Indian Diet Plan for Pre Diabetes (Reverse it with food and exercise)

India is country with increasing number of lifestyle diseases. It is all because of urbanization, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity and inherent genetic characteristics. In this post about Indian diet plan for pre diabetes , we will be tackling the most common lifestyle disorder, diabetes.

The pre diabetic stage is when your blood glucose levels and HbA1C are higher than normal. Though, the levels are not alarming high to conclude that the person is already a diabetic, but is on the higher side of normal range. This is a warning stage, and if not taken care of , You might land up as a complete diabetic. Act before the problem arises !

 

Classic signs of pre diabetes:

• Insulin resistance manifested by acanthosis nigricans
• HbA1c between 5.5 to 6
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome ( pcod )
• Fasting sugar is more than normal range

Pre – diabetes is majorly caused by:

• Obesity
• Physical inactivity
• Faulty eating habits

Indian diet plan for pre diabetes

Before we see the Indian diet plan for pre diabetes we need to see how we can stop this from becoming an illness.

There are 2 steps to control pre diabetes

1. Diet modification
2. Physical activity

Diet modification:

• Do not skip meals:

Meals if skipped leads to over eating in the next meal. This causes excess caloric intake. Excess calories are stored as fats in the body. More the fat storage more is the insulin resistance. Divide you meals accordingly and try to consume 5 – 6 small meals in a day.

• Keep the protein intake high:

Indian diets are rich in carbohydrates. This causes glycaemic overload and may lead to excess sugar in the blood. This worsens the insulin resistance. The proteins balances the glycaemic load of the meal and also help in slow release of sugars in the blood. Include good quality of low fat proteins. Consume low fat dairy products, egg and poultry, lean meat, fish, dals and pulses, nuts and soy.

Read – Indian Low Carb Diet

– Top 10 Low carb Indian Recipes 

• Consume lower glycaemic index foods:

Blood sugars are greatly affected by glycaemic index foods. Consume whole grain cereals, pulses, whole fruits, fresh vegetables, oats, chia seeds and millets. These are high in satiety value and have added benefit of reducing weight. Low glycaemic index foods reduce the sugar load and thereby control the blood sugar levels.

Read – Fruits and vegetables allowed in Diabetes  ( You can follow the same list , till blood sugar comes to normal.)

• Select fiber rich foods:

The foods that are high in fiber reduce the glycaemic index of food. More the fiber more is the control over the blood sugars. Fiber also absorbs excess fat from the intestines itself and restricts its absorption in the blood.

Fiber also helps reduce the food intake, has high satiety value and keeps you full for longer period of time. Include lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains cereals, multigrain flours, millets, brown rice, quinoa, chia seeds, flaxseeds etc.

Read – Different types of millets that help in diabetes and weight loss.

– Different types of rice that helps in diabetes and weight loss.

• Include nuts in the diet:

Nuts are fiber and omega 3 rich foods. Omega 3 helps to reduce insulin resistance. Also nuts are best option for the small hunger between the meals. It reduces hunger pangs, avoids overeating in next meal and control blood sugars too. Walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds are a good choice.

Read – Benefits of Almonds

• Consume more healthy fats:

Avoid consumption of trans and saturated fats. It worsens the insulin resistance. Consume more of MUFA and PUFA rich oils. Include omega 3 rich foods in your diet. Omega 3 helps to correct the insulin resistance. Consume rice bran oil, olive oil. Include walnuts, flax seeds, fish and egg in your daily diet.

Read – Benefits of Flax seeds.

• Control portion sizes:

This is the stage where with a little caution you can avoid the onset of diabetes. Restrict the portion size to the recommended allowance. This helps in weight reduction, sugar control and avoids fat deposition in the body.

Read – How to stop food cravings ?

• Reduce your weight:

Obesity is the classic manifestation of pre diabetes. Once you get rid of excess weight the symptoms of pre diabetes will reverse. With prominent obesity you can consult a doctor and start with pre diabetes medicines which will help reduce weight.

In initial stages only diet modification and some exercise will help to reduce weight. Decrease in weight dramatically reduces the insulin resistance, fat deposition and blood sugars.

Read – 1200 calories Indian diet plan for weight loss.

– Top 10 basic tip for weight loss

• Add functional foods in the diet:

Oats have beta glucan that reduces body fat, weight and controls blood sugars. Methi seeds if added in the diet also helps in all the above three issues. Cinnamon in small quantity also helps to reduce insulin resistance. Psyllium husk also helps to reduce weight, reduce fat deposition and controls sugars.

Read – Benefits of Methi seeds in diabetes and weight loss 

– Benefits of Psyllium husk / Isabgol

– How Bhindi helps in diabetes ?

• Avoid junk and soft drinks:

Junk food and soft drinks are too high in fats and sugars respectively. These foods increase weight and cause insulin resistance. Also these foods have immense impact on blood sugars because of their high glycaemic index.

Before we move on to the Indian diet plan for Pre diabetes , we need to look into the second Important aspect that will help you in getting the elevated blood sugars to normal.

Physical activity:

Start with any physical activity. Aerobic activity will help to reduce the insulin resistance and thus control pre diabetes. Take up walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, dance or yoga. Combine you workouts with strength training to tone the body.

Here are some important reads that will help you in choosing an appropriate workout that suits you.

• Top 10 yoga asanas for weight loss 
• Benefits of walking 
• Benefits of skipping rope
• Strength training vs Yoga Vs aerobic exercises for weight loss 

 

Indian diet plan for pre diabetes

Here is a sample diet chart of Indian diet plan for pre diabetes.

 

Points to remember:

• Do not skip any meal
• Incorporate vegetables in every dish possible. This reduces the glycaemic load of the food
• Consume protein in each and every meal
• Keep minimum gap of 2 to 3 hours between each meal. Do not extend the gap beyond 4 – 5 hours max.
• Wait for 2 hours after meals if you want to exercise

Here is a detailed 1200 calorie diet plan for diabetes . this too will help you if you follow in place of above mentioned Indian diet plan for pre diabetes.

End note:

A perfect lifestyle modification can cut the risk of developing diabetes in near future. You can always start with baby steps like by choosing healthy food options, controlling portion size and increasing physical activity. Even if any one of the reading of blood sugars is normal, it will cut down the risk of developing by half. Hope this Indian diet plan for pre diabetes helps you in avoiding the medicines and getting your blood sugar to normal.