2. 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 longterm 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.
3. Choose Smart Carbs
Not all carbohydrates
are created equal.
Choose to eat low fat &
high fiber starches.
• A diabetes diagnosis
means you need to
be selective about
which
carbohydrates you
eat.
5. Swap Low Fiber Foods for Foods High in Fiber
Low Fiber Foods:
High Fiber Foods:
Cashews
Almonds
Bagel
Popcorn
French Fries
Sweet Potato
Orange Juice
Whole Orange
7. 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 vegetables
Is 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 fruit
Juice or dried fruit, which are higher in carbs.
8. 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
9. Make ¼ of Your Plate Starch
• Portion your starch selections and enjoy every
bite!
• Here are some nutritious options:
Sweet Potato
Brown Rice
Whole Grain Bread
Potato
Winter Squash
Pasta
Corn
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. • 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.
