Indulge Your Potato Craving With Fiber-Rich Sweet Potatoes
When it comes to foods for type 2 diabetes, not all potatoes are created equal. To keep your blood sugar levels in check, it's best to reach for sweet potatoes, which are high in fiber (eat the skin for more fiber), as well as a host of other vitamins.
People who have diabetes can benefit from limiting high-GI foods. Thus, it's often recommended that they choose sweet potatoes, especially when boiled rather than baked, over white potatoes, as they generally have a lower GI. Learn more about the glycemic index for a diabetes diet here.
Small red potatoes with the skin are an excellent choice of potatoes for diabetics. The skin of small potatoes provides fibre, which slows digestion and absorption. And small, whole potatoes are also easier to portion control.
It is worth noting that while they are in the clear for type 2 diabetes patients, potatoes are high GI foods and will still increase your blood pressure if consumed in large quantities. The key here is moderation. Simply limit your portions of potatoes per meal. On top of that, you should also mind how you cook them.
Some evidence-based guidelines recommend consuming low glycemic index foods (whole grain bread, legumes, and basmati rice) in place of high glycemic foods (such as potatoes and watermelon) to manage glycemic control.
Potatoes and diabetes
If your carb goal at a meal is 30 grams, for example, then you can eat 1 cup of mashed potato or 1 medium potato, if you choose.
Red Desiree Potatoes are part of the Red Potato family and are considered to be the healthiest of all potatoes, as they contain the highest levels of vitamins, minerals and healthy phytochemicals.
Eat plenty of beans
They don't have a big impact on blood glucose and may help to control blood fats such as cholesterol. Try kidney beans, chickpeas, green lentils, and even baked beans: hot in soups and casseroles, cold in salads, in baked falafel, bean burgers and low fat hummus and dahls.
Any bread made with 100% whole grains is a better choice for diabetics. The high fiber content of those breads leads to a lower and slower rise in blood sugar compared to other breads.
The russet potato, despite its low fiber content, has very low sugar content and ranks the best (as having the lowest) sugar-to-fiber ratio.
The lowest is Zerella with 8.9 g per 100 g. GiLICIOUS comes in at 10.3 g per 100. Both of these are marketed as low carb potatoes and claim '25% less carbs'. The highest carb content is found in white flesh sweet potato with 19.3 g per 100 g.
The best way by which potatoes for diabetics can be prepared is to boil or steam them.
Carrots are a great vegetable to add to your diet as a person with diabetes because they are high in fiber, contain many essential vitamins and minerals, and do not raise your blood sugar.
On the other hand, tomatoes are non-starchy and are perfect for diabetics. Also, tomatoes have a low glycemic index and around 100 grams of tomatoes have a glycemic index of 23, which makes it a healthy diabetic friendly fruit.
Even if you choose baked chips or crackers that are lower in fat, they still pack a fair amount of calories and carbohydrates, so it's essential to monitor your portion size and avoid pairing them with high-fat dips. Ferguson recommends substituting classic potato chips for baked whole-grain crackers dipped in salsa.
Since the low glycemic index for broccoli makes it a low-GI food, it won't cause an immediate spike in glucose. Thus, helping you maintain better control over your blood sugar and making broccoli the best vegetable for diabetics.
A: Basmati rice is a nutritious and low-glycemic food that can benefit people with diabetes. However, monitoring portion size and limiting intake are essential to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Generally, people with diabetes should aim to eat no more than 1/2 cup of cooked basmati rice per meal.
The glycemic index for any food will go up if you cook or prepare them with honey or other carbohydrates. Still, carrots are high in fiber, so that helps slow down how quickly they release the sugar. They also have a lower glycemic index than other root vegetables like potatoes.
You could try grains like couscous, quinoa and barley to introduce a new flavour to your favourite dishes. Barley and quinoa are both low-GI foods, and quinoa is also a source of protein and fibre, and works particularly well in salads.