Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Reduce Risk Of Diabetes With Grains

Changing your diet can help reduce the risk of diabetes when add whole grains. Eating more whole grains is one way to control your metabolism. Whole grains can help slow down the rate at which the body metabolizes carbohydrates. That means when you eat meals with whole grains, you will be less likely to experience typical sugar highs and lows associated with other types of carbohydrates. Adding whole grains to your diet is not about taking food away, it's about adding more nutritious foods and replacing less healthy foods. With each meal, anyone can help reduce the risk of diabetes simply by adding grains.


Instructions


Trade Refined Grains for Whole Grains


1. Replacing refined grains with whole grains is one way to reduce risk of diabetes. Start by substituting half of your grains with whole grains. As you become accustomed to the whole grains, replace more of the refined grains in your meals with whole grains.


2. The foods which should be eaten rarely are processed grains including white flour and white rice. The processing of these grains has removed some essential nutrients. These "refined" grains which are not "whole grains" will metabolize more quickly than whole grains, causing fluctuations in the glycemic index, and in your appetite and energy levels.


3. Trade in corn flakes for bran flakes. Corn is a grain, but it can also raise sugar levels in the body. Substituting corn flakes for bran flakes can help regulate sugar in the body. Bran flakes, without added sugar, also provide more fiber. Trading corn flakes for bran flakes is one way to reduce the risk of diabetes with grains.


4. Replace white bread with whole grain breads. Whole grain breads contain more fiber. Whole grain breads are also more satisfying and you will eat less. Maintaining a healthy weight is one way to reduce the risk of diabetes. One slice of whole grain bread counts as a serving of whole grain.


5. Another tasty food to add to your diet is brown rice. Substitute white rice for brown rice, which is a whole grain that can help reduce your risk for diabetes. The brown rice is a more complete food and it will take longer for the body to process it. Sometimes when you eat white rice you may notice that hunger creeps back up on you quickly. You will not feel that quick hunger after eating the brown rice.


6. Substitute less nutritious snacks for whole grain snacks. One idea is to make air-popped popcorn for a whole grain snack to reduce the risk of diabetes. Whole-grain tortilla chips can be eaten in place of less nutritious potato chips.


7. Baking can also be modified to add whole grains to reduce the risk of diabetes. If the recipe calls for one cup of white flour, use half a cup of white flour and a half a cup of oat flour.








Add Whole Grains to Everyday Meals


8. Adding more whole grains to your each meal to reduce the risk of diabetes is easy. Ideally, you can reduce the risk of diabetes when you eat three servings of whole grains each day.


9. One of the easiest ways to add grains to your diet to reduce the risk of diabetes is to eat a bowl of oatmeal every day as part of a well-balanced breakfast. Oatmeal is a healthy and fiber-filled food. Adding grains with fiber like oatmeal is one way to reduce the risk of diabetes.


10. Adding grains with fiber like oatmeal is one way to reduce the risk of diabetes. Whole grains naturally contain more fiber because the fiber has not been processed out of the food.


11. When making meat dishes use half of the regular amount of meat. Add oatmeal or quinoa instead. The meal will still be hearty, but the fat and calories will be reduced. Reducing calories in your diet is one way to reduce the risk of diabetes with grains.


12. Prepare well-balanced meals that contain a whole grain, a vegetable and a source of protein. The goal is to eat 48 grams of whole grains per day, to help reduce the risk of diabetes.


13. Add whole grains to your favorite soups and stews, in the form of barley or even buckwheat. Whole wheat pasta also holds up well in soup.


Learn to Recognize Healthy Grains


14. Read food labels when purchasing whole grains. The first ingredient listed on the food label is the main ingredient in the food. When adding whole grains to a diet to reduce the risk of diabetes, you want to purchase foods which have a whole grain food product listed as the first ingredient on the label.


15. Choose food products which contain at least eight grams of whole grain, to reduce the risk of diabetes. A food containing eight grams of whole grain is considered to be a whole grain food by the Whole Grains Food Council.


16. Purchase foods with high fiber content. The high fiber content in grains can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Higher fiber is a good indicator that the food contains more whole food rather than processed or refined food ingredients.


17.Look for the official indicator that a product contains whole grains, the Whole Grains Council stamp. The Whole Grains Council has one stamp which reads "100% whole grain" and the other reads "whole grain." Foods with either of these labels are good buys when you want to reduce the risk of diabetes with whole grains.


18. Learn to read food labels and understand if they contain whole grains or refined grains. Knowing the difference and buying and eating accordingly could help reduce the risk of diabetes.

Tags: risk diabetes, reduce risk, whole grain, reduce risk diabetes, reduce risk diabetes, whole grains, help reduce