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When you have diabetes, diet plays a key role in controlling blood sugar.
Main diabetes diet includes moderate portions of healthy foods and regular mealtimes.
Recommendations, including how to incorporate the basics into your own diabetes diet.

Eat healthy carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are your body's main energy source. During digestion, sugars (simple carbohydrates) and starches (complex carbohydrates) break down into blood sugar. About half of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates. Focus on the healthiest carbohydrates:

To help control your blood sugar level, eat about the same amount of carbohydrates every day, spaced throughout the day. If you eat more or less carbohydrates than usual at a given meal or from day to day, your blood sugar level may fluctuate.
Remember the importance of portion control, too. Although carbs are an essential part of your diet, they're easy to overdo. Read food labels to determine serving sizes — and stick to them. To discourage overeating, skip second helpings and share restaurant meals.

Choose fiber-rich foods

Dietary fiber includes all parts of plant foods that your body can't digest or absorb. Fiber is often classified into two categories:
Insoluble fiber. This type of fiber increases the movement of material through your digestive system. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts and many vegetables are good sources of insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber.
This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels. You can find generous quantities of soluble fiber in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium. Aim for 25 to 50 grams of fiber a day.

Limit saturated and trans fats

If you have diabetes, you're at increased risk of heart disease and stroke. That's because diabetes can accelerate the development of clogged and hardened arteries. Here's where heart-healthy eating becomes part of your diabetes diet. Get no more than 7 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat, and try to avoid trans fat completely. The best way to reduce your intake of saturated and trans fats is to limit the amount of solid fat — butter, margarine and shortening — you add to food when cooking and serving. Use low-fat substitutions when possible. For example, top your baked potato with salsa or low-fat yogurt rather than butter, or use sugar-free fruit spread on your toast instead of margarine. When you do use fat, choose monounsaturated fats — such as olive oil or canola oil. Polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts and seeds, are a healthier choice as well. When used in place of saturated fat, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may help lower your total blood cholesterol. But moderation is essential. All types of fat are high in calories.

Curb dietary cholesterol

Your increased risk of heart disease and stroke also makes cholesterol an issue. When there's too much cholesterol in your blood, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries.
To keep your cholesterol under control, consume no more than 200 milligrams of cholesterol a day. The most concentrated sources of cholesterol include organ meats, egg yolks and whole milk products. Use lean cuts of meat, egg substitutes and skim milk instead.

Eat fish at least twice a week

Fish can be a good alternative to high-fat meats. Many types of fish — including cod, tuna and halibut — have less total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol than do meat and poultry. Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids — such as salmon, mackerel and herring — promote heart health by lowering blood fats called triglycerides. Include heart-healthy fish in your meals at least twice a week. However - Avoid fried fish and fish with high levels of mercury, such as tilefish, swordfish and king mackerel.

SUGAR

You can eat sweets once in a while without feeling guilty or interfering with your blood sugar control. The key is moderation.
For years, people with diabetes were warned to avoid sweets. But what researchers understand about diabetes nutrition has changed. It was once assumed that honey, candy and other sweets would raise your blood sugar level faster and higher than fruits, vegetables or foods containing complex carbohydrates. But many studies have shown this isn't true, as long as the sweets are eaten with a meal and balanced with other foods in your meal plan. Although different types of sweets can affect your blood sugar level differently, it's the total amount of carbohydrate that counts the most. Of course, it's still best to consider sweets only a small part of your overall plan for diabetes nutrition. Candy, cookies and other sweets have little nutritional value and are often high in fat and calories. You'll get calories without the essential nutrients found in healthier foods.

Sweets count as carbohydrates in your meal plan.

You can substitute small portions of sweets for other carbohydrates — such as bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt or potatoes — in your meals. To allow room for sweets as part of a meal, you have two options:
Replace some of the carbohydrate in your meal with a sweet.
Swap a carb-containing food in your meal for something with fewer carbohydrates.
To make sure you're making even trades, read food labels carefully. Look for the total carbohydrate in each food, which tells you how much carbohydrate is in one serving of the food.

Consider sugar substitutes

Artificial sweeteners offer the sweetness of sugar without the calories. Artificial sweeteners may help you reduce calories and stick to a healthy meal plan — especially when used instead of sugar in coffee and tea, on cereal or in baked goods. In fact, artificial sweeteners are considered "free foods" because they contain very few calories and don't count as a carbohydrate, a fat or any other food in your meal plan. Examples of artificial sweeteners include: Acesulfame potassium (Sweet One, Sunett) Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet) Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet'N Low) Sucralose (Splenda)
But artificial sweeteners are the same. Many products made with artificial sweeteners, such as baked goods and artificially sweetened yogurt, still contain calories and carbohydrates that can affect your blood sugar level.
The same goes for sugar alcohols, another type of reduced-calorie sweetener often used in sugar-free candies, chewing gum and desserts.
Check product labels for words such as isomalt, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol. Although sugar alcohols are lower in calories than is sugar, sugar-free foods containing sugar alcohols still have calories. And in some people, as little as 20 to 50 grams of sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea, gas and bloating.
Reconsider your definition of sweet If you're craving sweets, ask your registered dietitian to help you include your favorite treats into your meal plan. He or she can also help you reduce the amount of sugar and fat in your favorite recipes. And don't be surprised if your tastes change as you adopt healthier eating habits. Food that you once loved may seem too sweet — and healthy substitutes may become your new idea of delicious.

If you're not sure whether you're eating the right foods, ask your doctor for guidance. He or she may recommend consulting a registered dietitian. Together you can develop a diabetes diet based on your health goals, tastes and lifestyle — as well as the latest guidelines for healthy eating.

2007 Guidelines from the American Diabetes Association