“While all vegetables are healthy, it might be difficult to understand why some have to be limited or reduced,” says Cara Lowenthal, MPH, RD, a certified diabetes educator at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
Why Veggies Should Be in Your Diabetes Diet
Vegetables are an essential part of every diet, but this food group is especially important for people with type 2 diabetes. Nonstarchy vegetables, like spinach, kale, and broccoli, are rich in nutrients like vitamin A and vitamin E, low on the glycemic index, and have lots of fiber, which means munching on them will help you fill up without significantly raising your blood sugar, Lowenthal says. The fiber that many vegetables pack can also slow down how quickly sugar enters the blood, explains Krista Mathews, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, who frequently works with people diagnosed with diabetes. “People who have diabetes are at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and eating the right amount of fiber can help reduce this risk,” Mathews notes. For instance, a study published in January 2014 in The American Journal of Cardiology suggests that an increased fiber intake is associated with a lower lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease.
How to Choose the Best Vegetables
So which vegetables are best? When you have diabetes, the most important thing to consider is whether your produce is starchy or nonstarchy: Nonstarchy vegetables Nonstarchy vegetables, like leafy greens or cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, or cabbage, are all good options that can help keep your blood sugar stabilized, Lowenthal says. Aim to fill about half of your plate at each meal with nonstarchy vegetables, Lowenthal says, or try to get at least 1 cup of cooked nonstarchy vegetables, or 2 cups of raw nonstarchy vegetables, in at mealtimes. Starchy vegetables Starchy vegetables, like peas, corns, potatoes (including the sweet variety), and butternut squash, contain vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and fiber, though they’re also higher in carbs than their nonstarchy counterparts. They’re still healthy for you, but people with diabetes should watch their portion sizes, Lowenthal notes. Mathews agrees, noting that the majority of beans, including black beans and pinto beans, would also fall into this category. How much you eat of these starchy vegetables will depend on your dietary needs and carbohydrate goals per meal, but keep in mind that a cup of starchy vegetables has about 30 grams (g) of carbohydrates, or two carbohydrate servings, Lowenthal says.
The Best Ways to Prepare Them
Once you’ve picked your vegetables, how can you best prepare them? “Steaming, roasting, and sautéing vegetables are all wonderful methods for vegetable preparation that bring out different flavors, depending on which method you choose,” Lowenthal says. And depending on how you prepare those vegetables, you could alter how their nutrients are absorbed in your body. Here are the pros and cons of some of the most popular cooking methods: Steaming Steaming vegetables involves using a steamer or saucepan with a cover. During this process, the produce is cooked only briefly via water vapor without being immersed in water. Because this method doesn’t require adding oil or salt, it may be the best veggie-cooking option if you’re watching your waistline, Lowenthal says. Although maintaining a healthy weight is important for diabetes management, when you steam veggies, it’s possible some of their nutrients may be absorbed by the water as they cook, she explains. Boiling This cooking method involves fully immersing veggies in boiling water, which can be easy and fuss-free. But, like steaming, you may lose some of the nutrients in your veggies if you take this approach, Lowenthal says. The longer you let veggies boil, the more nutrients they tend to lose. Nonetheless, this method is also beneficial for people who are looking to lose weight, as it doesn’t require using salt or oil. Sautéing and Roasting In addition to keeping all of the nutrients of the vegetables, sautéing and roasting methods can also be tastier, as they often involve adding oil, salt, or butter to the vegetables before cooking them in a pan or baking them in the oven. But if you do add extra fat, be sure to measure the amount carefully, Mathews says. Lowenthal agrees, noting that a tablespoon of oil has about 120 calories and 14 grams (g) of fat, so try to stick to half a tablespoon or a tablespoon max, depending on whether you’re including other fat in the meal. Microwaving Microwaving may not sound like the healthiest option, but if you microwave your veggies, they’ll actually retain most of their nutrient content, Lowenthal says — unlike when you use methods like steaming or boiling, where water absorbs some of those nutrients. In fact, “Any way of cooking vegetables will increase the rate of digestion, as they will begin to be broken down compared with when you eat raw vegetables,” Lowenthal notes. In addition, some nutrients, such as the lycopene in tomatoes, are better absorbed by the body after cooking. Eating Vegetables Raw That said, are there benefits to eating veggies raw? As it turns out, some nutrients, like vitamin C, are sensitive to heat and are lost during cooking, but are readily available when the vegetables are raw. It’s also possible raw veggies will fill you up faster, since they take longer to eat and may take up more volume in the stomach, without delivering as many calories, Lowenthal explains. Thus, eating raw veggies can also be an effective weight-management tool.
4 Tips for Preparing Veggies if You Have Diabetes
Here are some of the best practices recommended by the experts for preparing your veggies: Don’t be afraid to include some fat to cook your veggies. “Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins,” Lowenthal says. “You need fats in your diet for these nutrients to be absorbed.” Kale, spinach, and broccoli all contain vitamins A, E, and K, while vitamin D tends to be found in fortified foods and foods like cheese, eggs, and fatty fish, rather than veggies. While salmon is a good choice for vitamin D, you can ensure you’re getting ample vitamin D by spending 10 to 15 minutes in the sun without protection per day, as the sun helps synthesize the nutrient in the skin. You may also consider taking a vitamin D supplement. Be sure to choose the right fats. Dousing veggies in oil or butter could promote insulin resistance, reducing how well insulin is used in the body, and lead to higher blood glucose levels hours after a meal, Lowenthal says. In addition, higher-fat meals can contribute to weight gain — a double whammy for those with diabetes. Be mindful of portion sizes, and choose healthy unsaturated fats, like olive oil or canola oil, instead of saturated fats, like bacon fat or butter, Lowenthal says, adding that she would recommend sticking to one serving of fat, or about one teaspoon of oil. Eat vegetables before other foods in your meal. Lowenthal notes that some research, such as a review published in January 2014 in the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition, suggests that eating vegetables before other foods in the meal may help lower post-meal blood sugars. Most important, eat a lot of veggies, and get a wide variety of them in your diet. “A variety of vegetables is absolutely important,” Mathews says, noting that this variety can help balance out the nutrients you’re getting from your diet. Most importantly, no matter how you cook them, eating more vegetables, especially nonstarchy veggies, is a healthy choice for anyone to make. For those who have diabetes, eating more veggies each day can make a big difference in weight, blood sugar levels, and overall health.
