What to eat to prevent and control type 2 diabetes | The Comidista | Gastronomy

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized, initially, by insulin resistance and which characteristically progresses towards a decrease in insulin secretion. Despite all the scientific advances in the field of diagnosis and treatment, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus has grown spectacularly in the last 60 years. It must be taken into account that it is a non-communicable disease; Just like cancer or cardiovascular diseases, it is not contagious. Thus, and without being able to deny a certain genetic predisposition in its appearance, the truth is that -bad- lifestyles, related to lack of physical activity and poor diet, significantly condition its diagnosis.

There is no diet to treat and prevent it: there are dozens

Despite the general idea, widespread even among some health professionals who are not very up to date, there are very few nuances to be made about the recommended diet for people with diabetes. Thus, the dietary profile that they should follow is the one that is associated with a healthy eating pattern (even if it is not very specific). When asked how a person with diabetes should eat, the answer must be categorical and without the need to give further explanations: good. No macronutrients up or down. Good.

Best of all, this dietary pattern is identical to that proposed for prevention. If you prefer, you could say that you have to eat like a person with diabetes to, precisely, not have diabetes. Let’s focus on following a healthy diet, as made clear by various institutions that focus their work on diabetes. For example:

In the end, as we discuss in this article, the diet therapy guides for the different non-communicable diseases -cancer, diabetes, etc.- are virtually identical in their approaches, and in turn, these are also the ones that are addressed to the general population. through the most current healthy eating guides.

Day to day life facing -and against- type 2 diabetes

Patients with diagnosed type 2 diabetes can do a lot with their lifestyles, beyond taking medication and continuing to do the same. Despite being repetitive, it is more necessary than ever to follow the hammerhead strategy and repeat, as many times as necessary, recommendations that can be followed day by day to improve the prognosis of this disease. Take these tips into consideration:

• Avoid ultra-processed products as much as possible and focus your choices on natural options. That is, fresh food and possibly seasonal. A good strategy is to shop at the market or, if you have it closer at hand, at the supermarket but only buying the foods that you would also find in a market.
• “Diabetic” foods are usually not a good option. Its existence responds more to commercial and marketing issues than to true utility.
• In each meal you eat throughout the day, include a serving or at least one serving of plant foods. From breakfast to dinner, fruits, vegetables and greens must be a common denominator. You can prepare them in countless ways, from raw to any recipe that comes to mind: the wardrobe staple Comidister can always help you with salad, fruit and vegetable recipes (you can have a good time searching and consulting this tool using different filters).
• Legumes are friends, very friends in the diet of people with diabetes. Do not hesitate to put them wherever you want, without fear and with joy. In main meals they could be present three to four times a week. Food resources regarding legumes are, again, quite useful (cold, hot, puree or whatever you prefer).

• When you add cereal-based foods such as rice, pasta or bread, preferably choose their whole grain versions.
• Think about reducing meat, without it being prohibited by any means. You can always give more presence to other sources of protein such as eggs or nuts (natural or roasted, without further additions).
• Fish is also a great option to include that healthy source of protein and healthy fats. Here are a few recipes.
• In the case of dairy products, the problem is usually the products that often accompany them (cookies, “breakfast” cereals, and the like). Thus, milk – with coffee, tea and little else – natural yogurt, without more, and cheese made with milk, rennet and little salt are fine, and the rest… well, “not good”.

• Exercise: like all human beings, we are born to be active, so any strategy, preferably daily and constant, that you choose, will be welcome to increase the benefits of exercise. Not all work or family care days are compatible with a daily visit to the gym, and precariousness directly affects this factor, but as little as you can, find a way to move.

What if this chronic disease could subside?

Approximately 25 years ago the scientific community felt, as Obi Wan Kenobi would say, a shock in the force: some patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes no longer met the diagnostic criteria for this disease. The first indication that type 2 diabetes was fully reversible came from bariatric surgery. This study highlighted that blood glucose levels normalized in obese people with type 2 diabetes who underwent this surgery and that 10 years later, almost 90% were still free of diabetes. Later it was proven that bariatric surgery was not the architect of the “miracle”, but it was the mechanism that led these patients to eat healthier.

In this other job, Type 2 diabetes: etiology and reversibility It was found that, in some cases and without surgery of any kind, the same goal could be achieved with fairly strict management of both diet and physical activity. The passage of time and new research seem to reaffirm this new paradigm in the approach to this disease: type 2 diabetes can be reversed in many patients. Furthermore, in those in whom total remission is not achieved, the same intervention on diet and physical activity greatly favors the prognosis and quality of life of the patients.

I don’t know why type 2 diabetes, a chronic and to some extent degenerative disease, with many comorbidities, which has grown enormously in recent years – and will continue – and at the same time is so predictable, is unknown or ignored by most people. popular opinion and health authorities. How many public campaigns have you seen focused on its prevention?

The matter becomes truly serious when some health professionals go so far as to maintain that the diet of a patient with diabetes can be free, with insulin and other drugs, advocating for democratization in their use as the only tool. I can’t help but wonder: what is the point of people with diabetes being able to continue eating the same things that made them sick?

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