Healthy Food Choices for Living with Diabetes

What You Eat Matters! • Whether you have Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes the food you eat makes a big

difference.• Type 1 Diabetes: Keeping track of how many

carbohydrates you eat is important for your long-term health & will help you decide how much insulin your body needs.

• Type 2 Diabetes: Taking your medication, maintaining a healthy weight, exercise & a healthy diet will help maintain blood sugar levels.

Choose Smart Carbs

• A diabetes diagnosis means you need to be selective about which carbohydrates you eat.

Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Choose to eat low fat & high fiber starches.

Be Cautious About Eating Refined Sweets

Swap Low Fiber Foods for Foods High in FiberLow Fiber Foods: High Fiber Foods:Cashews AlmondsBagel PopcornFrench Fries Sweet PotatoOrange Juice Whole Orange

The Perfect Plate

Visualize this plate to keep your meal balanced and your carbohydrate intake in check.

Make ½ Your Plate Vegetables & Fruits

Make fruit & vegetables a staple on your plate.Non-starchy veggies like dark green leafy vegetables,asparagus, broccoli, carrots, eggplant, mushroom & peppers are great choices. One serving of vegetablesIs equal to 1 cup of raw leafy greens or ½ cup cooked Vegetables.

Fruits are counted as part of your carbohydrate Intake, so choose whole fruits instead of fruitJuice or dried fruit, which are higher in carbs.

Make 1/4 of Your Plate Protein• Lean protein foods are an essential part of a healthy diet; they

help to control blood sugar levels, which is especially important if you have diabetes, and provide a feeling of fullness.

• The Key is to select lean protein foods:• Eggs• Low-fat Dairy• Baked Fish• Grilled Skinless Chicken

Make ¼ of Your Plate Starch

• Portion your starch selections and enjoy every bite!

• Here are some nutritious options:

Brown Rice

Whole Grain Bread

Potato

Winter Squash

Sweet Potato

CornPasta

Snack for Success

• Choose healthy and satisfying snacks between meals: Snacking done right can keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible and can help prevent low blood sugar.

• Be a consistent snacker: Strive to eat regularly around the same time every day, so that your body has a steady stream of fuel.

Glycemic Index vs Glycemic Load• The glycemic index indicates how rapidly a

carbohydrate is digested and released as glucose (sugar) into the blood stream. In other words, how quickly foods break down into sugar in your bloodstream. A food with a high GI raises blood sugar more than a food with a medium to low GI.

• Glycemic load is a ranking system for carbohydrate-rich food that measures the amount of carbohydrates in a serving of food.

• Here are two examples: Watermelon has a high GI of 72, yet a

low GL of 7.21. The high GI is based on 5 cups of watermelon, not an actual serving size of 1 cup. The low GL means one serving of watermelon doesn't contain much carbohydrate, because it is actually mostly water. The low GL indicates that a serving of watermelon won't have much impact on your blood sugar.

• Carrots are another example of a low GL food that many people think will raise their blood sugar a lot -- but it's not true. That's because carrots have a high GI of 71. However, what most people don't know, is that the GL for carrots is only 6. Therefore, unless you're going to eat a pound and a half of carrots in one sitting, an average serving of carrots will have very little impact on blood glucose levels. That said, juicing carrots -- which means consuming more carrots at once -- will have a greater impact on blood glucose.

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