You will find a lot of examples of how should a diabetic plate look like. According to the diet that the sites are advocating, the plates will also look different one from the other.
In my vision, the diabetic plate should make peace with your body, therefore I call it the “diabetic peace-plate”. And just like the peace sign, you can divide your place to incorporate all the macro-nutrients: fiber (the most important), fats and protein and carbs. Yes! Carbs! They are the most important fuel resource of your body and you should not avoid them totally.
One precision is imperative here: vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains and seeds, they contain in different amounts fiber and carbs, nuts will also have protein and fats. Therefore it will be difficult to be precise with any diabetic plate that you might find on the internet.
Let’s decompose the “peace-plate”:
I. Fiber
Fiber is mostly found in vegetables, fruits and legumes but also in whole grains. It should take half of your plate, even more if you enjoy fruits and veggies. Really, there is no maximum intake amount! Fiber is good because it will act like a barrier that slows or even avoids the carbs absorption thus keeping your BS within acceptable levels.
II. Protein & Fats
Regarding protein, you do have a daily limit which is 0.8gr to 1gr per 1kg / 2.2lbs body weight. If you’re over 50 then you can go up to 1.2gr, if you’re a high performance athlete, you can go up to 2gr.
Protein is important to build muscle but if you eat more than you should, your organs will suffer sooner or later. Extra protein is being discharged by the kidneys, so they are the first ones to give up. Your heart and arteries will have to deal with the saturated fats. Your pancreas has to work more to produce enzymes to break up the protein. And your bowels have to dispatch it. So extra pressure that your body does not need.
Protein sources: eggs, legumes, nuts, fish, seafood, poultry, pork, beef, dairy… Except dairy, the items are listed in order of importance and how much they should be consumed during a week.
Dairy also contains sugar and it can spike! However, the more the fat in the dairy, the less the sugar will be! So you should give priority to fermented and whole fat dairy: kefir, plain yogurt, Greek yogurt, whole fat sour cream, hard cheese, aged cheese. Fat dairy is also satiating so it takes longer time till you get hungry.
Healthy fat sources: cold pressed, non refined oils (olive, linseed, avocado, coconut, rapeseed, walnut), fat fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines, tuna, seafood etc), avocado, nuts, 80% and above dark chocolate, ghee.
III. Carbs
Your plates should contain healthy carbs as well. Your brain is the biggest consumer of carbs, around 70% of carbs will be used by the functions of your grey matter. When there is a shortage of carbs, the brain will switch to fat for fuel.
Besides vegetables, fruits and legumes, you can incorporate into your diet whole grains (quinoa, oats, buckwheat, brown rice or wild rice, Basmati rice, rye, barley and if you have the possibility: ancient wheat). Make sure that your bread does not contain sugars and other additives, and to toast it as the GI will drop. Try to limit to 2-3 spoons of whole grains on your plate or 1, maximum 2 slices of whole grain bread per day.
IV. Examples of food plates:
As long as the food is home-made, you’re in control of the ingredients!
