Eating Right With Diabetes

What healthy food choices should I make?

Eat smaller portions. Learn what a serving size is for different foods and how many servings you need in a meal.

Eat less fat. Choose fewer high-fat foods and use less fat for cooking. You especially want to limit foods that are high in saturated fats or trans fat, such as:

• Fatty cuts of meat.
• Fried Foods
• Whole milk and dairy products made from whole milk.
• Cakes, candy, cookies, crackers, and pies.
• Salad dressings.
• Lard, shortening, stick margarine, and nondairy creamers.

What should I eat more of?

Eat more fiber by eating more whole-grain foods. Whole grains can be found in:

• Breakfast cereals made with 100% whole grains.
• Oatmeal.
• Whole grain rice.
• Whole-wheat bread, bagels, pita bread, and tortillas.

Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. Choose fresh, frozen, canned, or dried fruit and 100% fruit juices most of the time. Eat plenty of veggies like these:

• Dark green veggies (e.g., broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts).
• Orange veggies (e.g., carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, winter squash).
• Beans and peas (e.g., black beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils).

What should I eat less of?

Eat fewer foods that are high in sugar, such as:

• Fruit-flavored drinks.
• Sodas.
• Tea or coffee sweetened with sugar.

Use less salt in cooking and at the table. Eat fewer foods that are high in salt, such as:

• Canned and package soups.
• Canned vegetables.
• Pickles.
• Processed meats.

Where can I learn about making a diabetes meal plan?

• Contact a registered dietitian to make a meal plan just for you.
• Visit the American Dietetic Association Web site to find a nutrition professional that can help you develop a healthy meal plan (www.eatright.org).
• Visit the American Association of Diabetes Educators to find a diabetes educator (www.diabeteseducator.org).
• Visit the American Diabetes Association Web site for more information on carbohydrate counting and the exchange method (www.diabetes.org).

Content source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Diabetes Translation