Diet and diabetes:better eating for better control

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Avoid sweets such ascandy, pies, cakes, and soda.

Choose fresh fruits for dessert.

Watch how muchstarchy food (bread,pasta, rice, andpotatoes) you eat.Starch turns to sugar in your body.

Choose whole-grainstarches, such as brownrice or whole-wheatbread, whenever you can.

Avoid fatty foods suchas fried or creamy foods.

Choose lean meats orfish and fresh vegetables.

Read food labels. Look for other names ofsugar, such as corn syrup,glucose, sucrose, andfructose. If these namesare at or near the beginningof the ingredient list, thatfood should be avoided.

Diettips

Why is my dietso important?As someone with diabetes, your main healthgoal is to keep your blood sugar at a steady,healthy level. Watching your diet—andlosing weight if you need to—are 2 of themost important ways to reach your goal.

Even if you need insulin or other drugs tocontrol your diabetes, eating right is veryimportant. A healthy diet may help youcontrol your blood sugar better with lessmedication. And eating right can help youlower your risk for serious problems likeheart attack and stroke. These problemsare more common in people with diabetes.Talk to your healthcare professional beforemaking changes to your diet or medication.

What’s a healthy dietfor me?Your healthcare professional or nutritionistwill work with you to create a plan you canlive with. A custom plan will help youachieve your health goals. It should alsoinclude plenty of the foods you like andshould work with your schedule.

Any plan should include these 4 keys to a healthy diet to help you succeed:

The RIGHT FOODS…The foods you choose can affect how your body works and how you feel. You should watch how much sugar you eat. Sugar comes in many different forms. These include sugary food (candy or fruit), grains (bread, pasta, and rice), and

starchy vegetables (potatoes).

Many people with diabetescontrol their blood sugar by

counting and balancinggrams of carbohydrates

(or “carbs”) throughoutthe day. This is known as carb-counting. The

number of carb grams isprinted on food labels. Your

nutritionist can give you atarget number of carb grams

for each day and each meal.

1/4proteinof your plate should be

vegetablesof your plate should be

1/4

1/2

of your plate should begrains or starches

At the RIGHT TIMES…Choosing the right kind of food at the right time of day is key to keeping your bloodsugar in control. It is usually better to eatsmall amounts of food every 3 to 4 hoursrather than 1 or 2 large meals each day.

In the RIGHT AMOUNTS…Most foods will not be off limits. With yourhealthcare professional’s OK, you may evenenjoy a small slice of cake or a scoop of icecream sometimes. But you need to learnhow much of what types of foods you shouldeat. That means you should know how largea serving is—and how many servings youshould have per day.

And in the RIGHT BALANCETo help keep your blood sugar steady, yourmeals should balance small amounts ofstarchy foods with servings of protein andvegetables. You should try to balance thefood on your plate as follows:

• 1/4 of your plate should be filled with grains or starches, such as rice or pasta

• 1/4 of your plate should be filled with protein, such as lean chicken or steak

• 1/2 of your plate should be filled with vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, or salad

Does this mean I cannot eat the foods I like to eat?Good news—you can make healthy dietchanges and still include the foods you and your family love. Ask your healthcareprofessional or nutritionist for help planningmeals and snacks that your whole familycan enjoy. By being good to yourself, you can also help protect your family’s health.

How do I get started?The best thing you can do is schedule a visit with your healthcare professional ornutritionist. Before your visit, use a fooddiary to keep track of what you eat. Try tokeep the diary for at least 2 weeks. Thiswill help you work together to create ahealthy diet plan that you can stick with.

Diet and diabetes: better eating for better control

Before you visit your healthcareprofessional, use a fooddiary to keep track of what you eat.

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