How Should People with Diabetes Choose and Combine Vegetables?

Vegetables are the superheroes of our diet and play an important role in various blood sugar control diets recommended for people with diabetes.
Why are vegetables so important for diabetics?Most fresh vegetables raise blood sugar slowly, have a mild effect on blood glucose, and provide strong satiety. In addition, vegetables are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins, magnesium, antioxidants, and other nutrients. These nutrients work either individually or together, helping to lower the risk of developing diabetes and supporting people with diabetes in preventing complications.
It is no exaggeration to say that vegetables are essential and should be included in every meal.The Dietary Guidelines for Adults with Diabetes (2023 Edition) states:Vegetables should be included in every meal, reaching 500 grams per day, with dark-colored vegetables accounting for more than half.
How to Choose Vegetables?
For people with diabetes, vegetables should not only be eaten in sufficient quantity but also in varied types.It is recommended to “eat the rainbow” every week — generally, the darker the color, the higher the nutritional value.
Dark-colored vegetables should make up more than half of daily vegetable intake. They mainly include dark green, red, orange-red, and purple-black vegetables.
Dark green vegetables
Typical examples: spinach, rapeseed, water spinach, lettuce leaves, broccoli, shepherd’s purse, etc.Main nutrients: B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, lutein, chlorophyll, dietary fiber.Benefits for blood sugar: help reduce insulin requirements, regulate postprandial glucose metabolism, and assist in lowering blood glucose.
Red and orange-red vegetables
Typical examples: carrots, tomatoes, red peppers, etc.Main nutrients: vitamin C, selenium, lycopene, dietary fiber.Benefits for blood sugar: protect islet cells and insulin receptors, and improve the body’s ability to lower blood glucose.
Purple-black vegetables
Typical examples: purple cabbage, eggplant, etc.Main nutrients: vitamin C, iron, anthocyanins, polyphenols.Benefits for blood sugar: fight aging, scavenge free radicals, and increase endogenous insulin levels.
How to Combine Vegetables?
Nutritionists have proposed a simple and practical “321 Vegetable Pattern”:

3: 150 grams (3 liang) of leafy vegetables, mostly green leafy vegetables
2: 100 grams (2 liang) of any other vegetables (excluding potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, etc.)
1: 50 grams (1 liang) of mushrooms or algae

Mushrooms include mushrooms, shiitake, enoki, white fungus, black fungus, etc.Algae include kelp, laver, wakame, etc.
For example:

Oyster mushrooms contain chromium, a trace element that normalizes glucose tolerance and improves insulin efficiency.
Black fungus is rich in iron and helps prevent platelet aggregation and thrombosis.

Mushrooms and algae are low in energy, high in dietary fiber, vitamins, and trace elements, making them excellent helpers for people with diabetes to control blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and regulate blood lipids.