Diabetics should try to eat right and make healthy food choices.
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).
Page last reviewed: June 2010
Page last updated: June 2010
