120 Nigerian foods for Diabetics: managing diabetes in Nigeria

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.

1. Bitter leaf soup is good for diabetic patients and helps reduce body sugar
2. Water leaf soup contains low sugar
3. Afang soup is very good for sugar control.
4. Ewedu soup should be in your food plan
5. Avoid yam or pounded yam.  It contains too much sugar. Yam or pounded yam is not ideal for diabetics
6. 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.
7. Green leafy vegetables are perfect for you
8. Amala from unripe plantain is highly recommended for diabetic patients.
9. Unripe plantain must be in your menu
10. Do not eat ripe plantain because it contains too much sugar.
11. Avoid red meat
12. Eat fish please-any type
13. Do not eat cow intestines- “shaki”, ring, or “round about”
14. Eat liver
15. Kpomo or cowskin is good for you
16. No beer
17. No dry gin,  liquor or spirits
18. No coke
19. No Fanta
20. No Sprite
21. No Seven Up
22. No pepsi
23. No Mirinda
24. Youghurt should be in your meal plan
25. Eat cocoyam or pound it for soup
26. Please no sweet potatoes
27. Irish potatoes is perfect for diabetics
28. You can drink Amstel malt and only Amstel because of its low sugar  Please avoid other malt drinks.
29.  Say no to Eba
30. Eat sea foods
31. Eat snails
32. No buns, egg roll, meat pies or junks
33. If you want to eat chicken 🐔 or turkey  🦃 please peel or the back skin before eating. Their skins contain a lot of fats.
34. No smoking
35. White soup is good
36. Oha soup is perfect
37. Eat rice but in very small amount
38. Eat beans but in very amount
39. For swallow, please eat wheat
40. Do not eat any other bread 🍞  apart from wheat bread
41. No sugar cane
42. Take oranges
43. Eat apples
44. Do not eat mango because of its high glycemic index.
45. Corn is good
46. Irish Potato is good
47. You can eat groundnut soup if you enjoy it
48. Eat small bananas
49. No spaghetti
50. Tuwo shinkafa,  and tuwo masara is  good for diabetes
51. Eat bush meat
52. No sharwama
53. Pap and milk with no sugar is OK
54. Three Crowns Milk is the best for diabetics
55. Small beans is OK but if it disturbs you stop eating
56. You can eat tomato stew
57. Do not eat starch please
58. Banga soup is ok 👌 for diabetics
59. Periwinkles are perfect for you
60. Eat pepper soup with goat meat or fish
61. Eat goat meat
62. Semovita is good but low quantity
63. Poundo yam is nice but low quantity
64. Eat guava fruit
65. Eat garden egg or igba
66. You can eat quacker oats
67. Eat plenty of vegetable soup
68. Eat ofada rice, it has low glycemic index
69. Soyabeans is good
70. Eat Avocado pear
71. No pineapple or in small quantities
72. Eat water melon in small quantities
73. Eat plenty of carrots
74. Eat plenty of cucumbers
75. Ogbono soup is good for sugar control
76. Okra soup is recommended
77. Eat shrimps or crayfish
78. Eat millet (Joro)
79. Drink Kunu
80. Drink dawa (guinea corn)
81. You can eat cow leg
82. Nkwobi
83. Eat walnuts
84.  Eat tiger nuts (Hausa groundnuts)
85.  Eat coconut
86. Wheatmeal swallow
87.  Zobo is good
88.  Eat Akara balls
89.  Eat chicken gizzard
90.  Agidi
91.  Isi ewu in small quantities
92.  Chop onions
93.  A little of water yam is ok
94.  Moi moi
95.  Eat spinach
96.  Avoid any kind of butter
97.  No energy drinks
98. Don’t eat cakes,  chocolates
99. Eat eggs but reduce the quantity. At most 2 eggs a week if you want to eat at all
100.  Use vegetable oil to cook
101.  Take fruits juices with low sugar
102.  Edikan Ikong
103.  Cabbage
104.  Fibre biscuits is ok
105.  Oatmeal
106.  Garlic
107.  Ginger supplements in food
108.  Avoid refined sugar or sugar of any type
109.  No macaroni or spaghetti, too starchy
110.  Black soup is perfect for diabetics. It reduces blood sugar and good for glycemic control. 
111.  Okporoko stock fish is recommended for diabetics.
112.  No herbal concoctions  please
113.  Take soursop fruit
114.  African almond (Agbalomo) is good for diabetes patients
115.  A little of banga rice please
116.  African pear( small small pear) is good for you
117.  You can eat fuku (cow lungs)
118.  Cow tongue is good
119.  Eat cow penis or testis
120.  Do not eat tapioca
121. Add uziza and utazi to your diet. . They help lower blood sugar.
122.  Bitter leaf soup…is cool
123. Take little akamu with honey
124. Guinea corn is good for diabetes
125. Fruits for diabetic patients in Nigeria: apples, avocadoes, tomatoes, soursop, grapefruit, garden eggs, blackberries, peaches, plums, oranges, figs, cherries, raisins, strawberries, blackberries,
126. 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.
127. Eat groundnut
128. A diabetic can drink ijebu garri…..yes a diabetic can eat garri but not eba sha.
129. Semovita
130. Eat tiger nuts
131. 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.

Are there any suggestions or contributions on Nigerian foods for diabetics?  Please leave a comment.