Can Eating More Plant-Based Foods Help Manage Diabetes? 

多吃植物基食物真的能缓解糖尿病吗? 

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、野马、羚羊和马——我的天哪。这些体型壮硕的动物可能向我们展示了一种健康的饮食计划：吃素。虽然为了健康，人们的饮食应该丰富多样，但对于糖尿病患者而言，食物选择在血糖管理方面扮演着重要作用。 

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，以植物为主的饮食会为糖尿病患者带来显著的积极效果——血糖、血脂和体重都有所降低。对于拒绝以植物为主的饮食的反对者而言，读了这篇文章，您可能会改变主意。 

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

多吃植物基食物真的会让糖尿病患者受益：

Better blood sugar management. 

更好的血糖管理。 

Improved heart health. 

心脏更健康。 

Weight loss. 

体重减轻。

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. 

我相信小目标的力量：有助于我们将血糖水平控制在目标范围内，并改善我们的整体健康状况。每日一餐多吃点蔬菜或每周吃一顿素食，这些都是朝植物基饮食迈进的一小步。

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. 

你可能听说过“周一不吃肉”运动，也就是说每周一你都从植物基食物而非动物食物中获取蛋白质。如果你觉得周一不行，那也可以在其它时候不吃肉，比如周四吃天培或周日吃沙拉。 

More fiber for better blood glucose management: 

更多的纤维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. 

典型的美国饮食含有的纤维摄入量远远低于指南的建议量，日建议纤维摄入量从21克到38克不等，具体取决于年龄和性别。以植物为主的饮食通常包含纤维含量较高的食物——全谷类、水果、蔬菜甚至植物性蛋白质，包括豆类（比如扁豆和鹰嘴豆），大豆（从黑豆到利马豆等），豆子（毛豆、豆腐、天培）以及坚果和种子（如花生、花生酱、杏仁、杏仁黄油、开心果、核桃、奇亚籽）。虽然这类食物中也存在碳水化合物，但其含有的纤维会减慢碳水化合物的吸收，从而降低血糖水平。