Following a diet for diabetic is not totally different compared to other, equally healthy eating routine. The basic goal of diabetic diets is simply to maintain one’s level of blood sugar, which is easily achievable with three varied but interconnected actions. These three actions include: steering clear of foods which have high sugar content and high simple carbohydrate content (because the body will later convert it into sugar), practicing portion control in order to limit the intake of your foods without sacrificing nutrition, and eating several small meals throughout the day instead of three big ones.


For a lot of diabetics, it is not what you eat but rather how much of it and when you plan to eat it. Of course, choices are important and making the choice to eat healthy will definitely make it easier for you to control your diabetes. What you need is good and proper knowledge on what the main food groups are for many diabetics. There is actually a comprehensive food guide for diabetics, which comes in handy. There are six different kinds of food groups in the diabetic diet food guide.

The first one is Grains and Starches. This food group consists of plenty of breads, which is a huge source of carbohydrates. You must always choose whole grain products for your body – these are complex carbs that break down a lot longer, letting your body properly deal with sugar influxes. You should take six up to eight servings of bread a day. Other things that are included in this category are pasta, potatoes and corn.

The second group is deal vegetables, which include tomatoes, carrots, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce and cucumbers. These are great samplings of vegetables that are ideal as side dishes or maybe even a snack. You should get three up to five servings each day.

The third group consists of fruits – fruits that contain natural sugars as well as carbohydrates. You should watch your fruit intake . Ideally, you should combine them along with proteins either during your snack time or right before you exercise. You could have a banana, an apple or a peach as one serving. You should eat around two to four whole servings each day as a requirement.

The fourth group is milk, or all dairy products. These are also high in carbs, so you ought to limit your intake to one eight ounce serving each time. Strive to go low-fat with milk all the time. The fifth group is protein, which includes meat and meat substitutes. You need around six ounces of protein foods each day in about two to three servings. And finally, you have fats and sweets which are also necessary but not as important as the other five groups. You should choose these wisely and try to go for sugar-free variants if you can.

photo credit: The Gifted Photographer

Diabetic cooking is not as hard as it seems. The very first step simply entails choosing the right healthy and fresh ingredients for their recipes. Also, diabetics must be very careful when it comes to the kind of methods for cooking, which should always be concentrated on reducing saturated fats and cholesterol so as to reduce heart disease risk. These should also keep your calorie count down. A good method for diabetic cooking is to maximize the dish’s nutritional value. There are great methods which you can apply in order to cook food suitable for diabetics.

First, baking – which is great for vegetables, poultry, fruits and lean meat. It is even great for puddings – you just need a bit of additional liquid in order to make this happen. Second to baking is stewing or braising. This is good for browning meat or fish right on the top of your stove, which you then proceed to cook using small quantities of liquid. Another great diabetic cooking technique is grilling. When you use a rack to grill, you can instantly drain most of the fat away. Next, you have microwaving. The microwaving cooking technique can nix the fat when you put the food in between paper towels to let the fat seep into it while you are cooking it.

Poaching is another great method of diabetic cooking. You just simply have to pop your diabetic recipe into a covered pan and let it stay until the water gets minimized. Another is steaming, wherein you put the food in a basket that has perforations and then place this basket on top of simmering water. This great diabetic cooking method gets better with extra seasoning for more flavors. And finally, you have stir fry. In a wok, you can sauté or stir fry food using a little bit of olive oil.

Reducing the salt and fat content while adding flavor to your cooking is important. To make it happen, prepare your own cooking stock rather than resorting to prepared cubes. These cubes are very much high in salt. You should always choose to use vinegar and extra virgin olive oil compared to prepared salad dressing which is also high in salt. Make it a point to wash your canned vegetables because in doing so a substantial amount of salt can be eliminated from them. Always trim fat off the meat, and make it a habit to strip poultry of its skin. Always drain the oil from canned fish and try to carefully rinse it in water before cooking. Using herbs and lemon juice will enhance the flavor of your cooking, too. If you follow these dishes, the outcome will be healthy and flavorful.

When it comes to diabetic exchange, there are three food groups which you ought to be made aware of. These include protein, fats and carbohydrates. If you can manage your consumption of these three food groups, then you have a better chance of controlling your diabetic situation. A diabetic lifestyle will definitely center around food, and planning the meals ahead of time is more efficient and definitely the smartest way to go about this task.

It is always a must to consider serving size and portion control. Strive to know what the correct portion sizes are for a variety of foods. Take into consideration the total amount of fats, carbohydrates and protein in the food labels, as well the considered serving size. Only very simply computation is necessary in finding out what the right serving is for your food. For example, if you plan to eat only half of a serving then simply half the numbers found on the label so you know exactly how much of the servings you are eating.

