Diabetes control is highly influenced by your diet. If you are diabetic then wrong choice of foods can spike up blood sugar levels and increase insulin resistance.
Sweet potato is good for diabetics as it is high fiber low glycemic index food. High fiber foods are generally good for overall health. Clubbed with low glycemic index these foods become very good for diabetes control as they make you feel full fast and keep your blood sugar under control.
Table of Contents
- Can a Diabetic Patient Eat Sweet Potatoes?
- How to Cook Sweet Potatoes for Diabetes
- How to Use Sweet Potatoes to Control Diabetes?
- Other Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
- Other Tips and Precautions
Can a Diabetic Patient Eat Sweet Potatoes?
It sounds counterintuitive to eat sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) for diabetes type 2.
The name sweet potato gives a misconception about its sugar content. The fact is that it has a lower glycemic index (40-50) than its cousin white Potato (60-90).
Foods that are low in glycemic index do not speak up the blood sugar levels. Therefore these foods are better for diabetics as they maintain the blood sugar level and reduce insulin resistance.
Many researchers have also found it helping to control blood sugar in diabetics. You can read the summary of reserche here.
Due to its high fibre content it provides bulk and feeling of fullness fast as a result you eat less which is again good for blood sugar control.
So, instead of avoiding it add it to your diet if you are diabetics. Even if you don't use it as home remedy for diabetes, you can use it as a food suitable to eat with diabetes.
How to Cook Sweet Potatoes for Diabetes
Cooking method changes the chemical structure of every food item. Therefore it is very important to cook it right for the maximum benefit of that food. Sweet potatoes are no exception.
You can generally boil, bake, roast or fry sweet potatoes to eat.
A study published in the journal of nutrition and metabolism reveals that the glycemic index of boiled sweet potato is the lowest. Where as baking, roasting and frying increases the glycemic index by 80-90% as compared to boiled sweet potato.
So if you are diabetic and want to get the best out of sweet potatoes, then boiled.
How to Use Sweet Potatoes to Control Diabetes?
When you eat your daily food any one food item cannot be judged in isolation for its overall benefit. Combination of foods create a healthy or unhealthy diet.
Your total carbohydrate content still remains a major factor to control diabetes therefore you have to ensure that you eat less carbohydrates but sufficient to keep you energetic.
You can add sweet potato in your daily diet as part of your total carbohydrate contents.
When you eat carbohydrates, fats, proteins and other nutrients in balanced quantities then there will be no sugar spikes in the blood and your diabetes will remain in control.
Following are some diet ideas to cook sweet potatoes for diabetes control
1. Boiled Sweet Potatoes
- Boil 100 gram sweet potatoes
- Take it out from boiling water
- Let it cool down a bit
- Peel off the skin
- Cut into wedges
- Brush with a thin layer of olive oil
- Sprinkle black pepper powder
- Eat and enjoy for snack
You can eat this during your lunch or dinner if you prefer that.
- Boil and peel off skin of sweet potato
- Peel off half a ripe banana
- Take 200 grams organic unsweetened yogurt
- Grate it mince a piece of ginger root to extract ½ teaspoon ginger juice
- Mix all and toss into a blender to make smoothie
You can have it once daily at snack time.
3. Sweet Potato Toast
- Cut a sweet potato from the middle
- Cut 5-6 mm thick round slices from the middle
- Bake them it roast them until they become light brown
- Top them up with cheese slice, lettuce and a protein topping of your choice
- Enjoy the sandwiches
This can be your lunch.
You can be even more creative to make your sweet potato recipes to suit your taste. Add them to salad or just enjoy them, boiled, bakes, roasted or fried to control your diabetes. Choice is all yours. Ensure that you don't over indulge in it.
Other Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato is a superfood. It not only helps diabetic patients to control their blood sugar but also offers multiple health benefits.
- It gives a feeling of fullness quickly and maintains the fullness for long. Therefore, sweet potato is good for weight loss as you will eat less.
- It produces a protective anti-inflammatory layer on the stomach lining. This makes sweet potatoes good for stomach ulcers.
- Its high fiber content helps to reduce cholesterol. As a result sweet potatoes control blood pressure too.
Other Tips and Precautions
Eating a measured amount of sweet potatoes daily is good for your diabetes as well as for overall health.
Take the following precautions to control your diabetes
- Add more vegetables in your daily diet to control blood sugar levels.
- Increase quantity of green leafy vegetables like make, spinach chard etc. For better diabetes control
- Eat whole grain and high fiber foods like sweet potatoes. Avoid refined carbohydrates.
- Add proteins and little fat in your daily diet
Bottomline is that If you take care of your diet you take care of your diabetes.