The goal of treatment for people with diabetes is blood sugar control. Diet, exercise and medication play important roles in helping you achieve normal blood sugars. A healthy diet for diabetics should include a variety of foods you enjoy eating from each food group. A doctor or dietitian can help determine the right diabetic diet for you.
Carbohydrate Counting Diet
Foods containing carbohydrates, including starches, fruits, milk and yogurt, raise blood sugars. The carbohydrate counting diet is a healthy diabetic diet that teaches you to control the amount of carbohydrates you eat at each meal to help manage your blood sugar. A doctor or dietitian determines the amount of carbohydrates you can eat at each meal, but generally you start at 45 to 60 g, according to the American Diabetes Association. Standard serving sizes and food labels help you count. For example, a small piece of fruit, 1/3 cup of rice and 2/3 cup of plain yogurt all have about 15 g of carbohydrates. Vegetables contain only small amounts and do not need to be counted when eaten in small amounts. Meats and fats do not contain carbohydrates either, but should be consumed at each meal for balance, says the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid
The diabetes food guide pyramid is a visual meal-planning tool designed to teach you to make healthy food choices. It is similar to the USDA food guide pyramid with some modifications based on specific dietary needs for diabetics. For example, cheese is in the meat and meat substitutes group, and not the milk group. Foods in each food group contain about the same amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The pyramid provides serving suggestions from each group based on your calorie needs and blood sugar goals, which a doctor or dietitian can help you determine. As a healthy diabetic diet, the diabetes food guide pyramid emphasizes foods from the starch, fruit and vegetable groups and discourages foods from the sweets and fat group.
Diabetes Exchange Diet
The diabetes exchange diet is a calorie-controlled, low-fat eating plan designed to help you maintain good blood sugars and a healthy weight. Foods are divided into basic food groups, including starches, fruits, milks, nonstarchy vegetables, meat and meat substitutes and fats, based on similarities in carbohydrate, fat and calorie content. You can eat a certain number of servings, or exchanges, from each food group based on your calorie needs, which a doctor or dietitian will help you determine. As a flexible meal-planning tool, the diabetes exchange diet allows you to swap foods within each group to design meals. For example, at breakfast you can substitute a slice of bread for 3/4 cup unsweetened cold cereal or half an English muffin.
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