabetic. So, don’t be afraid to mix things up in the kitchen and try eating like a diabetic.

Key Elements of Diabetic Menu Plans

Meat:
Lean protein is one of the first things to consider when putting together a diabetic meal. So this means, that chicken, turkey, pork and fish are in, and beef is out. That’s not to say that beef can’t be served on occasion, but generally speaking, sticking to the leaner meats will be the perfect way to start.

Veggies
Remember to add in some good veggies to your meals, but skip the temptation to add the potato – because it’s white! Another important thing to keep in mind here is that your veggies can be sliced up and eaten as snacks throughout the day if you find yourself getting hungry.

Dairy
Milk and cheese are all good, but try to stick to the low-fat options as much as possible. Yogurt is another great diabetic friendly food that can be added to any meal, and combined with some fresh berries makes for an excellent dessert or snack.

Dessert and Sweets:
There are a number of different ways that you can sweeten your food without using white sugar. You need to be careful here not to trick yourself that while not using white sugar you may be using something that is equally refined and damaging to your body.

Fruit is a really good option because it’s sweet and also delicious and has not been processed or refined. When you are choosing fruit, berries are some of the best because they are naturally very high in antioxidants.

Once you have weened yourself off of sugar and salt addiction and your sense of taste has started to come back you’ll be amazed at how flavorful and sweet some fruits really are! I remember from my experiments with diabetic meal plans that cherries were so super sweet and full of taste that I almost couldn’t eat them. Once you have transitioned to a more natural way of eating, it’s almost like you’ll have a chance to rediscover how food tastes again for the first time – truly amazing!