How plant-based diets may help manage diabetes

Welcome back to Mornings on 2. November is Diabetes Prevention Month. Type 2 diabetes is rising worldwide, especially among older adults. Doctors say diet and lifestyle, particularly plant-based diets, can be effective tools for the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. We're joined by nutritionist and plant-based wellness expert, Carla Saloneri. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you so much for having me, Pam. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. I eat a lot of plants. Plant based diet foods, but not everybody wants to do that. And I see a lot of people kind of crinkling their nose. What are some things that you recommend for people who, you know, to to kind of incorporate the plant based diet and still be yummy and tasty and they don't feel like they're sacrificing? Yes. So you said it well at the beginning of the segment. The CDC has released its latest statistics as late as September of this year, showing that about 42 percent of American adults have been diagnosed with prediabetes, which is about two in every five adults. And that is a huge percent. And what, you know, what we want to promote, what physicians want to promote, what coaches and nutritionists want to promote is that while incorporating a more whole food plant predominant lifestyle, meaning more fruits, more. More vegetables, more whole grains, more healthy fats. We can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 34 percent. And when you incorporate exercise and sustainable weight management, that percentage can increase even further to 58 percent. And we can do that in a way that honors our culture, that honors our budget. For example, we can swap. A fatty breakfast for one that is made with whole grains, for example, oatmeal in the mornings with fiber rich fruits such as berries, raspberries, particularly, which are higher in fiber and can help manage those sugar spikes. Same for lunch and dinner, incorporating more beans, more whole grains, watching the types of fats that we're consuming, swapping it out for more olive oil. Avocado oil, which are monounsaturated forms of fat and reducing the amount of saturated fats, the combination of that, which can be achieved through a mostly whole food diet, can be a really powerful tool. Yeah, talk about, you mentioned culture, because I think, you know, we know minorities are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes. I know there are some soy-based, like there's soy riso instead of chorizo there. How can families Families reduce their risks and still preserve their cultures are it seems. It seems like there are more options now to look for. 100%. We're living in a time where we are just so much culturally diverse, and there's just so many wonderful ways. And I wrote that in my first book, Abuela's Plant-Based Kitchen, and my forthcoming book, Abuela's Plant-Based Desserts. And we can continue to cook with the flavors that we enjoy, but swapping, again, more heavy meat dishes for more plant-based dishes. For example, when you're having tacos, can we swap out the beef? for lentils, or can we add beans to our salads? And, you know, we can continue to honor those cultural dishes that are so important to us, but by making a few simple swaps, keeping the flavors, swapping out those ultra-processed foods or ultra-processed foods for more plant-based options. If Abuela approves, then that seems like a good stamp of approval. Really quick before we let you go, talk about fruits. I know a lot of people who are dealing Dealing with diabetes or type two or. They worry about eating too much fruit. What do you talk about in terms of carbs and fruits and monitoring your blood sugar? So first, carbs are our body's main source of energy. So carbs are essential in a healthy diet, right? But we want to make sure that we're choosing the right types of carbohydrates. So carbs that are higher in fiber, so things like sweet potato, brown rice instead of white rice, You know, asparagus, avocado, these are going to be higher in fiber. When we prioritize fiber, we're better able to manage blood sugar, right? The same with fruit. So it's not about It's about entirely eliminating that food group. But choosing fruits that are higher in fiber, so things like berries, so blackberries, raspberries, strawberries are going to be better options. Also, kiwis are really great. So, again, the higher the fiber, the better it is for our blood sugar management. All right. There's hope for blood sugar management and still getting good taste. Nutritionist and plant-based foods expert Carla Saloneri, thank you so much for joining us. Great information. Thank you so much for having me. Have a great day. You too. All right, we'll be right back. We leave you with this gorgeous sun shining on the coast. We'll be right back.