The role of fiber in healthy diets is very important. It facilitates digestion and keeps your colon and other organs healthy and functioning properly. It is also a magic substance that should be always be included in any diabetic diet plan. You will benefit a lot byincluding fiber in your diet. If you are pre-diabetic it can assist in delaying the diagnosis of diabetes or if you are already diabetic it will assist in keeping your blood glucose under control.
Fiber will make you feel fuller longer – it slows the conversion of carbohydrates in your body which in turn can keep your blood sugars stable. The type of fiber that a diabetic needs to eat to gain these benefits is soluble fiber (dissolves in water). Some good sources of soluble fiber include:
* whole grain or whole wheat products instead of white (flour, breads, and cereals)
* fresh fruit and vegetables instead of processed or drinking them in liquid form
* Beans, use dried beans in your favorite recipes like chili for a wholesome, high-fiber meal
You can extract maximum benefit from eating increased amount of fiber if you make sure that you are drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. Keep it in mind that this fiber dissolves in water and you must stay hydrated for it to work properly.
If you are on a carbohydrate counting diet and are consuming 15 grams of carbohydrates for one serving you can raise the amount you are eating if that item has high-fiber content. You can subtract the number of grams of fiber in a serving from the number of carbohydrates. For instance if you are consuming an item that has 20 grams of carbohydrates over one serving, but it has five grams of fiber you can subtract the five from the twenty and it is now only a 15 gram serving.
Fiber will make you feel fuller longer – it slows the conversion of carbohydrates in your body which in turn can keep your blood sugars stable. The type of fiber that a diabetic needs to eat to gain these benefits is soluble fiber (dissolves in water). Some good sources of soluble fiber include:
* whole grain or whole wheat products instead of white (flour, breads, and cereals)
* fresh fruit and vegetables instead of processed or drinking them in liquid form
* Beans, use dried beans in your favorite recipes like chili for a wholesome, high-fiber meal
You can extract maximum benefit from eating increased amount of fiber if you make sure that you are drinking at least eight glasses of water a day. Keep it in mind that this fiber dissolves in water and you must stay hydrated for it to work properly.
If you are on a carbohydrate counting diet and are consuming 15 grams of carbohydrates for one serving you can raise the amount you are eating if that item has high-fiber content. You can subtract the number of grams of fiber in a serving from the number of carbohydrates. For instance if you are consuming an item that has 20 grams of carbohydrates over one serving, but it has five grams of fiber you can subtract the five from the twenty and it is now only a 15 gram serving.
