2) Quinoa
Half a cup of quinoa about 93 grams contains 111 calories, 1.8 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 4.1 grams of protein
Quinoa is one of the healthiest trendy foods now in the world, a substantially nutritious, gluten-free grain, full of fiber more than many other types of grains which promotes fullness and helps you lower your portion size more easily, this fiber also supports your gut health through increasing the healthy microbiome of your colon and forming a healthy stool bulk to give you better bowel motions since diabetes comes with higher rates of diarrhea, fiber also makes quinoa one of the few grains with a low glycemic index of 53 that helps you have better control over your postprandial sugar spikes.
Quinoa is also high in protein that supplies you with all of the essential amino acids that are required to help you build muscles, plasma proteins, and enzymes, which makes it a great protein source for vegetarians as well. Since quinoa is gluten-free it makes a wonderful choice for people with gluten sensitivity like celiac disease patients.
Quinoa is rich in minerals and vitamins including folate, iron, magnesium, potassium which all help in lowering blood pressure levels, enhancing your red blood cell formation, maintaining proper cell signaling, nerve impulses, and muscle contractions there has been a link between magnesium deficiency and insulin resistance one of the main causes of diabetes it also helps lower the levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol oxidation levels through the wonderful antioxidants content in them like quercetin and kaempferol which are flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties and promote overall health.
Quinoa has some types of anti-nutrients like phytic acid so it is essential to rinse quinoa and soak it well before you cook it to get the full range of the minerals and nutrients in it, then you just cook it like you would cook rice and enjoy it with some chicken breasts or some finely chopped vegetables to turn it into a salad with some feta cheese on top and a drizzle of olive oil.
