If you are one of the 29 million Americans who are suffering diabetes and trying hard to achieve a healthy life, you should take proper care of your diet and always keep track on your blood sugar levels in manageable range. Even though careful planning is enough most of the time to eat any food in small doses, but you should still load up on veggies, especially broccoli.
It is one of the healthy foods to eat in diabetes.
Diet for Diabetics
You should include a lot of vegetables, whole grains, and fruits to control both calories and fat. It is one of the common principles you should follow. The American Heart Association recommends adding fish, high-fiber foods and unsaturated fats to your diet and avoid sodium, saturated fats, Trans fats, and cholesterol as much as possible at the same time. Make an effective meal plan to avoid blood sugar spikes to keep the sugar levels under control. Use Glycemic Index, count carbs, and use exchange lists to control your blood sugar level in day to day life.
Is Broccoli a Secret Weapon to Diabetes?
About ½ cup serving of broccoli has 5g of fiber and only 50 calories. Broccoli has some chemicals which are found useful to avoid damage to the blood vessels due to diabetes. In 2008, a study was published in “Diabetes” journal by Paul Thornalley. According to the study, broccoli contains a chemical named ‘sulforaphanes’ which may help enzymes to control this kind of cellular damage.
The study which was associated to sulforaphane and blood vessels to prevent the damage due to increased blood sugar level is still a long way to prove its benefits to avoid this kind of health issue, according to the reports of the UK National Health Service. To prove this effect, more studies and human trials are needed.
Other Potential Benefits of Broccoli
Broccoli contains phytonutrients like sulphurophanes which are helpful to prevent cancer. They also help clean up the toxins from the body, remove free radicals and also prevent the multiplication of cancer cells. Consuming broccoli prevents the spread of cancer cells in the body. According to a study conducted on the Clinical Cancer Research on May 1, 2010, sulphurophanes contained in broccoli may be helpful to avoid the spread and development of breast cancer.
Nutrition Value
For diabetics, broccoli is very healthy and nutritious vegetable. It contains 220% of daily need of vitamin C in just ½ cup of serving, 20% of daily need of folate, 50% of daily need of vitamin A, 10% of magnesium, riboflavin and phosphorous, 15% of vitamin B6, 8% of calcium, thiamine, and iron, and 6% of daily need of zinc and niacin. Broccoli provides 5g protein and 10g carbohydrates in a serving and is totally fat-free.
Final Words
The U.K. National Health Service recommends diabetics to use proper diet and medications to control diabetes. Broccoli provides a lot of vital nutrients and it is low in GI value.
So, it can easily be the part of healthy diet and it won’t add huge impact on your blood sugar levels. If you are looking for the healthy foods for diabetes and want to make healthy food habits, be sure to consult a nutritionist or doctor to address your needs. To avoid complications and keep diabetes under control, aim to have some broccoli a day.
Broccoli is a great source of folic acid, vitamin K and C, fiber and potassium. So, it helps control blood sugar level. It is one of the best superfoods you should have in your diabetic diet.