Smart Food Choices For Diabetes: When it comes to managing high blood sugar levels, your daily routine including your diet, exercise routine, sleep cycle and many more factors plays a significant role. High blood sugar levels are often referred to as Hyperglycemia and are defined as a condition in which there is too much glucose (sugar) in the blood. This condition can cause fatigue, nausea, frequent hunger, dry mouth, blurred vision, weight loss, urination in large amounts and recurrent infections.

Making smart food choices plays a key role in lowering high blood sugar levels and managing diabetes. Dr. Sri Karan Uddesh Tanugula, General Physician, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad listed some smart food choices that you should make in order to manage high blood sugar levels and lead a healthy life. 

Smart Food Choices For Diabetes

Plan Balanced Meals

One of the most important habits to get in practice to maintain healthy blood sugar levels is to plan balanced meals for yourself. A healthy eating plan includes knowing what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. Include healthy foods such as fruits, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds in your regular diet. 

Carbohydrate Counting

Carbohydrate counting is keeping track of how many grams of carbohydrates you consume throughout the day. According to the CDC, carbs are measured in grams. On packaged foods, you can find total carb grams on the Nutrition Facts label. You can also check this list or use an app to find grams of carbs in foods and drinks. For diabetes meal planning, 1 carb serving is about 15 grams of carbs. 

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Plate Method

Smart Food Choices For Diabetes (Image Credits: Canva)

The plate method is one of the easiest ways to create and plan healthy meals that can be effective in managing blood sugar. In this method, you simply need to fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter with lean protein and the other half a quarter with carbohydrate foods like fruits or whole grains. 

Portion Sizes 

Portion sizes play a significant role in managing blood sugar and diabetes. Portion size is how much food you choose to eat at one time and can vary from meal to meal. 

Eliminate Sugary Drinks

Sugary drinks contain excessive amounts of added sugar and other sweeteners that can cause an instant blood sugar spike. Consuming these beverages is associated with weight gain, obesity, high blood sugar levels, heart diseases, kidney diseases, non-alcoholic liver diseases and more. 

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(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment.)