Best Foods For Diabetes Type 2 Patients | Diabetes Control Tips | Diabetes Diet
What’s on your plate today? If you’re living with type 2 diabetes, that question is more important than you might think. Managing diabetes doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or restrictive. In today’s video, we’re heading straight to the grocery store and I'm giving your the best foods for diabetes control. We’ll talk about real, practical food choices that can help control your blood sugar while supporting your overall health. 🛒
I want to clarify an error that appears in one of the slides during the video. The slide incorrectly states:
“Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure and a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, and mutations in wound healing.”
The correct information is:
“Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure and a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, amputations, and poor wound healing.” – Thank you for your understanding.
This video is intended to be informational only. It is not a medical consultation, nor is it personalized medical advice. For medical advice, please consult your physician.
Read the full blog post here:
https://www.midtownnephrology.com/best-foods-for-diabetes-control-from-a-kidney-doctor/
From high-fiber vegetables and protein-packed options to healthy fats that actually help improve insulin sensitivity, I’ll guide you through the essentials. Wondering if you can still enjoy carbs? You can—if you choose the right ones! I’ll share some easy swaps, like sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, and give you tips on portion sizes that work. Plus, we’ll talk about how antioxidant-rich foods like berries and green tea can make a difference in managing inflammation and blood sugar levels.
This isn’t about fad diabetes diets or complicated meal plans. It’s about making informed choices you can stick with—and enjoying your meals while you’re at it. By the end of this video, you’ll have a clearer idea of how to build a plate that works for you. Ready to take charge of your health? Watch now!
Download my free guide, 10 Healthy Habits for a Better You, linked below. Let’s make this your healthiest winter yet!
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– I'm Dr. Frita, and today I'm taking you on a grocery shopping trip with me to find the best foods for managing type 2 diabetes. We know that diabetes is very prevalent in the United States and it is the number one cause of kidney failure and a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, and mutations for wound healing. Yes, there are medications that can help to treat diabetes, but largely you can use food as medicine, and sometimes it's tricky in figuring out what to eat, right? So come join me, I will show you the best foods. All right, let's go. Proteins are excellent for helping you to manage type 2 diabetes. They're a great way for managing your blood sugars. A lot of times when you want to grab a quick snack, you might think that you want to grab something like that's full of carbs, things that will satisfy you. You might think about popcorn, bad idea. You might think about grabbing, you know, like a roll or croissant, bad idea. When you think about diabetes, you should think about proteins. And so there's lots of healthy proteins such as hard boiled eggs, and definitely fish. Fish like salmon. Now, these are frozen filets. I can go right over here behind me and get some fresh fish, including the salmon like what I have. Also, other fatty fish. You can get mackerel, halibut, sardines. But you don't want the sardines to be covered in salt. You want sardines that are either in water or in some type of an olive oil. And there are other proteins that are healthy as well. Beans, lentils, and edamame. And so just make sure that you have protein as a really high part of your diet if you have diabetes. Okay, let's look at some of these other choices as we go grocery shopping. Okay, when we talk about fats, I know with diabetes, iT's normally a bad thing. Why? Because we know that when you have a lot of fat, especially belly fat, then it can cause you to have insulin resistance. But when it comes to your diet, having healthy fats is actually great for diabetes. It helps to improve your insulin sensitivity. It helps to improve your hemoglobin A1C. So what do I mean by healthy fats? Foods like nuts, okay? So here we have some nuts. It can be almonds, pistachios, cashews. They have healthy fats, they also have some protein, they have fiber, and they help to unclog your arteries naturally. Avocados, y'all, I love avocados. Those also have healthy fats. Olive oils, especially extra virgin olive oil. Another example of a healthy fat. And so when you go grocery shopping, look for the nuts, look for the avocados, look for the healthy fats to improve your diabetes. Grocery shopping is definitely an important way to stay healthy. And I also have a free download for you, a free PDF "On 10 Healthy Habits for a Better You and a Better Life." Make sure you click the link of the description. Okay, you definitely need to have fiber rich foods on your list to keep you full and satisfied and to help you have great blood sugar levels. So here we are with our leafy green vegetables, right? So foods like broccoli, and all of the cruciferous vegetables actually. So even cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts. I love Brussels sprouts. I like to slice mine in a thin fashion, put olive oil on them, garlic. And it is just a nice delicious way to have the Brussels sprouts without them having that somewhat of a pungent taste. So I