The Diabetic Exchange is a meal planning system developed jointly by the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association. All foods are divided into one of six categories. Within each category, a serving of any food has roughly the same calorie and nutrient content. This makes it easier for you to substitute a serving of one food for any other food in the same category. You can not substitute food from one category with food from a different category.
Step 1
Determine in which category your item belongs. The six categories are: starches/bread, meat, vegetables, fruit, milk and fat. Each category has a unique set of requirements that determine a serving size.
There is an additional seventh "free category" for foods that contain less less than 20 calories per serving.
Step 2
Read the ingredient list, looking for calories, carbohydrate, protein and fat content in grams. A single serving of the starch/bread group contains 80 calories, 15 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of protein and very little fat. In the meat group, which includes cheese, one serving is roughly 1 oz. of any lean animal protein or cheese. A vegetable serving should have between 2 and 3 g of fiber, 2 g of protein and 5 g of carbohydrate. A serving of fruit should be about 60 calories and contain no more than 15 g of carbohydrates. The milk group includes milk substitutes, such as almond, soy or rice milk. An 8-oz. glass of low-fat or skim milk is one serving. One tsp. of any oil is a single serving of fat.
Step 3
Calculate how many servings of each group you should eat based on your total daily calorie consumption. A typical 1,500 calorie per day diet would include these exchanges: 8 starches, 5 meats, 3 vegetables, 3 fruits, 2 milks and 3 fats.
A 2,000 calories diet would include 11 starch, 8 meat, 4 vegetable, 3 fruit, 2 milk and 4 fat exchanges.
Tips and Warnings
- Work with your doctor to determine how many exchanges from each category to eat each day. Factors such as your physical activity level, timing of your diabetes medication, high blood pressure or other illnesses will impact your diet.
- In every group, except the fruit group, multiple exchanges can be combined into a single serving. For example, a 3-oz. hamburger would be 3 meat exchanges, even though it is a single serving.
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