Can a diabetic eat Leafy greens?
Leafy greens are high in vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre but low in carbohydrates, calories. This makes leafy greens great for diabetics to eat. So, the answer is yes, a diabetic can eat leafy greens. In fact, leafy greens make an important part of a healthful diabetic diet. Eating leafy greens is one of the best ways to regulate your blood sugar levels and manage diabetes. A diabetic can eat leafy greens either raw or cooked. In fact, over cooking leafy greens can do some damage to the nutrients. So, eating leafy greens raw can give you more benefits.
Why should you eat leafy greens?
Experts say if a person starts eating leafy greens regularly from a young age, this will reduce the risk of being a diabetic in future. Many studies have proved that spinach and other leafy greens contain polyphenols and vitamin C which act as antioxidants and reduce risk of type 2 diabetes. Moreover, including leafy greens in yoru diet helps reduce risk of obesity, heart disease and hypertension. So, it is a really good idea to eat fresh fruit and vegetables including leafy greens every day.
Some of the popular leafy greens for diabetics include spinach, fenugreek leaves, cress, mint leaves, kale, coriander leaves etc. Other leafy greens such as guava leaves, neem leaves, curry leaves, mango leaves are home remedies for diabetes.
What happens when you eat a lot of leafy greens?
Eating leafy greens regularly is a great way to keep some serious health issues at bay. However, it is not a good idea to eat too many leafy greens. Eating too many leafy greens can in some cases cause certain abnormal symptoms. These include abdominal pain, kidney stones, low blood pressure, vomiting, weak pulse etc. Moreover, eating too many leafy greens can keep your stomach busy digesting them. While your stomach digests the leafy greens, nutrients from other food can be missed out. So, in some cases, eating too much leafy greens can cause nutrient deficiencies.
