120 Nigerian foods for Diabetics: managing diabetes in Nigeria
Nigerian foods for diabetics: a perfect combination
Credit:Travelstart
What are the Nigerian foods for Diabetics? What should a Nigerian diabetic eat? What Nigerian foods should diabetes milletus patients avoid? Are there low sugar Nigerian diets for diabetics? What is the meal plan for diabetes patients?
This article also covers more than 50 Nigerian food ideas for diabetics….
Being diabetic is not easy especially in Nigeria. The main problem of being diabetic is knowing the right food combinations. For a Nigerian diabetic or an African diabetic, our diets contain a lot of sugar or starch. Our quest for Nigerian foods without sugar or low sugar could be arduous or at best confusing.
Nobody including health care providers have been able to successfully draft up a comprehensive Nigerian food timetable for diabetic patients. Also during consultions, Endocrinologists, because of their work load, almost always do not have time to sit with their patients for long in order to discuss a diabetic food plan.
Nigerian diabetics end up resorting to the internet for guidance and counselling on low sugar diet as evidenced by the following google searches below which I will try as much as possible to answer.
“Nigerian food timetable for diabetic patients”
“Nigerian foods without Sugar”
“Managing diabetics in Nigeria”
“African food for diabetes patient”
“List of foods for diabetic patients”
“Food recipes for diabetic patients”
“Best Nigerian foods for diabetic patients”
“List of Nigerian foods for diabetics”
“is fufu good for diabetes?”
“non starchy foods in nigeria”
“is wheat good for diabetics?”
“what are good carbs for a diabetic to eat”
Now to answer these queries, the underlying principles of diet management in diabetes is to: avoid sugary or starchy foods (low carbs diet), avoid fatty meals, eat plenty vegetables, eat fruits, run away from alcohol, flee from smoking, and drink plenty of water.
Comprehensive list of best Nigerian foods for diabetic patients
This list contain African or Nigerian foods that a diabetic should eat or avoid for better glycemic or sugar control.
Bitter leaf soup is good for diabetic patients and helps reduce body sugar
Water leaf soup contains low sugar
Afang soup is very good for sugar control.
Ewedu soup should be in your food plan
Avoid yam or pounded yam. It contains too much sugar. Yam or pounded yam is not ideal for diabetics
Egusi soup is a controversial meal for diabetics. While some recommend it, others believe it contains too much sugar. In my opinion, foods that are controversial are best avoided.
Green leafy vegetables are perfect for you
Amala from unripe plantain is highly recommended for diabetic patients.
Unripe plantain must be in your menu
Do not eat ripe plantain because it contains too much sugar.
Avoid red meat
Eat fish please-any type
Do not eat cow intestines- “shaki”, ring, or “round about”
Eat liver
Kpomo or cowskin is good for you
No beer
No dry gin, liquor or spirits
No coke
No Fanta
No Sprite
No Seven Up
No pepsi
No Mirinda
Youghurt should be in your meal plan
Eat cocoyam or pound it for soup
Please no sweet potatoes
Irish potatoes is perfect for diabetics
You can drink Amstel malt and only Amstel because of its low sugar Please avoid other malt drinks.
Say no to Eba
Eat sea foods
Eat snails
No buns, egg roll, meat pies or junks
If you want to eat chicken 🐔 or turkey 🦃 please peel or the back skin before eating. Their skins contain a lot of fats.
No smoking
White soup is good
Oha soup is perfect
Eat rice but in very small amount
Eat beans but in very amount
For swallow, please eat wheat
Do not eat any other bread 🍞 apart from wheat bread
No sugar cane
Take oranges
Eat apples
Do not eat mango because of its high glycemic index.
Corn is good
Irish Potato is good
You can eat groundnut soup if you enjoy it
Eat small bananas
No spaghetti
Tuwo shinkafa, and tuwo masara is good for diabetes
Eat bush meat
No sharwama
Pap and milk with no sugar is OK
Three Crowns Milk is the best for diabetics
Small beans is OK but if it disturbs you stop eating
You can eat tomato stew
Do not eat starch please
Banga soup is ok 👌 for diabetics
Periwinkles are perfect for you
Eat pepper soup with goat meat or fish
Eat goat meat
Semovita is good but low quantity
Poundo yam is nice but low quantity
Eat guava fruit
Eat garden egg or igba
You can eat quacker oats
Eat plenty of vegetable soup
Eat ofada rice, it has low glycemic index
Soyabeans is good
Eat Avocado pear
No pineapple or in small quantities
Eat water melon in small quantities
Eat plenty of carrots
Eat plenty of cucumbers
Ogbono soup is good for sugar control
Okra soup is recommended
Eat shrimps or crayfish
Eat millet (Joro)
Drink Kunu
Drink dawa (guinea corn)
You can eat cow leg
Nkwobi
Eat walnuts
Eat tiger nuts (Hausa groundnuts)
Eat coconut
Wheatmeal swallow
Zobo is good
Eat Akara balls
Eat chicken gizzard
Agidi
Isi ewu in small quantities
Chop onions
A little of water yam is ok
Moi moi
Eat spinach
Avoid any kind of butter
No energy drinks
Don’t eat cakes, chocolates
Eat eggs but reduce the quantity. At most 2 eggs a week if you want to eat at all
Use vegetable oil to cook
Take fruits juices with low sugar
Edikan Ikong
Cabbage
Fibre biscuits is ok
Oatmeal
Garlic
Ginger supplements in food
Avoid refined sugar or sugar of any type
No macaroni or spaghetti, too starchy
Black soup is perfect for diabetics. It reduces blood sugar and good for glycemic control.