Always make it a point to adjust the proportions and the serving sizes. Sometimes, the serving size is not equal to the one prescribed by your dietitian in the effort to control your condition. Always try to adjust the serving size until it is able to match with the right portion size seen in your diabetic exchange chart. One example is like when you have one serving size listed at six ounces. Consult your portion size, and you might find out that you cap out at a maximum of four ounces.

Also, it is a must to create meal plans. Always make individual meal plans for the three meals each day. Write these down separately, and always refer to your recommended foods list. Do this process for eight times until you end up with eight individual meals for the entire week. As much as possible, try to choose the foods that you know you love to eat, especially if they are in season and they are within your budget. Variety is very important to ensure that things are interesting for you. Next, choose one menu and put these in a stack. Follow the menu as listed and by the end of the week reshuffle it and review some areas where you know you can add new meals to keep up with the variety. These steps will ensure that you meet your minimum of six snacks and meals. These are very important in maintaining the levels of sugar glucose in your system.

When it comes to diabetes, you must think of food as your ally and not your enemy. Food can actually be like your medicine, because having the right diet will help to reverse your disease’s course. If you have Type 1 diabetes, having a proper diet allows you to manage your condition better. In fact, food need not taste awful. It can be fun and healthy at the same time. For many years, dieticians and health practitioners have thought a healthy diet should also be free from flavors. However, current research shows that the dietary recommendations are now expandable to include better and more flavorful choices.

What you need is a game plan. Make controlling blood sugar your goal, without necessarily compromising your health nutrient requirements. There are some things which you ought to try in order to make this happen. First, you need to consult with a dietitian. This person will evaluate the diet you are on and adjust your eating habits and food plan if necessary. Dietitians are now very flexible and accommodating especially if there are some particular aspects of your diet (especially the cultural part of it) which you want to keep.
You should also keep your own food diary. Log in each morsel that you eat for a whole week, no matter how small it is. It will help your dietitian look for any patterns about your eating habits so you will know which avenues to change. You can do this on a small notebook or a pocket planner.

It also helps to keep a list of your blood sugar readings to show to the dietitian to see the patterns of glucose levels in your body. And finally, you and your dietitian will be able to put everything together in order to find out which are the right recommendations for your diet. The following variables are part and parcel of this diet plan: your weight, exercise habits, use of insulin, use of medicine, and any other special considerations.

The bottom line is, consistency is key to keeping your blood sugar a lot stable. There might be some erratic patterns which will make your blood sugar seesaw, so try to avoid those. Always strive to have a livable meal plan you can easily follow. Likewise, it pays to do constant monitoring of your blood sugar levels. When you do, you are easily able to change or adapt your meal plan according to the readings on your insulin dosage, activity level or other equally important variables. If you are the type who has Type 2 diabetes and still have some difficulty maintaining your blood sugar through your drug intervention or insulin, you can make a great difference through a properly-adjusted diet.

Additional circumstances found to improve the chance of diabetes type 2 include aging, high-fat diets along with a less active lifestyle.  In addition it’s now thought that there’s a strong genetic connection to Diabetes type 2.

One nice service I came across is easyDNA that provides you with the chance to determine your predisposition for important health problems for example cardiovascular conditions, cancers, diabetes and obesity. By understanding your risk profile of these diseases, you can reduce this with the required change in lifestyle. If you’re interested to order your well-being DNA Test

As a diabetic, or an acquaintance of one, you are likely familiar with the foods and drinks that should and should not be consumed. If you are like anyone else that is a diabetic or that knows a diabetic, you probably wonder whether or not wine falls into the category of drinks that should be avoided.

Many studies that have been published over the years have determined that a moderate consumption of wine on a daily basis can actually benefit one’s cardiovascular health. However, is it the same with diabetics?

Most diabetics are informed not to consume alcohol, which does unfortunately include wine. However, some doctors – and even experts – will tell you that small amounts of wine consumption are okay. Dr. Getaneh at Every Day Health states that you should drink alcohol, as well as wine, with food and limit your intake to about 35 ounces of wine per week, – and WebMD agrees – which balances out to a five-ounce glass of wine daily. The reason that you should consume wine and alcohol with food is to ensure you do not experience low blood sugar after consumption as hypoglycemia can occur up to an hour after consumption.

A study published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry in February 2009 stated that red wine – as well as tea – may actually help those suffering from Type 2 diabetes to metabolize sugars and starches more efficiently, which is just one of the reasons why wine is beneficial to those with diabetes.

