With reference to my post on whole plant food ( see attached link) healthunlocked.com/diabetes..., a chart indicating Green light, Yellow light & Red light food was shown, which is the broad guidelines for the whole plant food diet plan. The picture was taken from the "Mastering Diabetes" book authored by Cyrus Khambatta .....
But you need to choose your food which you like the most.. don't take anything forcefully. You should enjoy the food you eat. Try to eat seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits, but try to avoid frozen ones as much as possible .. It would also depend upon what your body would tolerate. Most importantly, the type of food and the portion size would depend upon your current Diabetic status as indicated by your C-Peptide/insulin levels....and whether you would like to Gain some weight or lose some weight...if you want to lose some weight , perhaps you may have to reduce portion size of grains and legumes. That is why Cyrus has given a range for the portion size ( please refer the chart )
My C-Peptide level is 1.6 ng/ml and Fasting insulin is 2.95 uIU/ml....
My diet which I took during last 2 months as follows :
My eating window is 10 hours between Breakfast 8 AM to 6 PM Dinner...I don't have hypo issues...so I can easily tolerate 14 hour overnight fast... If it is difficult for you , you can make it 12x12 .
So within 10 hours , I take 3 meals & MY EVERY MEAL CONSISTS OF 4 PARTS: Try to eat in sequence as far as possible.
Please remember to wash your vegetables and fruits with an alcohol based liquid cleaner .. nowadays companies like ITC, Marico, Godrej have come out with branded liquid cleaner meant for cleaning vegetables & Fruits
Part-1
First thing in the breakfast I eat some Raw food (250-300 GM's approx) :
Choose 4-5 items out of Cucumber, Tomato, Baby corn, Carrot , Beet, Onion , Raddish...Moong sprout / Methi Sprout..
And some Raw leafy Greens : Lettuce green, Basil / Tulsi leaves, Raw curry patta.
Part 2:
Eat Some Raw fruits (200 to 300 gram) choose any 3 or 4 types of fruits from Apple, orange, Papaya, Guava, plum, kiwi, strawberry, Red grapes... any seasonal fruit will do.....cut some fruits and store in a container for the day because you need it before every meal...
Part 3:
Eat some steamed vegetables (200-300 GM's approx) seasoned with different indian spices in different days to bring in a change in the flavour. No oil or fat is to be added.
Choose at least 5 to 6 seasonal vegetables out of Brinjal (known as egg plant in many countries) Pumpkin (known as squash in some countries), Ladies finger ( known as okra in some countries), Mushroom, carrot, tomato, onion greens, Green Beans, Green peas, cabbage, cauliflower/ Brocolli, Brussels sprout, Lauki, Zucchini,....Green Jack fruit nowadays available round the year can be used as vegetable which has good fiber and blood sugar lowering properties .... .....any vegetables you like ....but don't forget to add some leafy greens such as Spinach , Methi green, Amaranth green....Pak Choi / Bok Choy leafy Green ... Kale..Parsely .....coriander leaves....these are the leafy greens used as vegetables in many countries..Leafy greens are known to strengthen Beta cells and reactivate body cells .
Don't over boil / over steam....don't use excess water....
The easiest thing I do is cut all the vegetables in to small pieces and put it in a microwave safe Glass Bowl.... sprinkle some indian spice as per your liking...then cover the lid and shake it to mix the spice well....after that put the bowl with lid in microwave oven and cook for 3 to 3.5 mnts....
(No water/ oil added)...
It does not get over boiled .....just 75% boiled....it is ok... Eat hot.....it tastes awesome....all nutrition retained.....
I keep changing the type of vegetables and the spices to get a different flavour every time .......sometimes Indian Garam masala, sometimes just plain salt and pepper, sometimes with turmeric pepper and little chilly powder and at times I also use magic masala sachet marketed by Nestle.... You can choose your flavour you like..
I also add 5-10ml Balsamic vinegar ( vinegar from red grapes ) to get a different flavour...
Part 4 :
This is the last part of the meal....Half a Cup steel cut Oats topped with Chia seeds (1 table-spoonful soaked overnight) and add some fruit small pieces as sweetener and add a pinch of Ceylon cinnamon powder. ..If you take rolled oats ... then soak overnight in plain water and you need not have to cook, just top up with chia seeds and small cut fruits as sweetner...( Rolled oats already steamed and rolled by the manufacturer) ....
During lunch/ dinner, part 1/2/3 remains the same as breakfast, but in the 4th Part, the oats gets replaced by Basmati Long Grain Brown rice or Red rice...Avoid white rice...and a cup of Dal is a must along with brown Rice both during lunch & Dinner....Dal - you have a lot of variety- Moong Dal, Tur Dal, Lentil Dal, ....you can also have other pulses such as Rajma, Chole, Chic Peas, Matar....and many more...keep changing to get a different taste and flavour every day ...you also get a wide nutrition profile....if you want weight reduction , may be you may reduce the portion size of Grains and legumes to get faster result ...
During lunch, I chew some roasted flax seeds..1 table spoonful...it is nutty and tastes awesome...
Chia seeds and flax seeds contain essential fats called EFA such as ALA ( Alpha Linolenic Acid ) and LA (Linoleic Acid ) which human body can not make ..ALA is also called plant omega 3 fatty acid.
Fermented food : you need to take a fermented food as per dietary guidelines.. please refer the Green light chart... you can take pickles prepared at home...i take lemon or amla pickles during lunch ....or alternatively take a probiotic supplement twice or thrice a week depending upon potency of the probiotic.
Tea : I take 2 cups of Tulsi + Ginger + Lemon +Green tea ...no milk...no sugar. It is available as dip tea - marketed by Organic India available in Amazon.
My supplements: Methyl-cobalamine B12...1500 mcg twice a week. Take this if you are in Metformin..or else test your blood for B12 , if found deficient , then take it .
Vitamin D...2000 IU per day... Every alternate day...body exposure to sunlight for 20 mnts....
Amla tablets ( Dabur) : 2 tablets daily. A strong Anti- oxidant and very valuable for diabetes. If your stomach could digest , take amla juice fresh diluted with water. Take amla pickles , dry amla candy salted..
Medication: currently, I am advised by my endocrinologist to take only one tablet named olymprix -M along with breakfast......which has Teneligliptin 20 mg plus Metformin 500 m..There is no other tablet...will be reviewed after 2 months...anyway my Endo is very conservative and wants me not to cut down medicines all of a sudden..he would like to see how I sustain my Lab numbers. 🙂
Exercise:
Exercise improves your insulin sensitivity...... I do a 20mnts workout in a treadmill at home post meal...
Yoga & Pranayam 60-75 mnts daily morning at 5 AM...
you could be lucky if you live near a River or a Sea beach or a lake .. just go for a walk post meal...on the beach or bank of the river or lake ..if you live in foot hills of a mountain or live near a forest...go for a trekking post meal....the second most important factor after Diet in reversing insulin resistance...
Watch this space for a post on specific Yoga & Pranayam exercises which has helped me improving my health conditions and makes me feel energetic ..
I was already a vegetarian... so adopting to this life style was not difficult... if some of you are meat eaters and would like to adopt this diet, it needs to be gradual....
May God Bless You !🙏