Take Charge of Your Health: Session 2

What you eat is one of the most powerful tools for managing prediabetes – and improving it does not require an overhaul. In this free class, Megan Ellison, RDN, CDCES of Sound Dietitians, LLC dives into Chapter 3 of Prediabetes: A Complete Guide by Jill Weisenberger, covering the dietary patterns, key foods, and practical strategies that support better blood sugar control. This is the second session in the Take Charge of Your Health series, offered through Stilly Valley Health Connections – explore more in our free class recordings library.

What’s covered in this class:

• Healthy dietary patterns for blood sugar management – why there is no single perfect diet for everyone, what the dietary guidelines say about eating more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains while reducing red and processed meats, refined grains, and added sugars, and how the consistently top-ranked Mediterranean, DASH, and flexitarian patterns all share an emphasis on colorful plant foods, healthy fats, and limited processed foods
• The plate method – how to build a balanced meal by filling half your plate with non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, peppers, zucchini, carrots, and others), one quarter with carbohydrate foods (whole grains, starchy vegetables like corn and winter squash, or beans and lentils), and one quarter with protein (fish, eggs, lean meat, or tofu), and why a blood sugar rise of 30-60 points two hours after a meal is considered normal
• Key foods to prioritize – why swapping refined grains for whole grains (oats, quinoa, barley, brown or wild rice, even popcorn) increases fiber and satiety, how nuts and seeds improve glucose levels and heart health through unsaturated fats and protein (with actual absorbed calories running about 20-25% lower than what labels show), and why including dark-colored berries daily is linked to reduced risk of both type 2 diabetes and dementia
• Other foods and beverages worth knowing about – how herbs, spices, and a little vinegar in cooking can modestly support blood sugar control, why coffee and tea are associated with reduced diabetes risk (while sugary coffee drinks cancel out those benefits), how yogurt specifically is linked to lower T2D risk, and what the research actually says about low-carb approaches and alcohol
• Assessing your diet and setting SMART goals – how to use the dietary intake quiz on pages 57-58 of the book to identify gaps in your current eating pattern, and how to translate those findings into specific, measurable behavioral goals using the worksheet on page 285 – for example, “I’ll make half my plate vegetables at dinner four nights a week” rather than a vague intention to eat more vegetables