什么是植物基食物？它們真能緩解糖尿??？

Elephants, rhinos, bison, wildebeest and horses – oh my. These powerful animals may be showing the way for a healthy eating plan: They all follow a vegetarian diet. While all people should eat foods for good health, for people with diabetes, food choice plays a critical role in managing blood sugar.

大象、犀牛、野馬、羚羊和馬——我的天哪。這些體型壯碩的動物可能向我們展示了一種健康的飲食計劃：吃素。雖然為了健康，人們的飲食應該豐富多樣，但對于糖尿病患者而言，食物選擇在血糖管理方面扮演著重要作用。

Research shows that plant-focused eating offers clearly positive outcomes for people with diabetes – with reductions in blood sugar, lipids and body weight. And for you naysayers who cringe at the thought of moving toward a plant-based eating plan, you may change your mind after reading this.

研究表明，以植物為主的飲食會為糖尿病患者帶來顯著的積極效果——血糖、血脂和體重都有所降低。對于拒絕以植物為主的飲食的反對者而言，讀了這篇文章，您可能會改變主意。

There are many ways eating more plant-based foods benefits people with diabetes:

多吃植物基食物真的會讓糖尿病患者受益：

Better blood sugar management.

更好的血糖管理。

Improved heart health.

心臟更健康。

Weight loss.

體重減輕。

Lower lipid levels.

血脂水平降低。I'm a believer in taking small steps to achieve the big goals of getting blood sugar readings in target range and improving overall good health. Moving toward a plant-based eating plan can start with simply adding more veggies to one meal per day or “going vegetarian” for one meal per week.

我相信小目標的力量：有助于我們將血糖水平控制在目標范圍內，并改善我們的整體健康狀況。每日一餐多吃點蔬菜或每周吃一頓素食，這些都是朝植物基飲食邁進的一小步。

You may have heard about the campaign called Meatless Monday, where you swap out animal protein for plant protein every Monday. If Monday's don't work for your schedule, you can get creative with another day of the week, such as Tempeh Thursday or Salad Bowl Sunday.

你可能聽說過“周一不吃肉”運動，也就是說每周一你都從植物基食物而非動物食物中獲取蛋白質。如果你覺得周一不行，那也可以在其它時候不吃肉，比如周四吃天培或周日吃沙拉。

More fiber for better blood glucose management:

更多的纖維可以更好的控制血糖：

The typical American diet falls far short of the recommended daily intake for dietary fiber, which ranges from 21 grams to 38 grams, depending on age and gender. A plant-based eating plan lends itself to consuming foods that are higher in fiber – whole grains, fruits, vegetables and even plant-based proteins, which include legumes (think lentils and chickpeas), beans (from black beans to lima beans), soy (edamame, tofu, tempeh) and nuts and seeds (like peanuts, peanut butter, almonds, almond butter, pistachios, walnuts, chia seeds) all fit the mold. Even though some of these foods are carbohydrates, the fiber slows down the absorption of carbohydrate, which blunts spikes in blood sugar.

典型的美國飲食含有的纖維攝入量遠遠低于指南的建議量，日建議纖維攝入量從21克到38克不等，具體取決于年齡和性別。以植物為主的飲食通常包含纖維含量較高的食物——全谷類、水果、蔬菜甚至植物性蛋白質，包括豆類(比如扁豆和鷹嘴豆)，大豆(從黑豆到利馬豆等)，豆子(毛豆、豆腐、天培)以及堅果和種子(如花生、花生醬、杏仁、杏仁黃油、開心果、核桃、奇亞籽)。雖然這類食物中也存在碳水化合物，但其含有的纖維會減慢碳水化合物的吸收，從而降低血糖水平。