Being pre-diabetic means that your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. According to the Mayo Clinic, an A1C test between 5.7% and 6.4%, or a fasting blood glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dL, indicates prediabetes. However, the good news is that changing your lifestyle habits can help you manage or reverse prediabetes.
On September 23, Dr Karan Rajan, an NHS doctor and health content creator, shared all the food items one should have in their kitchen if they are prediabetic. Sharing the list of foods, he wrote in the caption, “Things I’d have in my pantry if I were pre-diabetic (from a doctor who’s in a higher-risk group for diabetes).”
1. Beans or lentils
Dr Ranjan suggested adding beans or lentils to any rice or pasta dishes, or even having beans on toast, as they are complex fibres and resistant starches that help to reduce blood glucose absorption.
2. Oats
Next, Dr Ranjan suggested including oats in your diet, as they are a beta-glucan prebiotic fibre that forms a gel in your gut and slows how quickly sugar enters your bloodstream. He anchored his suggestion on the basis of a February 2019 study that researched the ‘effect of oat β-glucan on postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses’. Across 103 randomised controlled trials, oats reduced the post-meal glucose spike by 28%.
3. Nuts
Dr Ranjan advised eating a handful of nuts instead of biscuits when craving midday or evening snacks, as they improve insulin sensitivity. He cited a February 2019 study that conducted randomised controlled trials on the effect of nuts on markers of glycemic control. Across 40 trials and 2,832 people, nuts improved insulin sensitivity. They didn’t lower fasting glucose or HbA1c. But Insulin resistance is a major driver in prediabetes.
4. Wholegrain
Dr Ranjan suggested consuming wholegrain rice, bread, and pasta instead of refined food sources. According to him, every additional 15g of whole grains per day was associated with a 12% lower risk of type 2 diabetes. The same was demonstrated in a January 2018 study that examined the relationship between carbohydrate quality and health.
It found a 15 to 30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular-related mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumers.
5. Hacks
Dr Ranjan also suggested a few food hacks to keep handy if one is pre-diabetic, including cooking your rice, pasta or potatoes, then chilling them overnight before consuming. According to him, cooling turns some of the starch into resistant starch, which behaves more like fibre. Moreover, rice cooled and then reheated gave a lower glucose response.
6. Pasta swap
Lastly, he suggested having chickpea and lentil pastas as they have more protein and more than double the fibre of regular pasta, with fewer carbs. “The protein and fibre blunt the overall rise in blood sugar after the meal,” he added.
Why this works
According to him, these food swaps work for prediabetic patients because fibre slows how quickly your stomach empties, so sugar enters your bloodstream more gradually. “Your gut bacteria ferment it into short-chain fatty acids, which are linked with better insulin sensitivity. Prediabetes is more reversible than you think,” he added.
“People who got their blood sugar back to normal had roughly half the risk of dying from heart disease or being hospitalised with heart failure. But only about 1 in 9 got there,” he stated in the end.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
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