love my Brussels sprouts. We've got our cabbage, okay? We know that cabbage is really great for you. This cabbage is good. The red cabbage or purple cabbage is even better, okay? It has more of the flavanoids, more of the phytochemicals that are good for you. So really anything that's leafy and green, it's loaded with fiber, it has chlorophyll, which helps your body to detoxify, and it helps you to decrease your insulin resistance. So all of these things are great. I'm also looking for whole grains. Whole grains like oats and quinoa are another way to really get full of fiber and to get full. And, you know, when you're full, that helps you to keep from eating things that are bad for you, like the saturated fats, the sugary foods. So when you fill yourself up with these low calorie high fiber foods, it helps to not only increase your insulin sensitivity, it also helps you to maintain a healthy weight. And we know that if you're living with obesity or living with being overweight, that is a huge risk factor for worsening diabetes, worsening hyperglycemia. So yeah, the high fiber foods are the way to go, all right? Foods that are high in antioxidants are also gonna be great for managing your diabetes, because when you have the antioxidants, that helps to get rid of free radicals and to get rid of inflammation. We know that diabetes can be really bad on vessels. It can cause poor circulation, poor wound healing. And so the more foods you eat that are high in antioxidants, the less inflammation you have, and the less damage the diabetes mellitus will do to your body. So what foods are high in antioxidants? Fruits, of course. We have berries, okay? We have strawberries, which are wonderful. Strawberries are actually one of the most nutrients dense fruits that we have. And so you can have strawberries anyway. Of course, you can just eat them plain. You can chop them up, you can add them to your smoothies, you can have them to top your chia pudding, have them to top your oatmeal with the steel oats. You can put them in salads. So strawberries are a really great part of the diet. All right, so here are some mixed berries. Now, see, this would be my choice because you have the blueberries, you have raspberries, you have blackberries. And so this gives you a nice flavorful mix. You have the sweetness. But like a lot of people worry about fruits because some of them really do have high sugar, and we know we need to limit our grams of carbs and our sugar. But when you have fruits that are also high in fiber, that helps to slow down the release of glucose in your body, and it prevents you from having an insulin spike. So consult with your doctor, but don't always be afraid of fruits with high sugar as long as they have high fiber. So yeah, these mixed berries are a good choice. If ever you want to have just a one-on-one conversation with me, guess what? I have a telehealth concierge service. Click the link in the description, and we can go into detail one-on-one about your personal journey with diabetes or trying to prevent it. So here we have some granola. Okay, You gotta be a label watcher to make sure there's not a lot of salt added or sugar added, but if you're dealing with a whole grain, okay, or a whole oat, that's gonna be good for you. And make sure that when you're dealing with the grains, you do use the whole grains. So by whole grain, I mean a grain that has all three parts of the grain. If you're dealing with rice, for example, if it's brown rice or black rice, then it can be a whole grain. But if it's white rice, it tends to be stripped of some of the important nutritive portions of the grain. So basically just read the labels, get whole grains, and that's another way to help to manage your diabetes. All right, let's keep shopping. Okay, pears. Listen, pears are really great. First of all, I love pears. They're delicious, but they're also loaded with fiber, okay? So this is one of those high fiber foods, and they're loaded with the antioxidants that will help your body with inflammation and be good for your diabetes. You want to make sure that you eat the skin, okay? That's where the money is, that's where the fiber is. But we know that they are nutrient dense and delicious. So when you're shopping, please don't pass the pears. And also citrus fruits, yes, lemons, limes, also oranges. And, of course, as always, make sure you consult with your doctor. So, you don't want to overdo your sugar load. But remember, when you're eating fruits that are high with sugar, if they're also high in fiber, it's not as bad as you may think. But we know that oranges and other citrus fruits, like the lemons and the limes, are loaded with vitamin C. That's always good for your immunity. It helps to build your white blood cells. It helps you to cut colds, okay? You have a cold for a shorter amount of time if you're loaded with vitamin C. And these are ways to help to satisfy your sweet tooth, yet manage your diabetes. Do you know what else has high antioxidants? Green tea. So consult with your doctor, but having green tea and incorporating that in your diet can be another great way to have the antioxidants, that low inflammation, the anti-inflammatories, which can be helpful in managing your diabetes. When you're shopping, please don't ever pass by the avocados. I love avocados. Okay, these have those healthy fats that we talk about, the healthy fats that will help you to improve your insulin sensitivity. Plus, they're just delicious and they're high in potassium. So consult with your doctor if you have a potassium restriction. We know that the more potassium you take in, the more salt your kidneys get rid