Maintaining a balanced diet is an important aspect of diabetes management. Eating healthily is vital for everyone, including diabetics, because it helps keep blood sugar and body weight under control.

Given the Nigerian food’s starch-heavy nature, it is necessary to consciously maintain a diet. Endocrinologists and nutritionists alike would agree that the general guidelines are to eat a fiber-rich diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables; follow a low-carb and low-sugar diet; drink enough of water; and avoid alcohol and smoking.

As a Nigerian with diabetes, you can eat healthily while maintaining within healthy limits. Contrary to popular belief, one is not need to consume limited or boring meals. Foods that are beneficial to the body can and should be enjoyed. However, the issue remains: Is it possible to maintain a balanced diet while eating predominantly high-carbohydrate foods? If so, what Nigerian foods can I combine and eat while living with diabetes?

This discussion will highlight various food possibilities for you and provide more information on how to use food to better regulate your blood sugar.

Swallow: The ideal swallows for diabetic patients come in the form of fufu and are served alongside soups. Some alternatives include unripe plantain, wheat, and guinea corn fufu. You can pair any of these with any of the soups listed below. Traditional Nigerian soups are often made with vegetables, palm oil, and peppers, making them high in antioxidants and nutrients. Okro, edikaikong, efo riro, gbono, afang, and bitter leaf soup are among examples.

Stews and sauces: Garden egg, shredded chicken, shrimp, fresh fish, tomato, and smoked fish stews are all excellent options. It is recommended that you consume more fish, but if you must include meat in your stew or sauce, choose lean meat like chicken or turkey and reduce any fat before cooking.

Low-carb meals include brown basmati rice with stew, unripe plantain porridge, moi moi, cooked plantain with stew, roasted plantain with fish sauce, plantain with bean porridge, beans and whole wheat bread, and oats. Snacks that are healthy for diabetics include garden eggs with peanut butter, coconuts, boiled groundnuts, akara balls, tiger nuts, and Nigerian pear.

Comfort foods such as isi ewu, nkwobi, cow leg, fish, chicken, or gizzard pepper soup, and peppered snail can be washed down with nutritious drinks such as unsweetened zobo, guinea corn (dawa) kunu, millet (joro) kunu, unsweetened yoghurt, and plant-based (e.g. almond, oat) milk.

Other superfoods include beans (kidney, pinto, navy, or black beans), dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale), citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, grapefruits), berries (blueberries, strawberries), avocado, and nuts and seeds.

Healthy cooking oils are a wonderful source of fat for lowering total cholesterol and controlling blood glucose levels. It is critical to understand which fats are in your oils, as not all fats are good. These oils include Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is one of the most nutrient-dense cooking oils available. Studies suggest that EVOO, which is made by pressing olives, helps to maintain blood sugar levels and enhance cholesterol levels.

Others include peanut oil (a tasty alternative to butter and shortening), which promotes heart health and is high in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats; flaxseed oil (high in omega-3 fatty acids, which support heart health and reduce the risk of stroke); and canola oil—or rapeseed oil—which is high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and has been shown in studies to balance cholesterol and improve insulin sensitivity. Canola oil’s extraordinarily high heating temperature makes it suitable for grilling or frying.

People with diabetes might also try sunflower oil (derived from sunflower seeds), which contains antioxidants, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Sunflower oil, like canola oil, has a neutral flavor and a high heat capacity, making it ideal for everyday cooking; similarly, coconut oil includes saturated fat in the form of lauric acid. Although saturated fats should be ingested in moderation, lauric acid is more likely to be used for energy than stored as fat.

Although coconut oil has less documented health benefits than other oils, it is preferable than butter. It has a longer shelf life than vegetable oils and is equally versatile in cooking and baking.

Furthermore, to better control blood sugar, patients with diabetes should adopt a regular eating regimen that includes fiber, slow-digesting carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fat with each meal; know a food’s GI score (The Glycaemic Index), which is a number assigned to carbohydrate items based on how much they raise blood sugar. Foods with a lower GI score raise blood sugar levels more gradually and keep you feeling fuller for longer. They include oatmeal and nonstarchy veggies. Patients should avoid or limit high-GI foods such as white bread, sugar, and cornflakes.Limit quick-digesting carbohydrates (instead of white bread and spaghetti, choose for slower-digesting carbohydrates with extra nutrients such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and berries) and carefully read nutrition labels on packaged or processed meals.