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eating plan
Your diabetes diet is simply a healthy-eating plan that will
help you control your blood sugar. Here's help getting
started, from meal planning to counting carbohydrates.
Recommended foods
Make your calories count with these nutritious foods. Choose
healthy carbohydrates, fiber-rich foods, fish and "good" fats.
Healthy carbohydrates
Fruits
Vegetables
Whole grains
Legumes, such as beans and peas
Low-fat dairy products, such as milk and cheese
Fiber-rich foods
Dietary fiber includes all parts of plant foods that your body can't
digest or absorb. Fiber moderates how your body digests and
helps control blood sugar levels. Foods high in fiber include:
Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts
Legumes, such as beans and peas
Whole grains
Heart-healthy fish
Avoid fried fish and fish with high levels of mercury, such as king
mackerel.
'Good' fats
Avocados
Nuts
/
Canola, olive and peanut oils
Foods to avoid
Diabetes increases your risk of heart disease and stroke by
accelerating the development of clogged and hardened arteries.
Foods containing the following can work against your goal of a
heart-healthy diet.
Counting carbohydrates
Because carbohydrates break down into glucose, they have the
greatest impact on your blood glucose level. To help control your
blood sugar, you may need to learn to calculate the amount of
carbohydrates you are eating so that you can adjust the dose of
insulin accordingly. It's important to keep track of the amount of
carbohydrates in each meal or snack.
If you're taking insulin, a dietitian can teach you how to count the
amount of carbohydrates in each meal or snack and adjust your
/
insulin dose accordingly.
Glycemic index
Some people who have diabetes use the glycemic index to select
foods, especially carbohydrates. This method ranks carbohydrate-
containing foods based on their effect on blood glucose levels.
Talk with your dietitian about whether this method might work for
you.
A sample menu
When planning meals, take into account your size and activity
level. The following menu is tailored for someone who needs
1,200 to 1,600 calories a day.
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See also
Medication-free hypertension control
A1C test
After a flood, are food and medicines safe to use?
Air pollution and exercise
Alcohol: Does it affect blood pressure?
Alpha blockers
Amputation and diabetes
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