Diabetic diet meal plan south africa…Diabetic foods in South Africa…south african diabetic meal plan…diabetic shopping list South Africa.

I noticed that many south Africans that are living with diabetes mellitus are poorly informed about the right food to eat and avoid. The south Africa diabetic time table and diet meal plan is filled with many many contradictions and controversies……

Diabetic diet meal plan south africa...Diabetic foods in South Africa
Diabetic diet meal plan south africa…Diabetic foods in South Africa

Some wannabe dieticians will today tell you a particular food, fruit or drink to eat as a diabetic and tomorrow warn you to stop same food because it has now became bad for diabetes….

To avoid this nagging confusion, please read this article ….it will help you know the right food combination as a diabetic living in South Africa…

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

COMMON DIETARY MISTAKES OF DIABETES MANAGEMENT

If you will read till the end of this post, you will see the mistakes that you should never allow anybody with diabetes around you to make.

November 14 yearly marks World Diabetes Day, a day mapped out globally to raise awareness about diabetes, its health complications and management.

Statistically, 1 in 10 people are living with diabetes globally. It is therefore important to go for the test to know if you are at risk of diabetes.

This years theme is focused on promoting the role of nurses in the prevention and management of diabetes. Which is “The Nurse and Diabetes.”

This article is geared towards highlighting some of the dietary mistakes people make while managing diabetes.

📌 Getting dietary information from Non Professional.

Everybody out there becomes a professional once the issue of food is on the front burner.

Diabetic patients especially newly diagnosed patients are usually overwhelmed with fear that they are diabetic and hence tend to take dietary advice from people that they shouldn’t listen to thereby making wrong dietary choices.

READ ALSO: List of diabetic foods in Nigeria

Diabetes is never and will never be a death sentence so quit the fear and consult Clinical Registered Dietitian Nutritionists to help you with your management.

They are the experts in field of Nutrition that will guide you in managing diabetes with a suitable and adequate diet tailored for you alone.

It is therefore important to consult Nutritionist-Dietitians for proper dietary management of diabetes.

📌Beans.

Some people have continue to kill themselves with beans since they were diagnosed.😂😂😂😂
They were advised to eat only beans in the remaining part of their lives. Reasons being that beans is a high protein food, and only carbohydrate foods can increase their blood sugar.

This is a fat lie!!! Yes you heard me…

It is totally wrong. Beans as a legume is high in carbohydrate than protein. Also eating only beans without other foods groups is not adequate. Moreover, the body will still convert it to carbohydrate which in turn affects the blood sugar.

📌Irregular Eating Pattern, Skipping Meals or Fasting

Alot of diabetic patients have an irregular eaten pattern, you need to have a regular eaten pattern for you to be successful in the management of diabetes.

Some believe that since food could increase their blood sugar, skipping meals or fasting occasionally would help to reduce it. They believe that without eating for a period of time that the body will not receive any carbohydrate that will increase their blood sugar hence the sugar will become controlled.

Again, this is totally wrong. During fasting, the body obtained sugar/glucose for energy for its normal function through the following biochemical processes:

▪️Glycogenolysis, process by which glycogen, the primary carbohydrate stored in the liver and muscle cells of animals, is broken down into glucose to provide immediate energy and to maintain blood glucose levels during fasting.

▪️Gluconeogenesis, When glycogen stores are depleted and glucose is required by the body, the liver initiates the production of glucose from amino acids, lactate, and glycerol in a process called gluconeogenesis.

▪️Lipolysis could also occur during starvation which is the process of breaking down of fat and triglycerides to obtain energy for the body by hydrolysis into two principal components, fatty acids and glycerol and this takes place in the cytoplasm.

The down side of skipping meals and fasting is that it could lead to complications known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) which is a life-threatening problem.

It occurs when the body starts breaking down fat at a rate that is much too fast. The liver processes the fat into a fuel called ketones, which causes the blood to become acidic. DKA is also caused by a lack of insulin in the body.

READ ALSO; List of Ghanaian foods for diabetics

📌 Drinking malt.

Often times you hear diabetic patients who have not been counseled by a Nutritionist or Dietitian say “I don’t take sugary drinks such as soda, orange flavored drinks, energy drinks etc anymore, but I only take MALT. 🤣🤣🤣

Now the question is, is malt not a sugary beverage too?
The sugar content of malt drinks though reduced when compared to other soft drinks are still substantial and can raise your blood sugar level.

The average 30-33cl malt drink in the market contains about 25g of sugar which is about 5 cubes of sugar. Now what if one drinks more than one bottle?

📌 Avoiding all forms of carbohydrate foods.

Most diabetic patients that have been misinformed tend to avoid all sources of carbohydrates. This is because they believe carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels. Ideally, the body requires all nutrients in the right amount for its optimum function inclusive of carbohydrates whether you are diabetic or not.

Hence if you avoid carbs, the body will still convert the other macronutrients to glucose which is its primary fuel and of course will affect the blood sugar levels.

📌 Selecting only a particular type of carbohydrates such as Wheat, or Unripe plantain, semolina.

I do remember some diabetic patient I once counseled said, I no longer eat swallows like garri, tuwo; masara, shinkafa, gero, dawa, fufu, only semo. Now diabetic patients believe that semo is low in carbs and will help control their blood sugar.

The question is, do you know that these other carb swallows has high fiber content than semolina. Fiber can slow the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels.

Did you get value?

And since you have known some of the mistakes in diabetes management, I know you still have some that we did not mention. You can share with us in the comment section some of the ones people practice around you.

Update: African yam is good for diabetics.

Culled from the Facebook page of:

©️Adile Adimchi Dike(RDN).

Diabetes Expert

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here