of. And so avocados can also be good for your blood pressure. And when you have diabetes, you want that control because, again, it's the number one cause of kidney failure. You also want to manage blood pressure because that's the number two cause of kidney failure. So for avocados, you can just take the skin off like I do. You can eat them plain, you can add a little garlic, a little spice to them. That's always delicious. You can make yourself a guacamole, but a healthy guacamole, okay? Garlic, spices, cayenne pepper. But please, please don't add sodium. You don't need it. I also like avocado toast, but I use a low carbohydrate toast. Or you can just have avocados and egg whites, okay? That's another delicious way. Either way, it's a healthy fat that will help you manage your diabetes. And also while we're over here, we're right by the squash. Oh my gosh, isn't this pretty? All different types of squash. You can do fun things with it. It's related to pumpkins, and it's actually high in fiber. So you remember, it's something that's low in calories. It can help you to stay full for longer. I love to do a butternut squash soup, like a bisque. And it's pretty cool. You just, you know, get your squash, and you can get an emulsifier, okay? I really just got into that, and it's something that will help to give you a good texture. Something similar to a squash. We can do a sweet potato soup, okay? And yes, I know you think potatoes, potatoes are all bad, but really it's the white potatoes that are worse than sweet potatoes. If you're dealing with sweet potatoes, that is actually a way to have somewhat of a good substitute for a white potato because the sweet potato are high in fiber. And when you do a sweet potato, you can do sweet potato fries instead of white potato fries, a sweet potato mash instead of white potato mash. And you can substitute a sweet potato for enriched grains like white rice, okay? Sweet potato will be a better choice than the white rice. Just make sure you consult with your doctor and you stay within your carbohydrate count. But when it comes to swapping out carbs and making the healthier choices, sweet potatoes are not all bad. Okay, here they are. These look delicious. These are the sweet potatoes that I was speaking of, okay? And these have nutrient dense carbs. Something else you can do with a sweet potato is instead of a traditional loaded baked potato, you can make a loaded sweet potato. So, for me, I bake my sweet potato. I do about on 350 degrees for about an hour, and then I slice it in half, and I add in quinoa and black beans and avocado. I do these things instead of bacon. So no bacon, no sour cream, no butter, and it's something that is nutrient rich and quite delicious. And it's something that can help you to be full, to be satisfied, to be happy, and to still manage your diabetes. We're talking about grocery shopping, specifically for diabetes mellitus type 2. And a lot of people don't know the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. So lemme just break it down really quickly. Every cell in your body needs sugar or glucose. In order for that sugar to get inside of the cell, it has to have insulin. Insulin is like the key. Well, when you have type 1 diabetes, you don't have enough keys. Your pancreas does not make enough insulin, and so the sugar cannot get inside of the cells, and so it ends up being outside of the cells and you have hyperglycemia or high blood sugar, okay? For type 1 diabetes, you don't have enough insulin. You don't have enough keys. For type 2 diabetes, you have enough insulin, your body makes plenty of insulin. The problem is the insulin is not working to get in the sugar inside of your cells because you have insulin resistance. So for type 2, you have enough keys, but the keys don't work. So what we are doing is we're trying to find foods that will help your keys, your insulin work better, so that you can have a greater blood sugar control and a greater insulin sensitivity. Please be sure to like this video and to share it with the people you care about because I'm giving you evidence-based information. Also, we have a membership community now here on the Dr. Frita channel. If you click the link in the description, you can join us. If you become a member, you will have privy to members only videos where I give you extra health information. Also, ooh, this is my favorite part. We have a members only live Q&A. That's right. Where it's you, me, and the other members, and you're going back and forth asking me questions in real-time and I'm answering them. So we schedule those. You also get a sneak preview when I do other videos that I release. I'll show it to members first very often. And then you get custom emojis, you get shout outs and other fun things. If you don't join the membership, don't worry. I'll keep giving you the evidence-based medicine that you love. But if you want some of those VIP perks, then come on, join the Dr. Frita membership. Thank you for coming grocery shopping with me. If you found this trip to be helpful, informative, as far as the best choices to make when you're living with diabetes mellitus type 2, or if you're trying to prevent it, even if you're pre-diabetic, or you want to prevent becoming pre-diabetic, these are healthy choices. As always, consult with your physician. Remember, diabetes is very prevalent and you don't always have symptoms. Be sure to watch my videos on diabetes explained, and I have more information in my playlist on diabetes. All right, again, I thank you for grocery shopping with me, and I want you to do your best to live your healthiest, happiest life. I'm Dr. Frita.
