Get your 'blood sugar nourishing food' ready before the full heat arrives.

During the hot summer days, you may lose your appetite and feel easily fatigued. To boost your energy, you tend to enjoy hearty nourishing foods or refreshing fruits. But what about your blood sugar levels?

I'm curious!

It has only been a few months since I was diagnosed with diabetes. The first summer since becoming a diabetic, people around me often recommend eating foods believed to boost health, like ginseng chicken soup, eel, and soybean noodles, to beat the heat. However, I am just salivating at the thought because I am worried about my blood sugar levels.

Q. Is it okay to eat health-boosting food?

<Advice_Kim Eun-mi, Head of Nutrition Team at Samsung Seoul Hospital, Park Kyung-hee, Professor of Family Medicine at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital>

Being a diabetic patient does not mean you cannot eat nourishing foods. However, you must adhere to appropriate intake levels. Loach soup, galbitang (short rib soup), and eel dishes are actually foods that tend to be high in carbohydrates, sodium, and calories. If you mix rice into the broth and eat it, it can lead to a rise in blood sugar levels as well as obesity. You should eat only a small amount of rice and avoid consuming the broth as much as possible.

The most recommended nourishing foods for diabetic patients are ginseng chicken soup and soybean noodle soup. They are low in fat and rich in high-quality protein. However, be cautious with the sodium content in the broth of the ginseng chicken soup, so consume it in moderation. Remove the chicken skin. For the soybean noodle soup, it is preferable to choose restaurants that use whole wheat noodles or buckwheat noodles.

Develop a habit of eating any food while considering the daily standard intake prescribed by your primary care physician. On average, men should consume 600 to 700 calories per meal, and women should consume 500 to 600 calories per meal. Eat an appropriate amount based on your activity level, and it is recommended to follow a diet composed of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in a 4:3:3 ratio.

It is recommended to avoid overeating seasonal fruits that boost immunity during summer. Watermelon and cantaloupe, for example, surprisingly have high glycemic indexes and can cause a rapid increase in blood sugar. One or two pieces after a meal once a day is appropriate.