The nutritional goals of meal planning for the diabetic diet are to achieve and maintain at least a 5 to 10 percent weight loss if an individual is overweight, to control blood sugar and lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides), and to prevent or delay the complications associated with diabetes. Below are tips to control your diabetes.

• Limit Foods High in Sugar
• Include Carbohydrate Foods in Moderation
• Choose High-Fiber, Whole Grain Starches
• Do Not Eliminate Carbohydrates
• Choose Fruit for Snacks
• Increase Your Consumption of Vegetables
• Keep the Amount of Carbohydrates Consistent
• Time Your Meals
• Maintain Acceptable Weight
• Eat Less Fat and Cholesterol

Limit Foods High in Sugar

They can dramatically increase your blood glucose levels.

• Limit added sugar in the diet, including granulated, brown, powdered and raw sugar. Honey, syrup and molasses are also sugar, and consumption should be reduced.
  
  
• Limit foods high in sugar, such as cake, cookies, candy, pie, pastries, ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, pudding, jam/jelly, donuts, sweet rolls, sweet muffins, flavored gelatin and sweetened canned fruit.
  
  
• Avoid soft drinks (diet soda is OK), fruit juices and fruit drinks.
  
  
• Read food labels and look out for added sugar, such as corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, fructose, honey, invert sugar, etc. You may use artificial sweeteners in moderation, such as aspartame (NutraSweet or Equal), saccharine (Sweet 'n Low) or Sucralose (Splenda).

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Include Carbohydrate Foods in Moderation

• Blood sugar is affected primarily by foods containing carbohydrates. The main sources of carbohydrates in the diet are starch, fruit and milk. Although these foods do not contain refined sugar, they can still have a dramatic effect on the blood sugar.
  
  
• Examples of starch include bread, pasta, rice, tortillas, cereal, crackers and starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn, beans, peas and lentils. However, most other vegetables are non-starchy and have only a minimal effect on blood sugar.

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Choose High-Fiber, Whole Grain Starches

• Replace refined grains such as white rice, bread and pasta with whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread and crackers, barley or buckwheat. Include legumes such as beans, peas and lentils.

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Do Not Eliminate Carbohydrates

• Eating fruits, starch and milk are part of a healthy diet, and eating these foods in moderation should not cause your blood glucose to rise too high.
  
  
• Spread out carbohydrates into three small meals and three carbohydrate snacks.
  
  
• Every time you eat carbohydrates, your blood glucose begins to rise reaching its peak approximately one hour after you start your meal. The more carbohydrates you eat at a meal or snack, the higher your blood glucose will rise. Therefore, you should spread out your carbohydrates into small, frequent amounts.

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Choose Fruit for Snacks

• One small to medium piece of fruit the size of a tennis ball or one-half to three-fourth a cup of sliced fruit can be used as a quick and easy snack. Choose fresh fruit whenever possible. Try to include three servings of fruit a day.

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Increase Your Consumption of Vegetables

• Be liberal with your intake of vegetables. Most vegetables are low in calories and carbohydrates, and can be used whenever you are hungry between meals and to help fill you up at mealtime. Include at least three servings a day. (One serving equals a 1/2 cup of cooked or 1 cup of raw vegetables).

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Keep the Amount of Carbohydrates Consistent

• Keeping the quantity of carbohydrates consistent at each meal and snack will keep your blood glucose consistent. Work with your registered dietitian to determine how much carbohydrate your body will tolerate to normalize blood sugar levels.

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Time Your Meals

• Space meals and snacks evenly. Optimally, meals should be eaten five hours apart. Meals and snacks should be eaten two to three hours apart.
  
  
• Meals and snacks should be consumed at consistent times, especially if you are taking insulin or certain diabetes medications to lower your blood glucose.
  
  
• Do not skip meals.
  
  
• If you are taking certain diabetes medications to lower your blood glucose or are on insulin, do not skip meals. Otherwise, you are at risk of a low blood sugar reaction (hypoglycemia).

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Maintain Acceptable Weight

• You should maintain an acceptable weight for your age and height.
  
  
• If you are overweight and have type 2 diabetes, weight loss can not only improve your blood glucose dramatically, but also decrease or eliminate your need for diabetes medication or insulin.
  
  
• Even a modest weight loss of 10 to 15 pounds can have a major benefit on improving blood glucose levels.

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Eat Less Fat and Cholesterol

This will help you manage your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and achieve or maintain desirable body weight.

• Eat smaller portions of meat. Choose lean cuts of red meat, fish and skinless poultry. Healthy meat substitutes include low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese, egg whites and tofu products.
  
  
• Limit use of cold cuts, hot dogs, sausage, bacon, egg yolks, cheese and organ meats.
  
  
• Reduce your consumption of added fats, particularly saturated sources such as butter, stick margarine, shortening, cream sauces, cream cheese, sour cream, meat drippings, whole milk or cheese based salad dressings and coconut. Substitute non-fat or low-fat milk or yogurt for high-fat dairy products.
  
  
• Substitute monounsaturated fats for saturated fats, including olive, canola and peanut oils; avocado; nuts; and natural peanut butter or other nut butters. As a second choice, you can also replace saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats such as corn, sunflower and safflower oils; trans fat-free margarine; mayonnaise; and commercially prepared oil based salad dressings.
  
  
• Use less fat in cooking. Bake, broil, boil or simmer instead of frying or sautéing. Remove all skin from poultry, and fat from meat, prior to cooking.
  
  
• Alcohol consumption can significantly increase your triglyceride levels. If you do drink alcohol, please speak with your physician to determine if this is appropriate.

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