Diabetic meals the Indian way

In my previous article I have written about my personal journey from the point of having a vague idea about this disease to knowing how to be in charge of it. Here I would like to write specifically about diabetic meals in the Indian context. Most medical research happens in USA and therefore there is more information available online about American meals and lifestyles to control diabetes. But, slowly India has become the diabetes capital of the world and sometimes we have our Indian doctors to thank for it. Diabetes is a lifestyle disease and there is very little information provided to us about the changes one needs to make in the lifestyle and food habits in order to live healthy with the disease.

There is a lot of general information available about this online, so I am going to try to stick to information specific to Indian food habits. Before that, let me cover some of the basics of diabetes management. In simple words your blood sugars surge up when your body has not produced enough insulin to manage the carbohydrate intake (not sugar alone) that you took in the previous meal.  In addition our liver produces sugar, which can only be controlled by medication. We will not talk about that here. We will stick to the part that we can control or manage.  Let me point out that along with diet and exercise constant touch with your doctor to manage your medication is very important.

When I say that the insulin produced is not enough to manage the carbohydrate intake, you either, need to increase the insulin produced, or lower the carbohydrate intake. Increasing insulin means taking stronger drugs. So, why not try and reduce the carbohydrate intake. What is the recommended carbohydrate intake during the day? Let us call 15 gms of carbs = 1 unit.

Breakfast – 2 unit.

Lunch – 3 unit.

Snack – 2 unit.

Dinner – 3 unit.

Carb Counting:

This is a healthy intake for everybody. But non-diabetics can afford some cheating, not us.  Here comes the next question, How do you know how many carbohydrates a meal has. Let me cover all the commonly consumed food groups by Indians that have carbohydrate and this may surprise a lot of us.

Foods                                                                                                                    approx. Carbohydrate

Starchy or sweet veggies: potatoes, peas, carrots,  corn etc.        15 gms in ½ cup

Beans: Rajma, Chole, Moong, Chauli, etc.                                            15 gms in ½ cup

Pulses or Dals: Arhar(toor), Moong, Masoor, etc.                             15 gms in ½ cup

Milk: Milk, Curd (yogurt),  etc                                                                    12-15 gms in 1 small cup

Grains:

Chapti/Roti                                                                                                         15 gms in thin 6” round

Paratha                                                                                                                25 -40 gms 8” round

Naan                                                                                                                      22-25 gms one standard triangle

Tandoori Roti                                                                                                     25-30 gmsin 6” round

Rice                                                                                                                        15 gms in 1/3 cup cooked

Meats: Goat meat, Chicken, Fish, Shrimp, etc.                                    0 gms

Starch free veggies: Bhindi, Baingan, Karela, Doodhi, etc..           0 gms

The 0 gm carbohydrate foods can be eaten in unlimited quantities but the other foods have to be accounted for. Juices although may seem healthy are not recommended for diabetics as ½ or 1/3 rd cup of fruit juice contain 15 gms.(i.e. 1 unit) of carbs each and there is no fiber. Eat a fruit instead.

Substitution:

 I decided to write this article not only to help manage diabetes, but also to happily manage it. What I mean by it is, if you account for the carbs that you are eating, you can actually eat what you want once in a way. You can have 1 cup of juice if you do not mind letting go of your 2 units of carbs(2 rotis) during one of the meals. Have your juice and the veggies and dal. So you are substituting your foods but still staying in the allowed limit of cars. Since, carbs are the actual culprit, it is important that you carefully count and substitute them. Miscalculations will show up in your sugar levels. Minor ups and downs are ok. Diabetics are not expected to and should not control their sugar levels to those of non-diabetics. It can be dangerous.

Substituting your healthy meals for a treat once in a way is ok. But, you should avoid doing this often. Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Fruits have sugars and therefore carbs, but they are a far better choice than eating rabdi. When you eat fruits you get vitamins, antioxidants, fiber etc. whereas rabdi is full of saturated fats.

Make choices for a healthy body in the long run. Side effects of diabetes can shock you, since there are rarely any obvious symptoms. So, count your carbs and plan your meals. Avoid being spontaneous. Occasional cheating is totally acceptable.