Putting it all together:
Creating a plan
A few different approaches to creating a diabetes diet are available to help you keep your blood glucose level within a normal range.
With a dietitian's help, you may find one or a combination of the following methods works for you:
The plate method.
The American Diabetes Association offers a simple seven-step method of meal planning. In essence, it focuses on eating more vegetables.
When preparing your plate,
fill one-half of it with non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, and tomatoes.
Fill one-quarter with a protein such as a tuna or lean meat.
Fill the last quarter with a whole-grain item or starchy food.
Add a serving of fruit or dairy and a drink of water or unsweetened tea or coffee.
Counting carbohydrates.
Because carbohydrates break down into glucose, they have the greatest impact on your blood glucose level. To help control your blood sugar, eat about the same amount of carbohydrates each day, at regular intervals, especially if you take diabetes medications or insulin.
A dietitian can teach you how to measure food portions and become an educated reader of food labels, paying special attention to serving size and carbohydrate content. If you're taking insulin, he or she can teach you how to count the number of carbohydrates in each meal or snack and adjust your insulin dose accordingly.
The exchange lists system.
A dietitian may recommend using food exchange lists to help you plan meals and snacks. The lists are organized by categories, such as carbohydrates, protein sources and fats.
One serving in a category is called a "choice." A food choice has about the same amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat and calories — and the same effect on your blood glucose — as a serving of every other food in that same category. So, for example, you could choose to eat half of a large ear of corn or 1/3 cup of cooked pasta for one starch choice.
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.
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