Diabetic Diet Chart: Healthy food chart for diabetic patients in India

What to eat and in how much quantity is something that a diabetic patient is always worried about. Consuming a few things might increase the level of sugar while leaving some food items entirely from your diet might lead to bringing down the sugar level to an extreme low. Both the situations are scary and can get a diabetic patient in trouble.

In this post, we are discussing a diabetic diet chart enlisting food items that most diabetics can consume and should include in their daily/weekly diet. These food items can be consumed for snacking purposes as well as for your daily breakfast,  lunch and dinner. This chart will help patients of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

As such, diet plays an important role in each and every individual’s life. But for a diabetic, food is extremely important to keep the person healthy. A diabetic diet chart for diabetic patients aims at allowing the patient enough nutrients in the form of carbs, fats, proteins etc. so that the sugar levels can be maintained.  So, it is important to choose the right kind of food for a diabetic.

Further, a sugar patient’s diet chart also guides the person as to how much food they should consume per meal. With a diabetic diet chart including healthy and delectable food palate, a diabetic will benefit immensely.

Health Food List for Sugar Patients

A diabetic patient should use a healthy food chart to make it easy to keep a tab on their diet. Below is the ratio of food per plate for a diabetic.

• Carbohydrate – 1/4
• Protein – 1/4
• Non-Starchy Vegetables -1/2
• Fat – A teaspoon

Here is a sugar patient diet chart that suits best for the diabetics:

5 Food Items that Serves Best for Sugar Patients

1. Greens Leafy veggies – Green leafy vegetables are good for everyone including diabetic patients. They include easy to digest carbs and are low in calories. Spinach, kale, and other green leafy veggies are also rich sources of vitamin C and antioxidants namely lutein and zeaxanthin that are good for your eyes.
2. Fatty Fish – Mackerel, Salmon, and Sardines are food items that are known for their health benefits and they are good sources of omega-3 fat.  By including these food items in their diet, diabetic patients can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and inflammation.
3. Greek Yogurt – Greek yogurt is another item that features in the diabetic food chart food chart and is known for its diabetic friendly qualities. It helps in managing weight and allow probiotics in the body to control blood sugar and reduce risk of heart diseases.
4. Eggs – Eggs are healthy food that are good for the heart, lowers the risk of eye disease and are high in protein. Including eggs in a sugar patient diabetic diet chart helps in managing blood sugar and cholesterol.
5. Chia Seeds – Chia seeds are fiber rich food that are low in digestible carbs.  The viscous fiber present in chia seeds help in controlling blood sugar by slowing the rate of glucose absorption process down. Further, these seeds lower hunger pangs as well as blood pressure.

Now, let’s take a look at a healthy food chart for diabetic patients with 1200 calories per day intake. This diet would help the diabetic to manage both blood sugar level and weight.

Diabetic Diet Food Chart – 1200 Calories Per Day

The below mentioned sugar patient healthy food chart of 1200 calorie per day intake is a good way to manage a healthy food plan to control diabetes.

• You can start your morning with a glass of lukewarm fenugreek water around 6:30 – 7 am.  (Soak around 10 grams of fenugreek or methi seeds in hot water to control type 2 diabetes)
• Next, for breakfast eat an apple and 1 or 2 slices of bread with a glass of milk/buttermilk between 8:30 to 9am.
• For lunch you can eat 2 chapati made of multigrain flour with 1 bowl each of vegetable and dal along with salad between 1:30 – 2pm
• Drink a cup of green tea around 4:30 pm
• Next, around 7:30pm, you can have a bowl of salad
• For dinner, eat 1 chapati and 1 bowl of vegetable at 8:30pm
• And finally, drink half a cup of milk at 10 pm before going to sleep (do not add any sugar)

3 Myths Concerning Diabetes

1. It is normally considered that people with diabetes should avoid carbs altogether. Though all carbs are not good for a diabetic patient, however some carbs are recommended for consumption for a diabetic.  Thus, it is better to include such carbs in the diet plan for diabetic patients after consulting your physician and in the right amount.
2. Many people are also of the view that a diabetic cannot eat fruits. However, the fact is fruits contain antioxidants along with vitamins, minerals and fibre and thus are beneficial if included in the sugar control diet chart as per the recommended measure.
3. Another myth is regarding the consumption of dry fruits for diabetics. It is considered that the blood sugar diet chart should not include dry fruits. However, the fact is dry fruits are sun dried fruits and are high in nutrients. They are also rich sources of fructose, minerals, vitamins as well as antioxidants. Thus, doctors recommend minimum 2-3 dry fruits with low glycemic index for a diabetic patient per day

Food That a Diabetic Should Avoid

• Diabetes is associated with cardiovascular diseases and strokes. Thus, below listed food are not recommended for diabetic patients:
• Avoid saturated fats in butter, beef, sausage, bacon, coconut oil, palm kernel oil etc.
• Avoid trans fats available in processed food, baked food, margarine etc.
• Avoid cholesterol containing food like egg yolk, animal liver, meat etc.
• Avoid excess of sodium.