EAT SMART
High energy food
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Adding oats to your daily diet could be the key to controlling diabetes. DR. SHASHANK R. JOSHI
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The American Diabetic Association diet recommends high-fibre foods like beans, peas, whole grains, oats, bran cereals, vegetables, and low glycemic index fruits for diabetics because foods high in fibre may help lower blood glucose and blood-fat levels. The recommended level is 20 to 50 grams of fibre.
Today diabetes is recognised as a major lifestyle disease in India. Further, diabetics are at risk for a host of other complications that could lead to an early death.
However, diabetics and those at risk for diabetes can take control of the diseases more effectively by adopting certain lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise. A recent study on the “Effect of Oat Beta glucan, in Type-2 diabetics” showed that 60 gm (eight tablespoons) of oats every day for people with Type-2 or adult-onset diabetes decreases post-prandial blood sugar levels. During the study, dietary patterns of the subjects were studied in detail.
Incorporate oats
People with diabetes were asked to eat eight tablespoons of oats everyday for a year and the impact of this diet was measured using scientific tests. Patients were given standardised indigenous recipes incorporating oats and asked to eat it in any form at any time of the day.
Two cereals were substituted with rolled oats. Since the trials were done in Mumbai, popular recipes from Western India like oat poha, upma, khakra, bhakri, cheela, soup, muthia, kanji and dosa were introduced.
Eating just eight tablespoons of oats was found to decrease post-prandial blood sugar by 10-15 per cent in people with type-2 or adult-onset diabetes. Researchers found that compliance was better when oats was incorporated into traditional Indian recipes. Some were even allowed to lower doses of diabetes-control medication.
Benefits
Oats and other whole grains are a rich source of magnesium, a mineral that acts as a co-factor for more than 300 enzymes, including those essential for the body’s use of glucose and insulin secretion.
Most beneficial are the beta-glucans, a soluble fibre shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels, particularly the LDL or ‘bad’ cholesterol, thereby improving the overall cholesterol. Oats, a wholegrain contains high amount of betaglucan, which helps in reducing cholesterol and stabilise blood sugar level, substantially lowering Type-2 diabetes risks.”
So starting your day with a blood sugar stabilising food such as oatmeal make easier to keep blood sugar levels under control for the rest of the day, especially when the rest of your day is also supported with nourishing fibre-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, karela, papaya, oranges, whole grain cereals like oats, bran, pulses, sprouted mung regularly.
Keep a watch on your blood sugar levels and be healthy!
The writer is a Consultant Endocrinologist based in Mumbai.
Oats Fact file
Rich in nutrients that make it a basic energy food to kick-start the day and prevent tiredness later.
Rich source of Vitamin B complex, which is good for the nervous system and strengthening bones.
High concentration of calcium, protein, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, thiamin and vitamin E compared to other whole grain foods such as wheat and rye.
Power packed with Phytoestrogens, Phytochemicals to help fight disease.
Contains flavonoids that help prevent heart disease and cancer.
Rich in beta-glucan, a soluble fibre that helps lower cholesterol.
Add oats to your diet
Make your idli more nutritious by adding oats to it.
Use rolled oats or crushed bran cereal instead of breadcrumbs.
Try oats uthappam, oatbran upma, oat paratha, toast with oats, oatmeal porridge
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