Diabetic Food Pyramid

The diabetic food pyramid consists of four essential types of food. By eating foods to help metabolize sugar, promote insulin sensitivity, reduce oxidative stress, and protect from glycation, you could finally reach your treatment goals.

Your diet should help to restore proper sugar metabolism. Excess blood sugar initiates a cascade of dangerous reactions that destroy the body and ultimately lead to disease.

Eating certain foods that are rich in the mineral chromium , may help to restore normal sugar metabolism. The following foods and spices are potent sugar metabolizers:

1. Cinnamon

2. Basil

3. Apples

4. Green beans

5. Broccoli

6. Soluble Fiber (whole wheat bread)

7. Sprouted breads

Add 1-2 servings with each major meal.

Food Type #2: Promoters

The hallmark of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance. Insulin directs the uptake of blood sugars by the cells throughout your body.

Promoting insulin sensitivity nutritionally may even help medications work better. The following foods are strong insulin promoters because they are rich in the antioxidant, lipoic acid :

1. Collard greens

2. Lean red meats (organ meats)

3. Brewer's yeast

4. Cabbage

A meal designed around the diabetic food pyramid should consist of 6-7 ounces of lean red meat with 2-3 servings of dark greens.

Food Type #3: Reducers

Excess blood sugar creates extreme levels of oxidative stress, one of the leading theories of aging. If not properly metabolized, blood sugar quickly transforms into highly reactive molecules that damage your body. Cells and tissues are destroyed faster than they can be replaced.

Reducers, also known as antioxidants , are foods that lower oxidative stress by mopping up reactive sugar metabolites. Eating a wide variety of antioxidants from a wide variety of sources is a key step for beating diabetes.

The following foods are rich in reducers (antioxidants) and should make up a large part of diabetic diets:

1. Red beans

2. Blueberries

3. Cranberries

4. Artichokes

5. Pomegranate

6. Green tea

7. Cocoa (dark chocolate)

8. Tart cherries

9. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli)

Every meal should contain 2-3 servings of reducers (antioxidants). And if you got to snack, eat only foods rich in antioxidants.

Food Type #4: Protectors

It is crucial that diabetics understand the ways in which blood glucose causes damage. The most notorious process is glycation, the same process that causes food to brown in an oven.

Glycation (defined as sugar molecules reacting with proteins to produce nonfunctional structures in the body) is a key feature of diabetes-related complications because it compromises proteins throughout the body and is linked to nerve damage, heart attack, and blindness.

Protectors are foods that can minimize the effects of glycation:

1. Turkey

2. Liver

3. Tuna

4. Chili peppers

5. Lentils

6. Chicken

7. Lean red meat

Chili peppers added to marinades for chicken and fish is a great way to enhance diabetic diets.

Summary

If given the right tools, the human body can heal itself. And healing begins by following the diabetic food pyramid. Start eating metabolizers, promoters, reducers, and protectors today!

Dr. Smith wrote the article, Four Food Types for Diabetic Diets. It's a must read for anyone fighting against the medical consequences associated with high blood sugar.

Visit our friends at Age Well. They provide a comprehensive overview of vitamins and offer suggestions for aging well.

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