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According to the American Heart Association (AHA), foods high in saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels in the blood, which may increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. “People with diabetes have a higher risk of heart disease, so it’s imperative to choose heart-healthy foods low in sodium and fat,” she says. Like other “white” foods to swap out of your diet (think: white bread, white rice, and yes, white pasta), ditch white sauce when preparing a more diabetes-friendly meal.Īs Anderson-Haynes notes, traditional cream-based sauces tend to have more saturated fat and sodium than other options. Skip Creamy Sauce In Favor of an Oil- or Tomato-Based Sauce “Nonstarchy vegetables are very high in fiber and have very little carbohydrate, which means less effect on blood sugar,” says Anderson-Haynes. She recommends filling roughly half of your plate or bowl with options like kale, collard greens, arugula, broccoli, asparagus, cucumber, spinach, carrots, or mushrooms. Specifically, centering your pasta dish on nonstarchy, naturally low-calorie vegetables increases the amount of food and adds vitamins and minerals, Smithson says. To make your bowl more diabetes-friendly, just add color - from veggies, that is. “Nothing is removed in processing, so it has the highest nutrient value, including fiber,” says Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haynes, RDN, CDCES, a registered dietitian at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. While semolina can be a nutritious flour - especially when it’s enriched with vitamins and minerals - whole-grain pasta has a slight edge.
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Many typical white pasta noodles are fashioned with semolina flour, which is made by grinding a type of wheat known as durum, according to Bob’s Red Mill. “Whole-grain pasta can be a great option because it offers more fiber, which can help blunt blood sugar spikes,” Smithson says. One easy way to make your pasta dish more nutritious is to swap out traditional noodles for a higher-fiber variety. RELATED: 15 Delicious Diabetes-Friendly Dinner Ideasīelow, diabetes educators and registered dietitians share their go-to strategies for making pasta as diabetes-friendly as possible. Taking smart steps such as these can help keep your blood sugar, weight, and overall health and nutrition on track. You simply need to watch your portion sizes and prepare this dish mindfully, such as by limiting certain toppings and mix-ins (like cheese, meat, and sauce). Indeed, people with type 2 diabetes who ate a 50-gram (g) serving of pasta experienced lower spikes in blood sugar than they did after eating equal portions of white bread, potato, or rice, according to past clinical studies referenced in a study published in the April 2021 issue of BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.
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Though it’s higher in carbohydrates than some other foods, pasta can fit into a healthy meal plan for someone with diabetes, says Toby Smithson, RDN, a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and author of Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies. And if you’re living with type 2 diabetes, it’s possible you’ve heard it’s a food you need to avoid.īut if you love pasta and are willing to make a handful of tweaks to the typical bowl, saying goodbye to this feel-good fare may not be necessary. Pasta is synonymous with comfort, which can be a dirty word when it comes to nutrition.