Okporoko stock fish is recommended for diabetics.
No herbal concoctions please
Take soursop fruit
African almond (Agbalomo) is good for diabetes patients
A little of banga rice please
African pear( small small pear) is good for you
You can eat fuku (cow lungs)
Cow tongue is good
Eat cow penis or testis
Do not eat tapioca
Add uziza and utazi to your diet. . They help lower blood sugar.
As a diabetic, do not eat fruits like water melon, pineapple, dates, pawpaw, mango, banana because of their high glycemic index and can spike your blood sugar to high levels.
Eat groundnut
A diabetic can drink ijebu garri…..yes a diabetic can eat garri but not eba sha.
Semovita
Eat tiger nuts
Semolina
As a diabetic, eat but with moderation, feel free to say no when offered food especially high carbohydrates diet in parties, from friends or family 👪 . Take charge of your health.
Nigerian foods for diabetics: a perfect combination Credit:Travelstart
Are there any suggestions or contributions on Nigerian foods for diabetics? Please leave a comment.
This post was last modified on April 9, 2023 6:20 am
Udomoh Eshemokha
I am a practicing medical doctor, a philosopher, critical thinker, a globalist, a patriot, SEO expert and a patient blogger.
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Bless you great for this comprehensive list.
GOOD EVENING TO ALL LIFE CARE-GIVERS.
PLEASE CAN I BE A BENEFICIARY OF YOUR GOD GIVEN KNOWLEDGE ON DIABETES TYPE 2, PARTICULARLY THE TYPE OF FOODS AND FRUITS I SHOULD CONSUME?
GOD BLESS YOU
Already stated in the article. Please go through it.
Regards! The best advice for diabetics is for them to determibe the meals that are best for them. I realised that wheat bread, green plantain and green plantain flour raises some patients sugar level very high. Recommended is very little quantity of food whenever you must eat, sleep very well and do a lot of exercises. To know the best meal for you, measue your sugar level one hour after every meal. Might sound expensive but this is the right route to go.
thanks for this feedback.
But y d beans should be in small quantity.thanks
So as not to elevate your sugar.
God bless you for this eye opening I have been searching for this for a long time thank you so much.
Welcome
Pls , can u prepare a food timetable for Diabetic patients. I am an average Nigerian.
Goodmorning, food time-table is no longer in vogue for diabetics. Just eat moderately and appropriately.
Thank you
Thanks so much sir. Tuwo shinkafa is made from rice while tuwo masara is made from maize flour, I thought diabetic patients are to avoid these tuwo. God bless you.
No. Just eat moderately. Moderation is key for diabetics.
Very very helpful. Thanks a lot
Welcome
you said no yam or pounded yam in no.5 and said small pounded yam in no.63.
can an ulcer diabetic take amstel malt and beans?
That may be a type... It will be corrected.
Ulcer patients should avoid beans and carbonated drinks until they have been fully treated.
Am aghast about tapioka, in preparing we always soak it overnight to remove the starch before eating
Please sweet potato is better than irish. They have almost same amount of carbohydrates. However, sweet potato has more fibre and lower glycemic index which makes it a better choice. Pick whole wheat foods or grains (E.g whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta), brown rice.
In short, no food is bad. It is just the type and amount that matters.
View Comments
Bless you great for this comprehensive list.
GOOD EVENING TO ALL LIFE CARE-GIVERS.
PLEASE CAN I BE A BENEFICIARY OF YOUR GOD GIVEN KNOWLEDGE ON DIABETES TYPE 2, PARTICULARLY THE TYPE OF FOODS AND FRUITS I SHOULD CONSUME?
GOD BLESS YOU
Already stated in the article. Please go through it.
Regards! The best advice for diabetics is for them to determibe the meals that are best for them. I realised that wheat bread, green plantain and green plantain flour raises some patients sugar level very high. Recommended is very little quantity of food whenever you must eat, sleep very well and do a lot of exercises. To know the best meal for you, measue your sugar level one hour after every meal. Might sound expensive but this is the right route to go.
thanks for this feedback.
But y d beans should be in small quantity.thanks
So as not to elevate your sugar.
God bless you for this eye opening I have been searching for this for a long time thank you so much.
Welcome
Pls , can u prepare a food timetable for Diabetic patients. I am an average Nigerian.
Goodmorning, food time-table is no longer in vogue for diabetics. Just eat moderately and appropriately.
Thank you
Thanks so much sir. Tuwo shinkafa is made from rice while tuwo masara is made from maize flour, I thought diabetic patients are to avoid these tuwo. God bless you.
No. Just eat moderately. Moderation is key for diabetics.
Very very helpful. Thanks a lot
Welcome
you said no yam or pounded yam in no.5 and said small pounded yam in no.63.
can an ulcer diabetic take amstel malt and beans?
That may be a type... It will be corrected.
Ulcer patients should avoid beans and carbonated drinks until they have been fully treated.
Am aghast about tapioka, in preparing we always soak it overnight to remove the starch before eating
Please sweet potato is better than irish. They have almost same amount of carbohydrates. However, sweet potato has more fibre and lower glycemic index which makes it a better choice. Pick whole wheat foods or grains (E.g whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta), brown rice.
In short, no food is bad. It is just the type and amount that matters.