How to manage diabetes on a Malaysian diet

I KNOW it’s not easy to accept the fact that you have diabetes because its symptoms are often silent and you can function as you normally would. You probably feel that ignorance is bliss and chose not to do anything about it. 

But uncontrolled diabetes, in time, can lead to secondary complications such as heart failure, kidney disease, poor wound healing, amputations due to gangrene, vision impairment and infertility, just to name a few. Your inaction will just hasten its progression.

So don’t live in denial and let your fear of change hold you back. You can still enjoy delicious foods but you need perspective on it. And that’s where a dietitian can truly help you. 

The diet and lifestyle tweaks you need to do to maintain your blood sugar levels in a healthy range is actually a lot easier than you think:

Refresh your diet

A balanced diet is a variety of foods from grains, lean protein, vegetables, fruit and dairy. 

For diabetics, eating too much carbohydrate foods than what you require has an impact on raising blood sugar levels. 

Glucose is the simplest form of carbohydrate that your body uses as energy.

Carbohydrates are predominantly found in foods such as grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy products.

These foods are highly nutritious, so don’t just cut them off totally just because you feel they're the cause of your uncontrolled diabetes. 

Choose whole grain rice, converted rice, basmati rice, corn, tubers such as potatoes, sweet potato & yams, beans, legumes, whole grain pasta, noodles, oats, wholegrain bread and fresh fruit as your carbohydrate choices. 

These carbohydrates are also known as complex carbohydrates. They are digested slowly and will not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar when consumed in moderate amounts. 

Speaking of portions...

Understanding food portions is important to balance your diet. It may take some getting used to but with practice, you will get the hang of it. But what’s a moderate amount of carbohydrates, you ask?

Using the Malaysian Healthy Plate, visual by the Ministry of Health (fondly referred to as “sukusukuseparuh”) as a guide to sensible portions – fill ¼ plate with your carbohydrates food (example rice, noodles, breads), ¼ with a protein such as chicken, meat, fish or plant-proteins such as tofu or beans. 

Fill half of your plate with vegetables. A portion of fruit should be no more than a cupful (the size of a small bowl of rice).

Eating your carbohydrates in combination with proteins have a better stabilizing effect on your blood glucose levels, than just eating a large amount of carbohydrates by themselves.  

I recall a diabetic client of mine was shocked when he actually measured out how much rice was in his usual packet of nasi campur that he usually buys for lunch. 

In the takeaway box, the portion of rice looked misleadingly little. But when he dished it out onto a plate, he could truly see how much total food it actually was. 

After more clarity in understanding portions that was appropriate for him, he was able to manage his diabetes and his weight more effectively.

Fiber up!

Foods that are high in fiber help with blood sugar control and also helps one feel full for longer, so they are less likely to overeat. 

The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines recommends that we aim to get 25 grams of fiber per day.

To know if a food product is high in fiber, look for a dietary fiber content of 3 grams or more per serving on the Nutrition Label. Many of our popular local foods are high in fiber, too. Add these delicious fiber-rich superstars to your diet:

Eat at regular intervals

When you skip meals or eat at irregular times, your blood sugar level will rise and fall erratically. If this has become your habit, it’s time to stop. 

Eat your meals at regular time intervals to keep your blood sugar levels at a constant. This helps you to also control your cravings better as you will not get overly famished and end up overeating high-carbohydrate meals.

For my clients, they find that sticking to a regular timing helps them to remember to take their diabetic medication, which is important in order for it to work effectively.  

Get active

30 minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise helps to stabilise blood glucose levels.

Exercise may seem daunting in the beginning, but looking at the experiences of my couch-potato clients who have now eagerly embraced an active lifestyle, they unanimously say it has to be an activity they enjoy so it does not feel like “exercise”.

So, explore what you like, whether it’s walking, cycling, online home workouts – I’m certain you’ll find an activity you’ll connect with if you just give it a go. – The Vibes, November 7, 2020

Indra Balaratnam is a consultant dietitian