People with diabetes have too much sugar in their blood. Managing diabetes means managing your blood sugar. What you eat is closely related to your blood sugar. Choosing the right foods will help you control your blood sugar.
The way to improve health
Eating healthy is one of the basic things you can do to help manage your diabetes.
Do I have to follow a special diet?
There is no specific “diabetes diet”. Your doctor can work with you to design a meal plan. A meal plan is a guide that tells you what foods to eat for meals and snacks. The plan also tells you how much food is needed. For most people with diabetes (and those who don’t), a healthy diet includes:
- 40% to 60% of calories from carbohydrates
- 20% of calories from protein
- 30% or less of calories from fat
Your diet should also be low in cholesterol, low in salt and low in added sugars.
Can I eat sugar?
Correct. In recent years, doctors have known that eating a little sugar is generally not a problem for most people with diabetes—as long as it’s part of a balanced diet. Just be careful about how much sugar you eat and try not to add sugar to your food.
What foods can I eat?
In general, with each meal, you can have:
- 2 to 5 choices (or up to 60 grams) of carbohydrates
- 1 choice of protein
- A certain amount of fat
Talk to your doctor or dietitian for specific advice.
- Carbohydrates are found in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy foods, and starchy foods like bread. Try to eat fresh fruit instead of canned fruit, fruit juice, or dried fruit. You can eat fresh vegetables and frozen or canned vegetables. Condiments such as fat-free mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard are also carbohydrates.
- Protein is found in meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, beans and some vegetables. Try to eat poultry and fish more often than red meat. Do not eat poultry skin. Also, trim excess fat from all meats. Choose fat-free or low-fat options when you eat dairy, such as cheese and yogurt.
- Not all fats are bad. It is important to know the difference between these fats. Unsaturated fats are “good” fats (nuts, fish, olive oil, canola oil, seeds, etc.). Saturated fats are less healthy. You should limit these in your diet. These include red meat, butter, lard, whole dairy products, dark poultry, etc. Trans fats are the worst type of fat for you. These fats can be found in processed foods like crackers, snacks, and most fast foods. To identify trans fats, check food labels for the word “partially hydrogenated”. Your doctor or dietitian will tell you how many grams of fat you can eat each day. When eating fat-free foods (such as mayonnaise and butter), check the labels to see how many grams of carbohydrates they contain. Keep in mind that these products often have added sugar.
>>> Read: Nutritious Foods: Vitamins And Minerals
What is an exchange list?
The exchange list is a tool to help you plan healthy meals and snacks. To add variety to your diet, you can replace certain foods with other foods in the same group. Some examples are listed here.
Food group | You may have… | Or exchange for… |
Fruit (each serving contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates) | 1 small or medium piece of fresh fruit | 1/2 cup fruit juice, or canned or chopped fruit |
Vegetables (each serving contains about 5 grams of carbohydrates) | 1 cup raw vegetables | 1/2 cup cooked vegetables or vegetable juice |
Starches (each serving contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates) | 1 slice or ounce of bread | 1/2 cup pasta, cereal, starchy vegetables |
Sugar, honey, molasses | 1 teaspoon | 4 grams of carbohydrates |
Milk (not including cream, yogurt or cheese) | 1 cup cow’s milk (low-fat) | 12 grams of carbohydrates and 8 grams of protein |
Meat | 1 ounce meat, fish, poultry, cheese, or yogurt | 1/2 cup dried beans |
Fats (including nuts, seeds, and small amounts of bacon and peanut butter) | 1 teaspoon oil, butter or margarine | 5 grams of fat |
Things to consider
If you don’t control your diabetes, you put yourself at risk for many other health problems. The best way to manage diabetes is through diet, exercise, and sometimes medication. Poor diabetes management over time can lead to kidney disease and heart disease. It can also damage your eyes and nerves. It can cause skin tissue problems, especially in your feet and legs.
An important part of managing your diabetes is monitoring your blood sugar. It’s easy to do this yourself through a blood sugar monitor or continuous glucose monitoring system. Your doctor can help you decide which method is best for you.
When to see a doctor?
If you can’t control your blood sugar through diet and exercise, talk to your doctor. It may mean you need medication to help control your diabetes. Some signs of uncontrolled high blood sugar include:
- Blurry vision
- Thirsty
- Unexplained weight loss
- Dizziness or lightheadedness
- Nausea
- You are more emotional than usual for no apparent reason