With sugar-coated foods, you may please your senses but not your body – bitter truth
Rushing to the bathroom way too frequently? It could be your body’s desperate warning call for these early prediabetes symptoms, as your kidneys try to flush out unwanted glucose.
Generally, high blood sugar levels occur when your body is not able to use up the blood glucose due to insulin resistance which is prominently caused due to sedentary lifestyle habits and overeating of greasy, fatty, and sugary foods.
You can bring your blood glucose levels down and under control by eating certain foods and avoiding some unhealthy foods.
Here are some ayurvedic foods that you can add to your pre diabetic diet plan to reverse it naturally.
Prediabetes – an ayurvedic approach
In Ayurveda there is not an equivalent term for prediabetes but prediabetes is considered a type of disorder that leads to frequent and forceful urination. Diabetes is called ‘madhumeha’ in which the urine passage is frequent, forceful, and is sweet due to excess blood sweetness.
Check: Do you always rush to the bathroom when you reach home?
If yes, it could be a symptom of prediabetes. You must avoid these 8 unhealthy habits that could worsen prediabetes.
How to cure prediabetes?
When your kapha dosha is aggravated because of eating Kapha-excess foods and doing Kapha aggravating activities it leads to elevated blood sugar levels, as per Ayurveda.
These include the excess of-
- Dairy products
- Sugar, jaggery, honey, sweet foods
- Fatty foods
- Dry foods
- Stale, and processed foods
- Fasting
If you avoid these things you can prevent blood sugar spikes and improve insulin resistance gradually.
Pre diabetic diet foods list
Ayurvedic texts state that if you take a wholesome diet and do Kapha pacifying activities you can prevent the progression to type 2 diabetes.
You should choose the quality of foods according to your dosha constitution (ayurvedic body type) and limit the quantity as per your digestive power or metabolism.
Recommended pre diabetic diet plan
Ayurvedic treatment believes in treating any disorder with the opposite kind of foods that actually causes that problem. That’s why we have included special foods below that are low in fat and rich in fiber, protein, and micronutrients. Eating them will also have a positive result in weight reduction and improved insulin sensitivity.
Gourmet grains
You should definitely eat whole grains as they contain a lot of fiber that reduces their glycemic load. Avoid refined grains as they release too much sugar too quickly.
Healthy grains-
- Barley
- Wheat
- Brown rice
- Dhan
- Bajara
Protein-packed pulses
Eating a protein-rich diet is highly beneficial in lowering your high blood sugar levels. This will slow down sugar absorption and allow your insulin-producing cells to rest, which are already too weak and tired during insulin resistance.
These pulses will keep your belly full for a long time and prevent you from gorging down food like a hungry horse. It is generally recommended that 15-20% of the total calories be derived from proteins in your pre diabetic diet plan.
Prediabetes-safe pulses-
- Bengal gram
- Toor dal
- Green gram
- Horse gram
- Moong dal
Vital Vegetables
As per Ayurveda, prediabetes is caused by too much sweetness of blood. Eating bitter and astringent foods decreases the main cause of prediabetes, too much Kapha, and helps in balancing it. It balances blood sweetness and cleanses body toxins.
Best veggies for prediabetes
- Fenugreek (methi)
- Pointed gourd
- Asparagus
- Bitter gourd
- Choulayee
- Bathuva
- Drum sticks
- Garlic
Fibrous Fruits
Bitter-tasting indigenous fruits are known for their therapeutic effects on diabetes patients. They help in lowering blood glucose levels and body weight.
Fruits are the healthiest source of natural sugar and you should avoid juicing them as it removes the necessary fibers. Do check the glycemic index value and choose the low GI fruits for your pre diabetic diet plan.
It is advised to have 25g-40 g of fiber in our daily diet. Fiber can be derived from both vegetables and fruits. Therefore, you should carefully divide the fruits and vegetable portions to keep fiber intake as per recommendations.
Add these fruits to your diet-
- Jamun
- Amla
- Goji
- Gooseberry
- Monkey fruit
- Pomegranate
Life-saving tips for prediabetes
Do not dodge carbs like a bullet.
Avoiding carbs is impossible and bad for health. A healthy alternative is to take more healthy carbs.
Instead, you can abide by these rules to reverse prediabetes naturally.
- Calories from simple (bad) sugars like cakes, biscuits, jams, jellies, jaggery, and white sugar should be restricted to less than 10%.
- 50% of your pre-diabetic diet should have complex (healthy) carbs from cereals, whole grains, and vegetables.
- Always check the glycemic index of the food.
- Choose low glycemic index foods or take a very small quantity of medium GI foods.
- To reduce the negative effect of high glycemic load, you can balance the plate by adding more protein and fiber-rich food.
- If you happen to overeat, do more physical activity later on to burn excess calories.
To sum up
Prediabetes can happen due to various causes. Therefore, apart from the above-mentioned dietary guidelines, you should adopt a more integrated and holistic approach by overall modification of lifestyle. This will help to reduce risk factors such as obesity and hypertension, as well.
Do regular exercise or yoga for prediabetes weight loss to maintain a healthy BMI.
Prefer quality over quantity and do not overeat. You may take the guidance of a nutritionist to get you a perfect pre diabetic diet plan and calorie calculation to yield the best result.
FAQs
What foods to avoid if you are prediabetic?
Simple sugars are bad carbs found in highly processed foods in unnatural forms like cakes, sweetened beverages, jellies, jaggery. All simple sugars should be avoided as much as possible. Avoid fatty foods like animal products and meat. You must avoid unhealthy carbs from refined grains, fruit juices, and starchy vegetables and grains. More about healthy and bad carbs can be found here.
What are the best foods to eat if you are prediabetic?
As per Ayurveda, bitter foods are the best for high blood sugar levels. Eating light foods are also good as they help in pacifying heavy-quality Kapha dosha. You should include fruits and vegetables rich in fibers and micronutrients. Nuts and seeds are rich in protein that also helps in maintaining body fat.
Can you reverse pre diabetes with diet?
Yes. A healthy diet is a natural way of cleansing your body’s toxins and keeping ailments away. Ayurveda says, “You are what you eat.” Also, prediabetes happens due to the imbalance of tridosha which can be restored with the help of a clean and holistic ayurvedic pre diabetic diet plan.
What is the miracle fruit that cures diabetes?
- Triphala
- Pomegranate
- Goji
- Jackfruit
- Jamun (Indian blackberry), are some miracle fruits for diabetes.