- Know your risk of developing diabetes
- Prohibited foods for pre-diabetes
- Allowed foods for pre-diabetes
- How to put together a menu for pre-diabetes
- Main meals: lunch and dinner
- Breakfast and Snacks
- Pre-diabetes menu
The ideal diet for pre-diabetes consists of consuming foods with a low to medium glycemic index, such as fruits, vegetables, brown rice and beans, as they tend to decrease the blood sugar level, a necessary measure to prevent the development of Diabetes Mellitus.
In addition, including fiber, protein and fats in meals also helps to reduce the increase in blood sugar, it is important to include foods such as unpeeled fruit and bagasse, raw vegetables, meat, eggs and olive oil, for example.
See what your risk is by entering your data in the following calculator:
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Know your risk of developing diabetes
Start the test
- Male Female
- Less than 40 years old Between 40 and 50 years old Between 50 and 60 years oldMore than 60 years old
- Larger than 102 cmBetween 94 and 102 cmLower than 94 cm
- Yes No
- Two times a weekLess than twice a week
- NoYes, 1st degree relatives: parents and / or siblingsYes, 2nd degree relatives: grandparents and / or uncles
Prohibited foods for pre-diabetes
Foods banned in pre-diabetes are the sources of carbohydrates and fast absorption, such as:
- Foods rich in white flour: white breads, cakes, cookies, savory; Foods rich in sugar: chocolate, sweets, fruit jellies, ice cream; Beverages: soft drinks, industrialized juices, energy drinks, coffee or teas with sugar; Others: white rice, potatoes, noodles, fast food.
In addition, it is important to remember that even healthy foods, such as fruits and natural fruit juices, should be consumed in moderation to avoid blood sugar spikes. See 3 steps to decrease sugar consumption.
Allowed foods for pre-diabetes
Foods that can be eaten more easily for pre-diabetes are:
- Meat in general: beef, pork, chicken, fish, lamb; Vegetables and vegetables in general; Fruits, as long as it does not exceed about 2 units per meal; Legumes such as beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peas, beans, lentils; Whole grains: rice, pasta, wholegrain flour, oats; Oilseeds: chestnuts, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios; Good fats: olive oil, coconut oil, butter.
It is important to remember that pre-diabetics can eat all types of food, but they should prefer natural foods, with little flour and without sugar, as it is the frequent consumption of foods rich in simple carbohydrates that lead to an increase in blood glucose. See more examples of foods that prevent diabetes.
How to put together a menu for pre-diabetes
To put together a menu to prevent diabetes, one should always try to consume foods rich in fiber together with foods rich in proteins or good fats, as shown below:
Main meals: lunch and dinner
Lunch and dinner should be rich in raw vegetable salad or sautéed in olive oil, which is rich in good fats. Then you can choose a carbohydrate source, such as rice or wholegrain pasta, potatoes or manioc flour, for example. If you want to consume 2 types of carbohydrate, you should place small portions of each on the plate.
In addition, you should consume a good amount of protein, which are mainly in foods such as meat, chicken, fish and eggs. After the meal, you should prefer the consumption of a fruit as a dessert, being a better choice than the juice, as the fruit contains fibers that help control blood glucose.
Breakfast and Snacks
Small snacks can be made by combining 1 fruit with natural yogurt, for example, or with oilseeds, such as chestnuts, peanuts and almonds, for example. Another option is to use the fruit with 2 or 3 squares of 70% chocolate, or sweeten plain yogurt with 1 tablespoon of honey.
In larger snacks and for breakfast, one should prefer to consume whole grain breads always stuffed with eggs, cheese, shredded chicken or ground meat, for example. This mixture helps to regulate blood glucose because the filling protein is more difficult to digest, which also slows the absorption of bread in the intestine, helping to prevent spikes in blood sugar. Find out which foods are low in glycemic index.
Pre-diabetes menu
The following table shows an example of a 3-day pre-diabetes menu:
| Meal | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Breakfast | 2 slices of whole grain bread with 1 egg scrambled in olive oil and 1 slice of cheese + 1 cup of unsweetened coffee | 1 cup of unsweetened milk + 1 slice of bread with cheese + 1 fruit | 1 cup of unsweetened coffee + tapioca with max. 3 col of gum soup + 1 egg + 1 col of chia tea |
| Morning snack | 1 banana + 10 cashew nuts | 1 plain yogurt + 1 col of honey bee soup | 2 slices of papaya with 2 col of linseed or chia tea |
| Lunch dinner | 4 col of brown rice soup + 2 col of bean soup + 120g of cooked steak with vegetables + green salad with olive oil + 1 tangerine | 1/2 salmon fillet baked in the oven + mashed potato + vegetable salad sauteed in olive oil + 2 slices of pineapple | 1 chicken fillet in tomato sauce + 3 forks of wholegrain pasta + raw salad with sesame seeds + 1 orange |
| Afternoon snack | 1 plain yogurt + 1 slice of bread with cheese | vitamin: 200 ml of milk + 1 banana + 1 col of peanut butter or seed soup | 1 cup of coffee with milk + 1 fried banana with 2 slices of baked cheese |
It is important to remember that both diabetes and pre-diabetes are problems that need medical and nutritional monitoring, it is important to seek a nutritionist so that the menu is made according to the tests and the needs of each individual.
