Weight Loss and Blood Sugar Management: Dietary Guidelines for Individuals with Hyperglycaemia and Metabolic Syndrome

Dietary control for hyperglycemia patients should not be taken lightly; soaring blood sugar causes suffering.

(1) Controlling energy intake: Reasonable control of total energy intake is the primary principle of nutritional therapy for diabetes. Of course, the energy requirements of diabetic patients should be sufficient to maintain a normal weight. Obese individuals should reduce their energy intake to lower their weight, gradually reducing it to within ±5% of their ideal weight to cooperate with treatment. Children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and underweight individuals should appropriately increase their energy intake by 10%–20% to gain weight.

(2) Appropriate intake of lipids and dietary fiber: Eat less fatty meats, pork fat, beef fat, mutton fat, palm oil, and animal organs. Eat more rapeseed oil, tea oil, sesame oil, olive oil, and fish fat. Cholesterol intake should be controlled below 300 mg/day. Avoid high-cholesterol foods such as egg yolks, animal organs, fish roe, shrimp, and animal brains. If hyperlipidemia is also present, cholesterol should be limited to below 200 mg/day. Dietary fiber can slow down the absorption of carbohydrates in the digestive tract, reduce the rise in blood sugar, help control blood sugar, and also has a lipid-lowering effect. In addition, it has a filling effect, preventing hunger. Soluble fiber is mainly found in vegetables, fruits, and algae, such as apples, radishes, leafy greens, celery, and oatmeal. Insoluble fiber is mainly found in the outer shells of legumes and grains, such as mixed beans and wheat bran. The recommended dietary fiber intake is 30-40g/day.

(3) Appropriately increase the intake of protein, polysaccharides, and vitamins. Diabetic patients experience increased gluconeogenesis and protein consumption, making them prone to negative nitrogen balance. Therefore, protein intake should be appropriately increased. More than one-third of dietary protein should be high-quality protein, especially soybeans and their products, fish, poultry, and rabbit meat, which have cholesterol-lowering effects, as preferred protein sources.

Controlling carbohydrate intake is key to controlling blood sugar levels. Low glycemic index foods are beneficial for blood sugar control. Moderate intake of sugar alcohols and non-nutritive sweeteners is safe for diabetic patients. Under the premise of controlling total energy intake, appropriately increasing carbohydrate intake is beneficial for the treatment of diabetes. Eat more non-sweet vegetables and fruits, whole grains, edible fungi, and seaweed to meet the supply of vitamins, especially water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins. Bitter melon and purple mustard greens contain insulin analogs, which have a certain hypoglycemic effect.

(4) Diverse Foods and Reasonable Meal Arrangements
Common foods for diabetic patients can be divided into eight categories: grains and tubers, vegetables, fruits, soybeans, skim milk, lean meat, fish and shrimp, poultry protein, and vegetable oils. Diabetic patients should eat all eight categories of food daily, choosing 1-3 types from each category. Diabetic patients should eat regularly and in appropriate quantities, eating small, frequent meals, and the time between meals should not be too long, otherwise hypoglycemia is likely to occur. After the condition stabilizes, the number of meals per day should be 3-5. For those prone to hypoglycemia after taking oral hypoglycemic drugs or injecting insulin, the number of meals per day should be 5-6. People with hypertension should be mindful of what they eat; the amount matters. Hypertension can be effectively prevented through a balanced diet. A light diet low in salt, rich in vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and legumes, is beneficial. For example, drinking raw celery juice or water celery juice daily, and consuming fresh or dried goji berry leaves to make goji berry tea, are all helpful in lowering blood pressure and preventing hypertension. A vegetarian diet is most effective for people with hypertension. However, it's also important to consume some fatty foods. Avoid high-salt diets; limit fat intake, reduce animal fat consumption, and eat less egg yolks, fatty meat, animal organs, fish roe, and other foods high in cholesterol. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Low potassium, calcium, and magnesium are also contributing factors to hypertension; eat more nuts, soybeans, peas, grains, seafood, dark green vegetables, and milk to supplement potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which can lower blood pressure. A light diet is beneficial for lowering blood pressure; eat more beans, carrots, celery, kelp, seaweed, winter melon, edible fungi, peanuts, sesame seeds, walnuts, and bananas, and less egg yolks, cream, pork liver, and pork brain, which are high in fat and cholesterol.

People with high cholesterol should pay close attention to their food choices; selecting the right ingredients is key. The main treatment for hyperlipidemia is lowering blood lipids, and choosing the right foods can achieve excellent results. By paying attention to their daily food choices, people can prevent their blood lipids from rising. For example, hawthorn has the effect of dilating blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and reducing cholesterol; cauliflower not only cleanses the stomach but also lowers cholesterol; the B vitamins and lecithin in oats can lower cholesterol and triglycerides; milk, soybeans and their products, onions, garlic, soft-shelled turtles, tea, corn oil, sea cucumbers, black fungus, and shiitake mushrooms are all excellent choices for preventing elevated blood lipids.

The diet of patients with high blood lipids should be light, preferably vegetarian but not for extended periods. Moderate tea consumption and moderate eating are recommended. A low-salt diet is advisable, using vegetable oils is preferable. Daily fat intake should be limited to 30-50g, limiting high-fat, high-cholesterol foods such as animal brains, egg yolks, butter, and peanuts. Limit consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods such as grains and tubers. Eat less sugar and high-sugar fruits and sweets. Control the intake of whole milk and cream products. Hawthorn is an ideal food for patients with high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol. Leeks, black fungus, and ginkgo leaves also have excellent blood lipid-lowering effects.

People in this category should limit their intake of fatty and cholesterol-rich foods when dining out, and avoid dishes such as roast suckling pig, crab roe, and fried foods. Recommended dishes include chilled sea cucumber, various steamed fish, and primarily light and refreshing dishes.