Diet & Food Guide for Diabetics

Diabetes is a chronic condition that requires careful meal planning as well as portion control in order to maintain a healthy blood glucose level that ranges between the low to mid 100s, according to the American Diabetes Association. Although you cannot eat large amounts of sugary foods and high-fat meals, you can still enjoy the foods you're used to eating as long as you eat them sparingly and in small portions while balancing your meal with healthy food options.

Carbohydrates

• There are three different types of carbohydrates: starches, sugars and fiber. Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that is used in your body for energy and as fuel for the cells in the central nervous system, according to Maureen Keane and Daniella Chace, authors of "What to Eat if You Have Diabetes." It is found naturally in fruit and milk as well as desserts, baked goods and foods that use white flour. These foods contain simple sugars that quickly break down in the body, which raises blood glucose levels. Although a source of energy, it is a quick fix that lowers within two to three hours and can cause fatigue until you consume more of it. These simple sugars provide little to no long-term health benefits, and can cause overeating due to a lack of nutrients.

  Complex carbohydrates are found in whole-grain foods such as wheat bread, pasta and cereal as well as legumes and vegetables. These carbohydrates provide nutrients, vitamins, fiber and calories, according to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Soluble fiber is beneficial for diabetics as it helps lower your blood glucose levels by reducing cholesterol production and helps metabolize glucose and fats, according to Keane and Chace. It can be found in fruits, vegetables, beans, bran and nuts.

Fats

• There are four different types of fat which include monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated and trans fat, according to the American Heart Association. The healthy fats are mono- and polyunsaturated fat found in vegetable oils, avocados, peanut butter, walnuts and fish. Because diabetes can cause health complications such as heart disease and coronary artery disease it is important to maintain low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels. LDL causes cholesterol to stick to the arterial walls, which forms plaque and lowers your arteries' ability to pump blood to the heart. HDL helps prevent heart disease by catching excess cholesterol in the blood and sends it to your kidney for disposal. Trans fat and saturated fat are found in baked goods, fried food, shortening and margarine. These foods increase your LDL and contribute to health problems.

Diet Plan

• There are many different diet options that you can try to manage your blood glucose levels, and you may find that certain diets work better for you due to your body type. According to Chace and Keane a low-carbohydrate diet could cause you to either curb your appetite or increase it, while a low-protein diet may cause you to gain weight due to the high amount of carbohydrates you are consuming.

  While dieting it is important to remember to balance your meals by focusing more on carbohydrates and lowering your consumption of meats and starches, or eat more meat and lower starches and non-starchy vegetables. According to the American Diabetes Association, a carbohydrate-heavy meal should have half of the plate filled with vegetables, with the remaining half divided between protein and starches.You can help stabilize your glucose levels by eating four to five small meals rather than three large meals, as smaller meals continuously provides vitamins and nutrients, which reduces the frequency of glucose level drops.