Sweet Wine vs. Dry Wine

According to WebMD, sweet wines do not come highly recommended and that is because of their high levels of sugar content. However, just because they do not come recommended, it doesn’t mean that you have to remove them from your wine rack. So that your (a diabetic’s) blood sugar does not drastically change, sweet wine can be consumed, but sipped at a slow pace.

Dry wine contains virtually no sugar at all and the amount of calories is minimal. Therefore, the American Diabetes Association permits dry wine consumptions for diabetics. Dry wine is relatively low in carbs with the negative alcohol affects being quite minimal on a diabetic. The negative effects generally only come from larger consumptions of wine and/or alcohol.

Decrease Your Risk of Developing Diabetes

With diabetes being a widespread concern in the U.S., many individuals are doing anything they can to lower their risk of developing the disease, especially the most common of the diabetic disease – Type 2 diabetes, which is currently on track to affect over 40 million in America by 2050. In a study, scientists discovered that alcohol consumption, including wine, at a moderate level could significantly reduce the odds for the development of diabetes. This study proved to be more effective in women than men were by lowering the risk by 37 percent in women (50-71 years of age) versus 19 percent in men.

With that all being said, it is about time you enjoy yourself. Grab a friend, a bottle of wine – dry wine preferably to minimize calories and rid yourself of sugar intake that isn’t needed – along with some wine glasses to pack in your picnic baskets. There is nothing like a celebratory picnic or even a picnic to help you lower your risk for developing diabetes!

Being on a menu for diabetics can be a tad overwhelming, especially since you have to figure out how much you should eat of something and when you ought to eat. Moreover, you also need to learn the nitty gritty stuff such as the effect of carbohydrates on insulin and glucose levels. These can be a bit challenging, but having a simple and easy to follow meal plan will make the diet a bit more enjoyable.

Meal planning, of course, is very important in a diabetic diet. It helps you factor in things like how much weight you need to lose or how you can control the condition. Preparation and also modification are the keys to this – it will help you make things balanced and at the same time healthy. With proper meal planning, you will be able to reduce your need for medication, control your blood sugar, exercise proper portions and other things.

Of course, this does not mean having to resort to bland tasting meals. You can still make it delicious with – again – careful planning and a bit of thought and care. Consider a smart sample menu which is not only going to lead you to a healthy eating lifestyle but also keeps you feeling full and satisfied.

For the first day, a breakfast of bran muffins, half cup of blueberries and a cup of fat free milk is good. Follow this up with a small banana for snack and a lunch that consists of: a small whole wheat pita, spinach salad, 2 ounces of low sodium turkey breast, tomato slices, mustard for flavor, an orange for dessert and a cup of fat free milk. Your late afternoon snack would be twenty almonds, a small cup of low fat yogurt and a cup of herbal tea. When it’s time for dinner, consider grilled shrimp, 3/4s cup of whole wheat pasta, half a cup of black beans and some steamed broccoli.

On the second day, have two slices of whole wheat toast with peanut butter, a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast. Your snack ought to be a cup of herbal tea, half cup of unsweetened applesauce with two tablespoons of chopped walnuts. For lunch, some lean roast beef with a side of whole wheat bread, steamed cauliflower and a cup of coffee would taste really good. An afternoon snack of two small fig cookies and milk ought to do the trick. And finally, for dinner have some chicken breast sautéed with 1 cup of veggies and two thirds cup of brown rice.

On the third day, have some bran cereal for breakfast topped with a cup of strawberries plus a cup of milk. For snack, have a dozen green or red grapes with half a cup of cottage cheese. For lunch, sip on some barley soup, nibble on a multigrain roll and have one apple for dessert, washed down with some coffee. As a snack, have one fourth cup of sunflower seeds and a small cup of low fat yogurt. And finally, for dinner have some broiled halibut with a mixed green salad, two thirds cup of whole wheat couscous, and a cup of tea or coffee.

Chef Paul Routhier gives us this delicious, diabetic-friendly recipe:
A Mexican inspired, low sodium, low cholesterol and low calorie vegetarian delight!
With whole grain brown rice and hearty black beans, this dish won’t leave you hungry. Whole grains and legumes take longer to digest and therefore keep you full longer.

Rinsing the black beans will help reduce the sodium and their high fiber content. In addition to lowering cholesterol, black beans’ high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.

When combined with whole grains such as brown rice, black beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. You may already be familiar with beans’ fiber and protein.

About Chef Paul:Paul Routhier has cooked up a storm in many of North America’s greatest kitchens, including a stint as Head Chef atthe acclaimed Toronto Citron. Paul now uses his skills to create hundreds of diabetic-friendly meals for MealEasy, the world’s most intuitive online meal planner.