Online Reporter
Figuring out the best foods to eat when you have diabetes doesn’t have to be tough. To keep things simple, your main goal should be managing your blood sugar levels. It’s also important to eat foods that help prevent diabetes complications like heart disease.
Your diet can have a major role in preventing and managing diabetes. Here are the 16 best foods for people living with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2.
1. Fatty fish
Salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, and mackerel are great sources of the omega-3 fatty ac-ids DHA and EPA, which may have major benefits for heart health.
Getting enough of these fats on a regular basis is especially important for people with diabetes, who have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
DHA and EPATrusted Source protect the cells that line your blood vessels, reduce markers of in-flammation, and may help improve the way your arteries function.
A 2021 research review indicates that people who eat fatty fish regularly have a lower risk of heart attack and overall cardiovascular disease.
Research also indicatesTrusted Source that regular fish consumption can help manage blood pressure and body weight, which can help prevent diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Fish is also a great source of high quality protein, which helps you feel full and helps stabilize blood sugar levels.
2. Leafy greens
Leafy green vegetables are extremely nutritious and low in calories.
They’re also very low in digestible carbs, or carbs that the body absorbs, so they will not signifi-cantly affect blood sugar levels.
Spinach, kale, and other leafy greens are good sources of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C.
Another 2021 review of research suggests people with diabetes can significantly benefit from vitamin C therapy.
However, larger and long-term studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Vitamin C acts as a potent antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory qualities.
Increasing dietary intake of vitamin C-rich foods may help people with diabetes increase their serum vitamin C levels while reducing inflammation and cellular damage, according to a small 2017 studyTrusted Source.
3. Avocados
Avocados have less thanTrusted Source 1 gram of sugar, few carbohydrates, a high fiber content, and healthy fats, so you don’t have to worry about them raising your blood sugar levels.
Data provided via the 2019 Adventist Health Study-2 (AHS-2) suggests that avocado consumption is also associated withTrusted Source significantly lower body weight and body mass index (BMI). The study involved participants consuming a specific amount of avocado and self-reporting their height and weight at scheduled intervals. Participants had to meet certain crite-ria to join the research cohort.
This makes avocados an ideal snack for people with diabetes, especially since obesity increases the chances of developing diabetes.
Avocados may have properties specific to preventing diabetes.
A 2019 studyTrusted Source in mice indicated that avocatin B (AvoB), a fat molecule found only in avocados, inhibits incomplete oxidation in skeletal muscle and the pancreas, which reduces insulin resistance.
More research is needed in humans to establish the connection between avocados and diabetes prevention.
4. Eggs
Regular egg consumption may reduce your heart disease risk in several ways.
Eggs may decrease inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, increase your HDL (good) choles-terol levels, and modify the size and shape of your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
A 2020 studyTrusted Source showed that eating 12 eggs a week over 4 weeks for breakfast helped lower blood pressure in adults with prediabetes.
A 2017 research reviewTrusted Source indicated that eating 6–12 eggs per week as part of a nutritious diet and health-promoting lifestyle did not increase heart disease risk factors in peo-ple with
diabetes. Experts noted that research limitations prevented being able to provide defin-itive conclusions.
5. Beans
Beans are a type of legume rich in B vitamins, beneficial minerals (calcium, potassium, and magnesium), and fiber.
They also have a very low glycemic index (GI), which is important for managing diabetes.
In an older study involving more than 3,000 participants at high risk of cardiovascular disease, those who had a higher consumption of legumes had a reduced chance of developing type 2 diabetes.
6. Greek yogurt
An older long-term studyTrusted Source involving health data from more than 100,000 partici-pants found that a daily serving of yogurt was linked to an 18 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Research shows that milk and other dairy products are associated with a lower risk of over-weight and obesity in people with type 2 diabetes
The high levels of calcium, protein, and a special type of fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) found in yogurt may help keep you feeling full for longer.
What’s more, Greek yogurt contains only 6–8 g of carbs per serving, which is lower than regular yogurt.
It’s also higher in protein, which may promote weight loss by reducing appetite and thus de-creasing calorie intake.
7. Nuts
Research on a variety of different nuts has shown that regular consumption may reduce inflam-mation and help prevent weight gain.
Nuts may also help people with diabetes improve their heart health.
Research from 2019Trusted Source involving more than 16,000 participants with type 2 diabetes found that eating tree nuts — such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, and pistachios — lowered their risk of heart disease and death.
Research also indicates that nuts can improve blood glucose levels.
An older research reviewTrusted Source involving people with type 2 diabetes found that eating walnuts daily improved blood glucose levels.
This finding is important because people with type 2 diabetes often have elevated insulin levels, which are linked to obesity.
8. Broccoli
Broccoli is a highly nutritious vegetable.
A half cup of cooked broccoli containsTrusted Source only 27 calories and 3 grams of digestible carbs, along with important nutrients like vitamin C and magnesium.
One 2024 study in mice found that consuming broccoli led to a reduction in blood glucose.
This reduction in blood glucose levels is likely due to sulforaphane. The body converts glucosin-olates, which are found in broccoli, to sulforaphane and then uses it in metabolic processes.
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