Diabetes cannot be cured. However, it can be controlled. Diabetic Mediterranean Diet can be your alternative to manage your blood sugar level. If you follow this diet strictly, you will not need to take diabetes medication to manage your condition.
What is Mediterranean diet?
A Mediterranean diet is rich in fresh vegetables and fruits. It also contains olive oil, poultry, pasta, fresh bread, oily fish, and legumes. This diet is very healthy since it is high in whole grains and vegetables. Also, people in Mediterranean diet have at least 30% daily calories comes from healthy fat, such as olive oil. Therefore, they have more possibility to manage their diabetes without medication. That’s why diabetic Mediterranean diet is recommended for people with diabetes type 2.
Some of the vegetables that are commonly found in this particular diet are tomatoes, lettuce, onions, olive, peppers, arugula, and eggplants. Those plants are great for controlling blood sugar level. Certain fruits are high in fructose. To avoid sudden spikes in blood sugar, you had better choose to have berries or other low-carbohydrate fruits included in your Mediterranean diet.
For your protein source, you can choose beans, eggs, seeds, poultry, and low amount of red meat. Meanwhile, the sources of fat in this diet are mozzarella cheeses, olive oil, avocado, yogurt, nuts, and oily fish. To manage your blood sugar level, you need to make sure that you limit your carbohydrate intake when you are on this diet. Being on this diet doesn’t mean that you cannot have other meals than Mediterranean meals. However, you need to make sure that you avoid processed foods.
How effective is Mediteranean diet in managing diabetes?
Diabetic Mediterranean diet is better for managing diabetes than another type of foods. It is based on researches that had been conducted for four years. From those studies, it is found that 44% of people who are in Mediterranean diet still need diabetes medication to control their blood sugar level. And 56% of them no longer need to take diabetes medication.
Meanwhile, 70% people with diabetes in low-fat diet still need to take diabetes medication. And 30% of them no longer have to take medication. Therefore, it can be concluded that Mediterranean diet is a better diet for people with diabetes than the low-fat diet.
To get the best benefit of diabetic Mediterranean diet, you need to combine this diet with exercise. This particular diet will not only help you to manage your diabetes. It will also help you lower your heart disease risks.