People with diabetes must strictly control their blood sugar and pay more attention to their diet. Some foods should not be eaten, and some foods can be eaten in small amounts. Vegetables are nutritious foods. For people with diabetes, they can eat some beneficial foods. Foods that are good for lowering blood sugar, so what vegetables should diabetics eat? What vegetables can diabetics eat? Let me introduce it to you below.
1. What vegetables should diabetics eat?
1. Leeks
Leeks are warm in nature and most suitable for the human body. Eating more leeks in spring can enhance the spleen and stomach of the human body. , but leeks are not suitable for digestion, so don’t eat too much at one time.
2. Water spinach
Water spinach contains proteins, sugars, lipids, phenols, terpenes, amino acids and other substances. There are reports that purple water spinach contains insulin-like components and can be used to treat diabetes. Water spinach can be stir-fried or served cold.
3. Onions
Onions are mild in taste and have the effect of lowering blood sugar. It is also found that onions are the only vegetables containing prostaglandin A. Eating more onions can help expand blood vessels and prevent arteriosclerosis. , beneficial to the prevention of diabetic complications. Onions can also lower blood lipids, reduce blood viscosity, and improve atherosclerosis. Regular consumption can prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications of diabetes.
4. Bitter melon
Bitter melon is cold in nature and bitter in taste. It can remove evil heat, relieve fatigue, clear the mind and improve eyesight. Bitter melon clears away heat and detoxifies, relieves restlessness and quenches thirst. Bitter melon is known as "phytoinsulin". Pharmacological tests have found that the bitter melon saponins contained in bitter melon not only have insulin-like effects, but can also stimulate insulin release and have a very obvious blood sugar-lowering effect.
5. Carrots
Diabetic patients will produce a large number of free genes in their blood, and it is these free genes that destroy the activity of insulin in the human body. Carrots contain a large amount of beta carotene, which can scavenge free radicals in the body. Therefore, eating more carrots, cabbage and other carotene-rich vegetables in your daily diet is of great help in preventing diabetes.
6. Lettuce
Lettuce is rich in niacin, which is an insulin activator. Regular consumption is helpful in preventing and treating diabetes. Lettuce can stimulate gastrointestinal motility and has an auxiliary therapeutic effect on gastroparesis and constipation caused by diabetes. The potassium ions contained in lettuce are 27 times more than sodium ions, which can promote urination and lower blood pressure.
7. Black fungus
Black fungus has anti-platelet aggregation, reduces blood coagulation, can reduce blood clots, prevent thrombosis, helps prevent and treat arteriosclerosis, and also has It has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, blood lipid-lowering, blood sugar-lowering effects, as well as anti-tumor activity and inhibitory effect on cancer cells.
2. How to prevent diabetes
1. Get enough sleep for 6 to 8 hours every night. A study by the University of Warwick in the UK found that compared with people who sleep 6 to 8 hours a night, people who sleep less have a 28% higher risk of developing diabetes.
2. Give up sweet drinks. Research from the Harvard School of Public Health found that 1 to 2 cans of sweet drinks per day can increase the risk of diabetes26.
3. Eat less fat and increase fiber. Dr. George King, director of the Joslin Diabetes Research Center at Harvard Medical School, said that consuming more fiber can help you feel full faster, prevent overeating, help raise blood sugar more slowly, and reduce pancreatic B Cellular stress.
4. Eat more complete fruits and vegetables. Dr. King said whole fruits and vegetables contain many nutrients necessary for controlling weight and blood sugar that processed foods or supplements cannot.
5. Chew your meals slowly. Mainly helps prevent overeating. If friends and family work together to improve diet and other living habits and encourage and support each other, the effect will be better.
6. Take a walk for 15 minutes after meals. Can significantly reduce blood sugar levels after meals and maintain this for at least 3 hours.
7. Lift weights twice a week. Dr. Sherry Kohlberg, a professor at Old Dominion University in Virginia, USA, said that most of the body's sugar is stored in muscles. The less muscle, the smaller the sugar storage space, and the higher the blood sugar will be. Strength training keeps blood sugar levels lower for longer than aerobic exercise.
8. For every half hour of sitting, move for two minutes. Sitting for long periods of time can cause glucose metabolism to slow down, and sitting for 6 to 8 hours a day can increase the risk of diabetes19.
9. Calm down and reduce stress. Dr. Jin said that when you are stressed, the level of the stress hormone cortisol in the body will increase, which can easily cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes. Meditating, listening to music, practicing yoga, etc. are all good ways to reduce stress.