#Foods #Diabetes #Type #Patients #Diabetes #Control #Tips #Diabetes #Diet
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I want to clarify an error that appears in one of the slides during the video. The slide incorrectly states:
"Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure and a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, and mutations in wound healing."
The correct information is:
"Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure and a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, amputations, and poor wound healing." – Thank you for your understanding. ▶ Subscribe so you will never miss a video. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBve_ppCNE67fs3MsIocitg?sub_confirmation=1
🚨 Join the "Med Heads" Exclusive Members Only Community! https://www.youtube.com/@DrFrita/join
🩺 Click Here to Request a Comprehensive VIP Concierge Telehealth Consultation today! Learn More: https://social.drfrita.com/conciergeservice
🍏 FREE Healthy Habits Guide: https://social.drfrita.com/healthyhabits
📙 My Book Is Available Now! Under Pressure: A Guide To Controlling High Blood Pressure – Click Here To Get Your Copy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RWBPQYH
⭐ Check Out My Favorite Things Here: drfrita.com
Thank you! Great information! So simple, too!
Thank you! I'm committed to managing my health through diet, physical activity, and natural supplements for as long as I can, and your information was so invaluable.
Thanks for your useful information
Thank you 🙏🏾
Yes ma'am!! Awesome video!!❤❤❤
Can i eat plums
Thank You So Much❤
I got type 2 diabetes.. but today I was craving for spinach dip
🙏 ♥️Thanks Dr.
I have diabetes 2 but I can't eat certain food and I have multiple sclerosis I want lose weight
When you have GERD A LOT OF THOSE ON THE LIST REFLECT ON GAS ACID REFLEXES BUT THANK YOU 😊
Thank you doctor queen ❤
Thank you Dr.Freda🤗
Oats and grains???? No!!! Please go find information provided by the American Diabetes Society. It's up to date information not based on these old ideas. 🤦🏽♀️ No gains. Period. And salt is totally fine on a LCHF diet. I highly recommend Dr. Eric Berg as well. Don't live with and manage diabetes…. REVERSE IT. BEAT IT!! ❤
Thank you, very informative.
Wtheck yourube doesnt let me comment on other channels but yet im fine on this one.
Is it ok to eat long grain wild rice?
I need this grocery list really bad
I'm interested in doing this because I want to lower my a1c
Thanks Doc
Is coconut oil healthy for you
Thank You
Thank you for the info & wow such a huge 🎤
😮pop corn is bad?🤦🏾♀️
Thank you so much for the information. I will try all what you say.❤❤❤
So what about pineapple ? Needed an answer pleass
My sister has stage 4 Breast cancer as diagnosis with mets to lymph nodes, diabetes and later developed a rare form call Medullary thyroid cancer,she have just 2 years to live and she never been this scared to die, she just 37, i cry everyday wishing for a miracle to happen. i don't know why I'm saying this here. put me in your prayers.
When our test results came out Human Papillomavirus negative after living with it for 9 years, my husband was so happy that our kids won’t have sick parents after all but above all I want to thank Dr Madida Sam on YouTube whom with their effective and working treatments cured us of our HPV🦠.
Thanks so much, and will become a member. To be able to get more information on my 42 years as a type 1 Diabetic. 🙏🏾❣️
Pears, citric fruits, green tea, squash,sweet potato,
Protein hard boil eggs, salmon, fatty fish, beans lentils
Healthy fats nuts, avocado
Fiber rich food broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (red better)
Whole grains anti oxidants fruits strawberries, blueberries, raspberries,
Hello! I'm a sub. I know a former NBA player who played 4yrs of college then 9 seasons in the NBA during the 90's with only one kidney…(he born with only one). Could you maybe explain how that is possible in a vid if you have not already have done so?
Ok ❤