Can a diabetic eat Vegetables?
Yes of course a diabetic can eat vegetables. Vegetables form a major portion of any healthful diet plan. This is true for a diabetic meal plan too. Vegetables are always widely included in planning diabetic meals. In fact, a diabetic must eat plenty of some vegetables. Vegetables are the main source of nutrition and fibre for a diabetic. The best way people with diabetes can eat vegetables is to eat a mix of various types and colours of vegetables. Eating a mix of a range of vegetables can bring a wide range of nutrients into yoru body.
Do vegetables raise your blood sugar levels?
Whether vegetables raise your blood sugar levels or not depends on two factors. Firstly, the type of vegetables you eat and secondly, the portion size of yoru vegetable diet. Vegetables can broadly be classified as starchy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables. Starchy vegetables are high in starches or carbohydrates and can raise your blood sugar levels. Upon digestion, starches get broken into glucose and when glucose enters your blood stream, your blood sugar levels rise.
You may find a blood glucose monitor like this one handy to check your blood sugar levels.
On the other hand, non-starchy vegetables do not raise your blood sugar levels. Whichever vegetables you eat, you must always keep the portion size moderate. Eating too much of anything can cause health problems. Experts recommend a diabetic to eat about 3-5 servings of non-starchy vegetables daily.
What vegetables are good for diabetics?
In a broader sense, all vegetables are fine for a diabetic to eat. Non-starchy vegetables are anyways fine because they do not raise blood sugar levels. Starchy vegetables too cannot be too harmful for a diabetic as long as you eat them in moderation. In most cases, the nutrition that a vegetable gives you is far more than the sugar they give you. However, people consider vegetables that do not raise your blood sugar or that help regulate blood sugar levels as good for diabetics. Vegetables that have low glycaemic index (GI) are great for diabetics. Some vegetables like pumpkin, okra, spinach, lettuce, green beans, kale, cauliflower, eggplant, celery, courgette or zucchini are great for diabetics.
