By Najib Sani Bauchi
People living with diabetes have been advised to adjust their eating habits by giving at least four hours interval before every meal as a way of managing the disease. A visiting consultant of diabetes at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi, Dr Bathnna Sule, gave the advice at the weekend while delivering a lecture on the basic nutritional strategies for diabetics during the monthly enlightenment lecture organised by the state chapter of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN). He said diabetic patients could eat all classes of food, but recommended that half of their foods should be vegetables while protein, fats and oil should be consumed in small quantities.
According to him, small and frequent meals, consistent eating habits, giving four hours intervals between every meal, avoidance of all foods produced with sugar as well as eating carbohydrates high in fi bre were some of the best measures for diabetics to prevent complication of their illness. Sule also advised the patients to be doing a lot of exercises, trekking, drinking plenty of water and taking medications always to live better lives. “Diabetics can eat all classes of food but with caution. Th ey should have carbohydrates 45 to 65 per cent, protein, 12 to 20 per cent, while fats and oil should not be more than 25 to 35 per cents, respectively. However, patients with nephropathy should limit protein to 10 per cent,” he said.
