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What kinds of diets lower my risk for type 2 diabetes?
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Dr Quevedo is a world-renowned clinical and academic nephrologist with a passion for integrative approaches to treating diabetes and kidney disease Recently he has served as Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University…
FAST FACTS
What kinds of diets lower my risk for type 2 diabetes?
A whole foods diet (fresh foods in their natural state versus processed and “fast foods”) is the best diet strategy for anyone, including those individuals with diabetes. For a more structured approach, after years of studies and research in the diabetes community, it appears that the most successful strategy is to follow a “Mediterranean-type” diet with fresh (preferably organic) vegetables in abundant quantities as well as nuts and extra-virgin olive oil as two of the major sources of beneficial dietary fats.
With this diet, fresh fruit is consumed in moderation and low-fat dairy products, fish and poultry (remove the skin before eating) are consumed in low to moderate amounts, with red meat eaten sparingly and infrequently.
This type of diet is typically moderate in fat quantity, with fat (primarily from olive oil and nuts) comprising 25-35% of total daily calories and unhealthy saturated animal fat less than 10%. The Mediterranean-type diet has been shown to prevent prediabetes and diabetes when it is combined with regular exercise.
Go Nuts – Your Heart Will Thank You!
A 2008 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed added benefits when nuts were added as a fat source. Nuts (especially walnuts) are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have many benefits for people with diabetes. Most nuts are also high in monounsaturated fats, which lower bad LDL cholesterol while simultaneously raising good HDL cholesterol and can help insulin sensitivity.
Nuts are also a concentrated source of protein, fats, and fiber, which makes them slower for your body to digest and very filling. One 2004 study published in the journal Diabetes Care of 58 adults with diabetes looked at the effects of eating a handful of walnuts each day in addition to a healthy diet. The researchers found that on average, people who ate the walnuts had an increase in their good HDL cholesterol and a drop of 10% in their bad LDL cholesterol levels.
Walnuts and Almonds Top the List
Walnuts received their own, separate qualified health claim from the FDA in 2004, stating that they may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Many studies show that almonds top the list for health benefits, along with walnuts. Like other nuts, they are high in protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, minerals, and other nutrients. They are also high in vitamin E, an antioxidant. Almonds are also a good source of calcium.
Of course, nuts need to be eaten in moderation and viewed as a total part of your fat and calories for the day. About a handful of nuts per day should do it. And please leave the salted and roasted variety on the supermarket shelf! Although it’s more effort, you are much better off with shelled nuts that you crack open yourself – so bring out your old nutcracker and get to work. The natural oils in nuts can turn rancid quickly once they are shelled. It will pay off in the long run - you won’t be getting added sodium (bad for your heart!) and the nuts will be much fresher.
One Final Note
If you also added beans and avocados (again, in moderation) to your diet, in addition to the above, you’d have a fantastic healthy diet roadmap! Beans are a great lean, high-fiber protein source; and avocados, although high in fat, have the same type of “heart-healthy” monounsaturated fat as nuts.
Dr. Quevedo
With this diet, fresh fruit is consumed in moderation and low-fat dairy products, fish and poultry (remove the skin before eating) are consumed in low to moderate amounts, with red meat eaten sparingly and infrequently.
This type of diet is typically moderate in fat quantity, with fat (primarily from olive oil and nuts) comprising 25-35% of total daily calories and unhealthy saturated animal fat less than 10%. The Mediterranean-type diet has been shown to prevent prediabetes and diabetes when it is combined with regular exercise.
Go Nuts – Your Heart Will Thank You!
A 2008 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed added benefits when nuts were added as a fat source. Nuts (especially walnuts) are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have many benefits for people with diabetes. Most nuts are also high in monounsaturated fats, which lower bad LDL cholesterol while simultaneously raising good HDL cholesterol and can help insulin sensitivity.
Nuts are also a concentrated source of protein, fats, and fiber, which makes them slower for your body to digest and very filling. One 2004 study published in the journal Diabetes Care of 58 adults with diabetes looked at the effects of eating a handful of walnuts each day in addition to a healthy diet. The researchers found that on average, people who ate the walnuts had an increase in their good HDL cholesterol and a drop of 10% in their bad LDL cholesterol levels.
Walnuts and Almonds Top the List
Walnuts received their own, separate qualified health claim from the FDA in 2004, stating that they may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Many studies show that almonds top the list for health benefits, along with walnuts. Like other nuts, they are high in protein, fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, minerals, and other nutrients. They are also high in vitamin E, an antioxidant. Almonds are also a good source of calcium.
Of course, nuts need to be eaten in moderation and viewed as a total part of your fat and calories for the day. About a handful of nuts per day should do it. And please leave the salted and roasted variety on the supermarket shelf! Although it’s more effort, you are much better off with shelled nuts that you crack open yourself – so bring out your old nutcracker and get to work. The natural oils in nuts can turn rancid quickly once they are shelled. It will pay off in the long run - you won’t be getting added sodium (bad for your heart!) and the nuts will be much fresher.
One Final Note
If you also added beans and avocados (again, in moderation) to your diet, in addition to the above, you’d have a fantastic healthy diet roadmap! Beans are a great lean, high-fiber protein source; and avocados, although high in fat, have the same type of “heart-healthy” monounsaturated fat as nuts.
Dr. Quevedo
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CONDITIONS AND COMMUNITIES:
Diabetes Type 1
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Diabetes Type 2
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Diets & Weight Maintenance
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Healthy Eating
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Got a Question?
I do have a question about the Mediterranean diet. They do eat a great deal of feta cheese in their diet along with the foods that are commonly known in this diet. Though feta is quit high in fat, how does this cheese figure into the healthy aspect of the Mediterranean diet.
The diet avoids foods that have a high glycemic index, which are foods that quickly turn to glycemia in the blood, and substitutes foods with a lower glycemic index. I avoid anything with added sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses. I got used to enjoying foods with much less sweetening pretty quickly, so now anything that is highly sweetened tastes unappetizingly cloying to me. I eat no processed grains, substituting whole grains instead - no white flour, no white rice. I avoid those fruits and vegetables with a high glycemic index, such as white potatoes and other root vegetables, pineapple, watermelon, and all dried fuuits.