General Advice About Eating Habits for
Optimum Health & Weight Management For Diabetic Patients
Diabetes - Diet and Weight Control
Please Note: Diabetes is a serious condition.
This page offers general information only. For personal advice about your
diabetes, please see your doctor or consult the Diabetes Help section,
below.
Diabetes Diet - Summary
Eat a Well Balanced Diet with a Variety
of Food at Each Meal
- As a general guide, follow the Food
Pyramid Guidelines. Every day, choose foods from these food
groups: starches, vegetables, fruit, meat and meat substitutes, and
milk and yogurt. How much of each depends on how many calories you need
a day.
- The key to a healthy diabetic diet for
healthy weight maintenance, is BALANCE. Balance your food intake throughout
the day, and balance your meals so as to include as many food groups
as possible at each meal. In particular, balance your carb-intake throughout
the day.
- Limit your intake of Fats, Sugars and
Alcohol.
- Include moderate amounts of low-fat
protein. Protein helps to control between-meal hunger.
- Eat some starchy carbohydrates at each
meal. People might tell you not to eat starches, but that is not correct.
Eating starches is healthy for everyone, including people with diabetes.
Whenever possible, choose whole wheat or wholegrain carbohydrates: e.g.
whole wheat bread.
Diabetes Eating Habits - Summary
- Do not skip meals. Even distribution
of food helps prevent high and low blood sugars.
- Time your food intake to the action
of your diabetes medication.
- Eat 3 meals a day, plus snacks as needed.
- Eating regular meals helps control hunger
and prevents overeating at the next meal.
- Try to eat at about the same times every
day.
- Talk with your diabetes teacher to make
a meal plan that fits the way you usually eat, your daily routine, and
your diabetes medicines. Then make your own plan.
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Follow the Food Pyramid Guidelines
Eat a variety of food to get the vitamins
and minerals you need.
Limit Your Intake of Fats, Especially
Animal Fats
Limit your consumption of dietary fats.
Some contain saturated fats and cholesterol that increase your risk of
heart disease. Limiting these foods will help you lose weight and keep
your blood glucose and blood fats under control.
- Fat does not raise blood sugar, but
can lead to being overweight.
- Excess body weight can raise blood sugar.
- A high-fat diet also increases your
risk of heart disease.
- Reduce both high-fat foods and fats
added to meals.
High Fat Foods
High-fat meats, skin on poultry, chips, sausages, luncheon meats, peanut
butter, all nuts, whole milk, all fried foods, refried beans, cheeses,
pastries, cookies, crackers.
Added Fats
Butter, margarine, etc., cream cheese, cream, Half & Half, salad dressings,
oil, gravies, cream sauces, sour cream.
Diabetic Diet Advice - Fats
- If you do use a small amount of fat,
use canola oil, olive oil, or soft margarines (liquid or tub types)
instead of fat from meat, butter, or shortening.
- Use low-fat or fat-free yogurt or fat-free
sour cream instead of regular sour cream on a baked potato.
- Use mustard instead of mayonnaise on
a sandwich.
- Use the low-fat or fat-free substitutes
such as low-fat mayonnaise or light margarine on bread, rolls, or toast.
- Eat cereal with fat-free (skim) or low-fat
(1%) milk.
- Do not aim for a “fat free”
diet. A small amount of fat at each meal makes it tastier and helps
to fight between meal hunger.
- Choose monounsaturated fats, such as
olive oil, peanut oil, nuts, and seeds. Keep your saturated fat intake
to a minimum.
Limit Your Intake of Sweets
Sweets contain calories and some but not
much nutrition. Limiting these foods will help you lose weight and keep
your blood glucose under control. Sweets include: Regular sodas, ice cream,
cake, cookies, candy.
How can I satisfy my sweet tooth?
It's okay to have sweets once in a while.
Try having sugar-free popsicles, diet soda, fat-free ice cream or frozen
yogurt, or sugar-free hot cocoa mix.
Diabetic Diet Advice - Sweets
- Share desserts in restaurants.
- Order small or child-size servings of
ice cream or frozen yogurt.
- Divide homemade desserts into small
servings and wrap each individually.
- Freeze extra servings.
- Don't keep dishes of candy in the house
or at work. Remember, fat-free and low-sugar foods still have calories.
- Talk with your diabetes teacher about
how to fit sweets into your meal plan.
Limit Your Intake of Alcohol
Alcohol has calories but no nutrients.
If you drink alcohol on an empty stomach, it can make your blood glucose
level too low. Alcohol also can raise your blood fats.
If you want to drink alcohol, talk with
your doctor or diabetes teacher about how it fits into your meal plan.
Diabetic Diet - Dairy Foods
Milk and yogurt Milk and yogurt give you
energy, protein, fat, calcium, vitamin A, and other vitamins and minerals.
- Drink fat-free (skim or nonfat) or low-fat
(1%) milk.
- Eat low-fat or fat-free fruit yogurt
sweetened with a low-calorie sweetener.
- Use low-fat plain yogurt as a substitute
for sour cream.
Diabetic Diet - Meat and Meat substitutes
The meat and meat substitutes group includes
meat, poultry, eggs, cheese, fish, and tofu. Eat small amounts of some
of these foods each day. Meat and meat substitutes help your body build
tissue and muscles. They also give your body energy and vitamins and minerals.
Examples of meat substitutes include: Eggs, peanut butter, tofu, cheese,
soy beans.
- Buy cuts of beef, pork, ham, and lamb
that have only a little fat on them.
- Trim off extra fat.
- Eat chicken or turkey without the skin.
- Cook meat or meat substitutes in low-fat
ways: broil, grill, stir-fry, roast, steam, stew.
- To add more flavor, use vinegars, lemon
juice, soy or teriyaki sauce, salsa, ketchup, barbecue sauce, and herbs
and spices.
- Cook eggs with a small amount of fat
or use cooking spray.
- Limit the amounts of nuts, peanut butter,
and fried chicken that you eat. They are high in fat.
- Choose low-fat or fat-free cheese.
Diabetic Diet - Vegetables
Vegetables give you vitamins, minerals,
and fiber, with very few calories. If you have more than one serving at
a meal, you can choose a few different types of vegetables or have two
or three servings of one vegetable.
- Eat raw and cooked vegetables with little
or no fat, sauces, or dressings.
- Try low-fat or fat-free salad dressing
on raw vegetables or salads.
- Steam vegetables using a small amount
of water or low-fat broth.
- Mix in some chopped onion or garlic.
- Use a little vinegar or some lemon or
lime juice.
- Add a small piece of lean ham or smoked
turkey instead of fat to vegetables when cooking.
Diabetic Diet - Fruit
Fruit gives you energy, vitamins, minerals,
and fiber.
- Eat fruits raw or cooked, as juice with
no sugar added, canned in their own juice, or dried.
- Buy smaller pieces of fruit.
- Eat pieces of fruit rather than drinking
fruit juice.
- Pieces of fruit are more filling.
- Drink fruit juice in small amounts.
- Save high-sugar and high-fat fruit desserts
such as peach cobbler or cherry pie for special occasions.
Diabetic Diet - Starches and Grains
This group includes bread, grains, cereal,
pasta, rice, starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes, crackers, yams,
lentils, noodles, dried beans, peas, lima beans. They give your body energy,
vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Whole grain starches are healthier because
they have more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
- Eat some starches at each meal. People
might tell you not to eat starches, but that is not correct.
- Eating starches is healthy for everyone,
including people with diabetes.
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