Over 39 million people in the MENA region suffer from diabetes, and most of us know at least one person affected by this disease.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood sugar, or glucose level is too high. The hormone insulin, made by your pancreas, helps glucose from the foods you eat get into your cells to be used for energy. If your body doesn’t produce any, or enough, insulin, or does not respond properly to insulin (insulin resistance), glucose is not able to reach your cells and stays in your blood. Too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems.
There is no cure for diabetes, but there are steps you can take to manage your diabetes and remain healthy:
Ways in which you can control your blood sugar levels:
- Consume 3 meals per day and include whole grains, fresh fruits, vegetables and lean protein. The fiber in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains slow digestion of carbohydrates and sugar absorption. Control your portions to maintain a healthy weight.
- Eat at regular intervals, and at about the same time each day. Space your meals no more than 6 hours apart. This may help control your blood sugar levels.
- Balance the timing of your meals with any diabetes pills or insulin you take. Your doctor can explain the most effective way to do this.
- Control your weight. Excess weight and body fat, especially if located in the abdominal area, can lead to insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels. Aim to keep your waist circumference below 88 cm if you’re a woman, and 102 cm if you’re a man.
- Exercise regularly to regulate blood glucose, burn calories and promote weight loss. Exercise also helps your muscles use blood sugar for energy and muscle contraction. Brisk walking, biking, dancing, running, swimming and weightlifting are all good options.
- Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and help your kidneys flush out excess blood sugar.
- Avoid smoking, or at least decrease cigarette consumption as much as possible, and avoid second-hand smoke. Smoking causes hardening of the arteries which complicates diabetes management.
- Manage your stress to avoid stress hormones such as cortisol and glucagon which cause a rise in blood sugar levels.
- Get enough quality sleep as a lack of sleep affects blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity, can cause increased appetite and weight gain as well as increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
- Monitor your blood glucose levels, especially first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything and 2 hours after the start of your meals. Discuss the results with your doctor on a regular basis. Fasting blood glucose should range between 90-130 and no higher 180 two hours after a meal.
Tips:
- Although it is preferable that you don’t, you may occasionally have a sweet or salty snack. It is best to do so no more than 2 times per week. For example, you can have a small chocolate bar (around 25 gm), 1 thin slice of homemade cake, ½ cup of homemade dessert, 1 small bag of chips, or 3 cups of popcorn. It is advisable to remove one piece of fruit and to increase your physical activity on the days when you consume a snack.
- Choose non- and low-fat dairy products. The fat in full-fat milk products is saturated fat which increases blood cholesterol and can cause hardening of your arteries and further complicate your diabetes.
- Avoid butter, ghee, heavy cream, regular mayonnaise and fried foods. These foods are high in calories and hence promote weight gain. They also contain saturated fats.
- Limit your egg consumption to three a week. If you only eat egg whites, you can eat more.
- Avoid all fruit juices, even the fresh variety, as each glass contains 6-8 teaspoons of sugar and no fiber.
- Always eat fruits with their peels on and avoid having more than one fruit at a time. Try to focus on fruits with a low glycemic index such as: apples; apricots; cherries; grapefruit; oranges; pears; plums; strawberries; and peaches. The University of Sydney offers a handy tool that enables you to easily search for the glycemic value of food items.
Any Lebanese stew such (as Mouloukhye or Bazella) is suitable for a diabetic person, provided you:
- Cook it using only a small amount of oil
- Use only lean meat
- Replace white rice with brown rice
- Don’t eat it with bread
Know what affects your blood sugar level and learn to control them by making long-term changes in your lifestyle. Be sure to work closely with your doctor to manage diabetes. If you need help with creating a meal plan, a licensed nutritionist can help.
