Things to consider for a healthy diabetes diet!

Things to think about

Some things are important to consider in your diet when you have diabetes, but are also of great value if you want a healthy diet, lose weight or have a stable weight.

Here is some information that I have learn through seminars and articles I have read over the years that I have had diabetes, about what you should consider in a healthy and proper diabetes diet.

I often hear people say that diabetes is a healthy "disease" if you really can then say that a disease is healthy..., but yes, when you have or get diabetes, you must focus on a properly composed diet that is clearly a very healthy diet, a diet that most people with or without diabetes should have.

Wrong focus

In my opinion, unfortunately, there is too much focus from the business community on getting us to eat convenience foods, semi-finished products, and ready-made foods, rather than making our own food from scratch. It is a trend that contributes to increasing the problem of lifestyle diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes, through media, exposure and marketing we pressure to believe that this type of food is healthy, this also includes an increased exposure and price marketing of sweets in the grocery store.

The experience I have had is that by removing ready-made foods and semi-finished products from my diet, I got a much better health situation, lost weight and able to maintain a stable weight.

Important for a diabetic

When I got diabetes many years ago, I was given a lot of information about what I should and shouldn’t eat, but at the time I wasn’t smart enough to focus on it. It took me a while to realize that I had developed many other health challenges related to my poor dietary choices. I realized that my diet had been influenced by what the media pushed on us with processed and ready-made foods. That started my decision to research and attend seminars on nutrition with a lot of focus on what a proper diabetes diet is. Here are some of the learnings and experiences I have gained over the years, about the important things in a healthy diabetes diet, which have become the foundation of my daily diet, a kind of diet bible.

I reduced and partially eliminated these products from my diet as much as possible:

• White rice
• Pasta
• Potatoes
• Light bread
• Sauces
• Candy
• Whit sugar (replace it with Sukrin gold or brown sugar)
• Soft drinks
• Juice. An alternative to ditching juice is to replace cheap sugary juices with freshly squeezed juice.

Replace potatoes and rice with various root vegetables, bake them in the oven as a side dish, you can also boil them but be careful not to overcook or undercook them, use a lot of root vegetables in soups and stews.

Replace pasta with squash in Lasagna, squash can also be shredded and used with meat sauce as a substitute for spaghetti, then mix squash with shredded sweet potato.
If you want rice, use wild rice (black rice)

Bake bread yourself with whole grain flour products, use whole grains in the dough, use good oils, preferably cold-pressed olive oil, or coconut oil rather than butter and margarine, remember fiber in whole grain bread for better blood sugar balance...

Tip: spelt flour is a better flour product in regular flour types, is not gluten-free, but contains much less gluten, will rise less because there is less gluten, so it needs more time to rise.

Fat burners

Effective fat burners:

• Fibre
• Omega-3
• Calcium
• D vitamins

Fiber makes you feel full faster.
Omega-3 affects hormones that control fat storage.
Calcium causes fat cells to release more fat, while reducing the absorption of fat into fat cells.
Vitamin D enhances this effect. Together with calcium, vitamin D makes a super pair.

Remember, fat burns fat. A diet that is too lean will make the body think it is getting too little fuel and will then start storing fat to keep the body going.

Fiber is a part of the food that does not contribute calories, but still provides both a good feeling of satiety, better blood sugar balance and better intestinal flora. NOTE!!! Remember to drink plenty of water when eating foods with a lot of fiber to make the fiber easily soluble in the stomach and avoid getting a hard stomach.

• Good sources of fiber are whole grains, wholemeal bread, crispbread, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruit and berries.
• Omega-3 makes the blood flow more easily, which in turn leads to increased fat burning when exercising. Omega-3 is also said to affect hormone balance in a way that makes you burn more fat.
• Omega-3 is considered to be one of the healthiest fats you can consume
• Omega-3 reduces inflammation in the body and seems to have a good effect on insulin resistance, which affects fat storage, among other things.
• Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that is primarily found in oily fish. The fact that it is essential means that the body cannot produce it itself and therefore must have it supplied from outside.
• Good sources of omega-3 are oily fish, such as salmon, trout, herring and mackerel. If you are unable to eat a lot of oily fish, you can get several types of omega-3 supplements: cod liver oil, oils and capsules.
• Calcium reduces fat absorption in the gut, and stimulates fat cells to release more fat for fat burning. Studies show that a high calcium intake causes fat cells to release more fat.
• Calcium is also said to reduce fat absorption in the gut and thus act as a weak, natural diet pill. This probably happens in the way that the substances in the gut that break down fat become slightly less effective. This means that more of the fat goes "straight through" and ends up in the toilet.
• Good sources of calcium are primarily dairy products, although almost all foods contain calcium. There is just as much calcium in low-fat dairy products as in full-fat ones. Fish, shellfish and vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, kale, almonds, nuts, dried fruit and grain products are also high in calcium
• Calcium supplements can also be purchased at pharmacies and health food stores.
• Calcium can have an effect on reducing fat absorption. It seems that the best effect on weight loss is achieved by consuming calcium together with protein-rich foods, such as yoghurt, cottage cheese, cottage cheese, Skyr or eggs.
• Calcium and protein enhance each other's effects when taken together, probably because protein increases the feeling of satiety and metabolism.
• Vitamin D: Several health studies suggest a connection between too little vitamin D and obesity
• Vitamin D increases insulin sensitivity, which leads to better fat burning and better health in general. Not only food, but also sunlight can contribute with vitamin D, take vitamin D supplements in winter for half the year, the recommended amount is 20 μg (micrograms)
• Vitamin D helps to increase the absorption of calcium by many of the body's cell types, including fat cells. You supply the body with vitamin D if you are out in the sun: Even a quarter of an hour of sun on your skin in the summer should provide a sufficient daily dose of vitamin D, if most of your body gets sunlight. Then the body produces as much vitamin D as is found in 30 teaspoons of cod liver oil!!! It is not enough that only your face gets sun, and using sunscreen blocks the formation of vitamin D. It is therefore best to first get 15 minutes of sun without protection, and then apply sunscreen afterwards.
• Good sources of vitamin D are sunshine (best), but also to some extent food: Fatty fish, eggs, butter and yellow cheese.
• Vitamin D supplements are available as pills, either at a pharmacy or health food store.

Warm foods give a better feeling of satiety and increase metabolism in the body, Chili, Ginger, garlic and mustard also do that, better metabolism reduces blood sugar.

Avocados, almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts are good sources of healthy fats that the body needs, dried fruit are good fiber supplements that together with nuts can be used as a between-meal snack, peanuts are also OK but without salt