Figuring out the best foods to eat when you have diabetes doesn’t have to be tough.
To keep things simple, your main goal should be managing your blood sugar levels.
It’s also important to eat foods that help prevent diabetes complications like heart disease.
Your diet can have a major role in preventing and managing diabetes.
Here are the 16 best foods for people living with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2.
1. Fatty fish
Salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, and mackerel are great sources of the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which have major benefits for heart health (1Trusted Source).
Getting enough of these fats on a regular basis is especially important for people with diabetes, who have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
DHA and EPA protect the cells that line your blood vessels, reduce markers of inflammation, and may help improve the way your arteries function.
Research indicates that people who eat fatty fish regularly have a lower risk of acute coronary syndromes, like heart attacks, and are less likely to die from heart disease (2).
Studies show that eating fatty fish may also help regulate blood sugar.
A study involving 68 adults who had overweight or obesity found that participants who consumed fatty fish had significant improvements in post-meal blood sugar levels than participants who consumed lean fish (3Trusted Source).
Fish is also a great source of high quality protein, which helps you feel full and helps stabilize blood sugar levels.
2. Leafy greens
Leafy green vegetables are extremely nutritious and low in calories.
They’re also very low in digestible carbs, or carbs absorbed by the body, so they won’t significantly affect blood sugar levels.
Spinach, kale, and other leafy greens are good sources of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C.
Some evidence suggests that people with diabetes have lower vitamin C levels than people without diabetes, and they may have greater vitamin C requirements .
Vitamin C acts as a potent antioxidant and also has anti-inflammatory qualities.
Increasing dietary intake of vitamin C-rich foods can help people with diabetes increase their serum vitamin C levels while reducing inflammation and cellular damage
3. Eggs
Regular egg consumption may reduce your heart disease risk in several ways.
Eggs may decrease inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, increase your HDL (good) cholesterol levels, and modify the size and shape of your LDL (bad) cholesterol.
A 2019 study found that eating a high fat, low carb breakfast of eggs could help people with diabetes manage blood sugar levels throughout the day .
Older research has linked egg consumption with heart disease in people with diabetes.
But a more recent review of controlled studies found that eating 6 to 12 eggs per week as part of a nutritious diet did not increase heart disease risk factors in people with diabetes .
What’s more, some research suggests that eating eggs may reduce the risk of stroke .
4. Beans
Beans are affordable, nutritious, and super healthy.
Beans are a type of legume rich in B vitamins, beneficial minerals (calcium, potassium, and magnesium), and fiber.
They also have a very low glycemic index, which is important for managing diabetes.
Beans may also help prevent diabetes.
In a study involving more than 3,000 participants at high risk of cardiovascular disease, those who had a higher consumption of legumes had a reduced chance of developing type 2 diabetes (12).
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