World Diabetes Day: Here's Why You Should Include Almonds In Your Diabetes Diet

It is the World Diabetes Day today. This year the theme of World Diabetes Day is 'The Family and Diabetes'. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability across the world. Diabetes currently affects over 425 million people worldwide, with more than 72.9 million cases of diabetes in India in 2017. World Diabetes Day is an initiative to spread awareness about the condition. Lack of awareness, late diagnosis and myths often make it difficult for people to manage the condition. Diabetes has been linked with increased risk of obesity, kidney failure and heart complications. While experts around the world are still working on ways in which the condition can be reversed completely, fortunately there are many natural ways through which you can control blood sugar fluctuations. Studies say that almonds may come in handy to improve metabolic risk factors associated with type-2 diabetes. 

(Also Read: World Diabetes Day 2018: How Giloy Helps Manage Blood Sugar Levels)

 
Diabetes Management: Why Are Almonds Helpful In Managing Diabetes

Almonds are packed with fibre and protein, both of which are essential in regulating blood sugar levels. Almonds also have a negligible glycaemic index. The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels. Almonds tend to not disturb your blood sugar levels at all. Additionally, they also contain nutrients like riboflavin, magnesium, protein, calcium and folate.

Several studies funded by the Almond Board of California demonstrate the potential cardiovascular benefits of including almonds in healthy diets among those living with type-2 diabetes. A study of 50 Asian Indians with type-2 diabetes and elevated cholesterol levels found that substituting whole, unroasted almonds for 20% of calories in a well-balanced diet significantly improved measures of heart health that are linked to type-2 diabetes, including waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and total cholesterol. 

(Also Read: Why Soaked Almonds are Better Than Raw Almonds)

Another study among 33 Chinese participants with type-2 diabetes, who ate a heart-healthy diet, looked at the effect of including 60 grams of almonds a day on maintenance of blood sugar levels and cardiovascular disease factors. The almond diet lowered fasting serum glucose level (which measures blood sugar levels after fasting)  by 6% and HbA1c (which measures average blood sugar levels over a two or three month period) by 3%.

Here's How You Should Eat Almonds To Manage Diabetes?
 

Too much of anything would only cause harm in the long run. Moderation is key for an ideal diabetes diet plan. Ideally, 1 ounce of almonds in a day is a fair amount. You can also mix almonds with other nuts and seeds like walnuts and flaxseeds and snack into them whenever cravings kick in. Choosing soaked almonds over raw almonds is said to be a better bet. The brown peel of almonds contains tannin, which inhibits nutrient absorption.

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