Dietary Fiber Food
Turn your diet into a fiber rich one and watch how you drive diabetes away. Yes, a healthy diet with fruits and vegetables and grains rich enough in fiber itself can regulate your glucose levels in the blood.
Though fiber in the form of carbohydrate does not increase the blood glucose levels, instead controls it. Studies prove that fiber rich foods have a controlling effect on the blood sugar levels. This is because such food helps to move other foods at a better pace in the digestive track resulting in less calorie absorption. Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk is nothing but the part of the plant that cannot be absorbed. It can be either soluble or insoluble. The American diabetes association recommends 24g-54g in six weeks, provided plenty of water is taken in. Fiber not only delays glucose absorption, but also increases hepatic extraction of insulin and insulin sensitivity and hence proves beneficial to the diabetics.
Soluble Fiber: For diabetics, soluble fiber is best suited. Most foods have soluble fiber in fewer amounts only. Only plant foods contain fiber. It comes from the cell wall of edible plant tissues, seeds and gummy saps of certain plants.
The dietary fiber supplements include oats, barley, whole wheat flour, fenugreek seed powder, guar gum, brown rice, dried beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, blue berries, strawberries, apples, pears, apricots, dates, prunes, raisins, etc. It is also recommended that intake of fiber along with magnesium is more effective in fighting diabetes. A normal intake of fruits and vegetables along with the skin can provide more fiber. Locust bean gum, a thickening agent used in the salad dressings is also rich in fiber. Glucomannan, from the roots of the konjac plant is a rich source of soluble fiber that helps in reducing the uptake of glucose by the body.
The Dietary fiber plays an essential role in controlling type-2 diabetes. It helps the cells in efficiently utilizing the available insulin in the body, thus making it a natural means of cure. Fiber also slows down the absorption of glucose, thereby reducing the levels of glucose in the blood. It does so by preventing the glucose molecules from binding to the intestinal walls for absorption. Not just that, it is also proved that fiber rich food also helps to lower the risk of gestational diabetes amongst pregnant ladies.