Low-Carb Diets For Diabetes – A Complete Guide To Follow!

A low-carb diet is the most common way to regulate the blood sugar level of a diabetic patient. Blood glucose is commonly known as blood sugar, so often people call this disease high blood sugar.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Even though diabetes is a complex disease, keeping blood sugar levels in check can considerably lower the chance of complications. Low-carb diets effectively check blood sugar levels.

Facts To Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets

Carbohydrates, also known as carbs, increase blood sugar levels more than other foods. Hence our body should produce more insulin to digest those extra blood sugar levels. Therefore, blood sugar levels have to be stabilized by reducing the carbohydrates intake by maintaining a low-carb diet for diabetes. 

The low-carb diet for diabetes may also help with other diabetes side effects like weight gain and heart problems.

Choose Your Low-Carb Diet:

• Very Low-carb diets for diabetes: 30 grams of carbohydrates or even less per day.
• Low-carb diet for diabetes: 130 grams of carbohydrates or even less per day.
• Moderate-carb diets for diabetes: 130 to 225 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Carbohydrate requirements may vary depending on a person’s activity level, weight, health goals, and other factors. People can set carb ratios by consulting with a doctor or dietician.

Another option is to gradually reduce carb intake and monitor blood sugar levels to observe how they change. This method may be more sustainable.

Types Of Diabetes:

There are various forms of diabetes, but type 1 and type 2 diabetes are the most common. Both of these ailments might strike at any age. However, Low-carb diets are appropriate for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients.

👉 Foods to Avoid:

Avoid foods that are high in carbohydrates and can cause diabetes patients’ blood sugar levels to increase significantly.

To avoid the following foods-

• Grains such as bread, pasta, cereal, corn, and others
• Milk
• Fruit other than berries
• Juice, soda, punch, sweetened tea, and other beverages
• Beer
• Desserts, baked pastries, candies, ice cream, and other similar items

👉 Food to Take:

Whole foods with a lot of nutrients are suitable to be included in the low-carb diet for diabetes so that you do not stay hungry and satisfy your body’s hunger.

• Meat 
• Eggs
• Seafood
• Nuts
• Leafy green vegetables (non-starchy vegetables)
• Avocados
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Coconut oil
• Butter, cream

👉 Moderately consumed foods:

• Dark chocolate (at least 85% cocoa): 30 grams or less
• Berries: 1 cup or less
• Plain, Greek yogurt: 1 cup or less
• Cottage cheese: 1/2 cup or less
• Flaxseeds or chia seeds: 2 tablespoons
• Spaghetti
• Liquor in a small amount
• Dry red wine

All the above foods can be taken in small quantities only as they contain a certain amount of carbs.

A Sample Low-Carb Diet:

Here is an example diet with no more than 15 grams of digestible carbohydrates per meal. You can change the serving sizes if your carb tolerance is higher or lower.

👉 For Breakfast-

You can have eggs and spinach for your breakfast. 3 eggs cooked in butter can be taken and it would have 1.5 grams of carbs. Along with it, 1 cup of sauteed spinach can be taken, which will be 3 grams of carbs.

Along with eggs and spinach, you can also take 1 cup of blackberries and 1 cup of coffee with cream. You can add sugar-free sweetener for taste.

• 3 eggs- 1.5 grams of carbs
• 1 cup of sauteed spinach- 3 grams of carbs
• 1 cup of blackberries- 6 grams of carbs

Total digestible carbs= 10.5 grams

👉 For Lunch-

You can take Cobb salad as your lunch meal. 

90 grams of cooked chicken, 30 grams of cheese, 1 slice of bacon, ½ medium avocado, 1 cup chopped tomatoes, 1 cup shredded lettuce, and some olive oil and vinegar.

Along with your salad, you can include 20 grams or two small squares of dark chocolate and 1 glass of iced tea. You can add sugar-free sweetener for taste.

• 30 grams of Roquefort cheese- 0.5 grams of carbs
• ½ avocado- 2 grams of carbs
• 1 cup of chopped tomatoes- 5 grams of carbs
• 1 cup of shredded lettuce- 1 gram of carbs
• 20 grams dark chocolates- 4 grams of carbs

Total digestible carbs= 12.5 grams

👉 For Dinner:

For dinner, you can eat Salmon with veggies.

115 grams of grilled salmon, ½ cup sauteed zucchini, 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms.

You can also include ½ cup sliced strawberries with whipped cream, 30 grams of chopped walnuts, and 120 grams of red wine.

• ½ cup of sauteed zucchini- 3 grams of carbs
• 1 cup of sauteed mushrooms- 2 grams of carbs
• 30 grams of chopped walnuts- 6 grams of carbs
• 120 grams of red wine- 3 grams of carbs

Total digestible carbs = 14 grams

Total digestible carb for the day = 37 grams

How To Calculate Carbs?

It is critical to know which foods contain carbohydrates, how much they include, and their caloric and GI value when calculating how many carbs a person can ingest per day.

Benefits Of Low-Carb Diets For Diabetes:

• Increase a person’s energy
• HbA1c levels, or average blood glucose, are lower.
• Minimize food cravings, particularly sugar cravings
• Reduce the chances of hypoglycemia
• Help with weight loss
• Reduce the likelihood of diabetes problems in the long run
• Cholesterol reduction

A low-carb diet can be one of the most successful diabetes treatment regimens, particularly for persons who can avoid taking medication. However, a low-carb diet for diabetes may not be suitable for all types of diabetic patients. It may sometimes cause some risks, including Vitamin deficiency or Mineral Deficiency.

Other risks include the following:

• Bone fractures and osteoporosis
• Fiber deficiency
• Arteries clogged

It is always recommended to consult a physician before making any significant dietary changes for diabetes management.