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Eating Tips for Pre-Diabetics

Pre-diabetes is a common health condition in which the person has a high blood glucose level, but not high enough to be considered full-blown diabetes. People diagnosed with pre-diabetes can prevent it from evolving into type 2 diabetes by engaging in daily exercise and eating healthy, well-balanced meals.

  1. Fruits and Vegetables

    • Fruits and vegetables should be a daily part of the pre-diabetic's diet. Vegetables that don't contain starch are better than those that do. Such vegetables include broccoli, spinach, carrots or green beans. When choosing fruits and vegetables, strive to select an assortment of colors. This ensures that you have enough variety in your diet.

    Whole Grains

    • Whole grain foods are better than processed foods. Processed foods are made with refined flour and are not as healthy as whole grain because they lack essential nutrients. Choose whole wheat bread instead of white bread. Replace white rice and spaghetti with their whole grain counterparts. Even snacks like crackers or tortillas have whole grain substitutes.

    Beans

    • Dried beans, lentils and legumes are high in protein, vitamins and minerals. They are high in fiber. Eat beans several times a week for maximum health benefits. You can choose red beans, lima beans, pinto beans, black beans or black-eyed peas to add variety to your meals.

    Meats

    • Meats are an important part of a pre-diabetic diet because they are not carbohydrates and therefore don't raise blood glucose levels. The other benefit of meat is that it is high in protein. However, you shouldn't eat just any meat. Choose lean cuts of your favorite beef, pork or chicken. When possible, remove the skin before consuming the meat.

    Drinks

    • Drink skim milk rather than whole milk to reduce the amount of fat consumed. Limit sweet drinks like tea, punch and soda. Replace these with low-calories drinks such as diet soda or other low calorie drinks. Above all, your liquid diet should contain lots of water.

    Other Tips

    • Eat fish at least two or three times a week. Limit intake of high-calorie snacks such as cookies, potato chips, ice cream and cake. If you must use oil for cooking, use liquid oil rather than solid oil. Solid oil is high in trans and saturated fats. Limit portion sizes to control your weight.

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