Carbohydrates and the Indian Plate
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Carbohydrate is the part of food that becomes glucose in your blood. In LADA your insulin supply is limited, so how much carbohydrate arrives and how fast it arrives both matter.
The usual Indian plate is carbohydrate-heavy — rice or roti taking up most of it, with a small amount of dal and sabzi alongside. Rebalancing that plate does more good than any single food swap.
Three things to work with:
- Portion. Reducing rice or roti by a third and filling the gap with vegetables and dal lowers the glucose load without leaving you hungry.
- Pairing. Carbohydrate eaten with protein, dal, curd, vegetables or a little fat raises blood sugar more slowly than the same carbohydrate eaten alone.
- Spreading. Three moderate meals put less strain on a limited insulin supply than one very large dinner.
Be careful with the assumption that traditional grains are automatically gentler. Measured glycaemic index values for Indian foods do not always follow that story — some millet preparations test higher than expected. Judging by your own glucometer, using paired readings before and two hours after a meal, is more reliable than a general rule.
The consistently useful changes are unglamorous: less sugar in tea, fewer sweetened drinks, smaller portions of rice, more vegetables and dal, and whole fruit rather than juice.