National Institutes of Health
- The primary NIH organization for research on Diabetic Diet is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine 
National Institutes of Health
Diabetic Diet
If you have diabetes, your body cannot make or properly use insulin. This leads to high blood glucose, or sugar, levels in your blood. Healthy eating helps keep your blood sugar in your target range. It is a critical part of managing your diabetes, because controlling your blood sugar can prevent the complications of diabetes.
A registered dietitian can help make an eating plan just for you. It should take into account your weight, medicines, lifestyle, and other health problems you have.
Healthy diabetic eating includes
- Limiting foods that are high in sugar
- Eating smaller portions, spread out over the day
- Being careful about when and how many carbohydrates you eat
- Eating a variety of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables every day
- Eating less fat
- Limiting your use of alcohol
- Using less salt
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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Start Here
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Diabetes - Meal Planning
(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
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Tasty Recipes for People with Diabetes and Their Families(National Diabetes Education Program)
- Also available in Spanish
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What I Need to Know about Eating and Diabetes
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
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Diabetes - Meal Planning
The top row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Basics
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Learn More
, and
Multimedia & Cool Tools
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For group Basics
For group Learn More
For group Multimedia & Cool Tools
The bottom row in the table of contents box contains the following groups:
Research
,
Reference Shelf
, and
For You
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For group Research
For group Reference Shelf
For group For You
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Overviews
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Create Your Plate
(American Diabetes Association)
- Diabetes and Nutrition(American Academy of Family Physicians)
- Also available in Spanish
- Diabetes Diet: Create Your Healthy-Eating Plan(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Create Your Plate
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Latest News
- Health Tip: Keep Diabetes in Check During the Holidays(12/16/2011, HealthDay)
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Alternative Therapy
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CAM and Diabetes: A Focus on Dietary Supplements(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)
- What Are the Best Vitamins and Minerals to Take for People with Diabetes?(Joslin Diabetes Center)
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CAM and Diabetes: A Focus on Dietary Supplements
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Nutrition
- Exchange List: Fats(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Free Foods(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Fruits(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Meat and Meat Substitutes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Milk and Yogurt(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Nonstarchy Vegetables(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Starches(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Exchange List: Sweets, Desserts, and Other Carbohydrates(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Specific Conditions
- Alcohol(American Diabetes Association)
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Carbohydrates(American Diabetes Association)
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Fat and Diabetes(American Diabetes Association)
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Lean Meats(American Diabetes Association)
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Non-Starchy Vegetables(American Diabetes Association)
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What Can I Drink?(American Diabetes Association)
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Whole Grain Foods(American Diabetes Association)
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Related Issues
- Artificial Sweeteners: Understanding These and Other Sugar Substitutes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Carbohydrate Counting(Joslin Diabetes Center)
- Diabetes Nutrition: Eating Out When You Have Diabetes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Diabetes Nutrition: Including Sweets in Your Meal Plan(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Diabetes Superfoods(American Diabetes Association)
- Fats(American Diabetes Association)
- Also available in Spanish
- Glycemic Index and Diabetes(American Diabetes Association)
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Healthy Eating During Winter Gatherings for People with Diabetes(National Diabetes Education Program)
- PDF
- Holiday Meal Planning(American Diabetes Association)
- JAMA Patient Page: Weight and Diabetes(American Medical Association) - PDF
- Also available in Spanish
- Learning How to Change Habits(American Diabetes Association) - PDF
- Reading Food Labels: Tips If You Have Diabetes(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Vegetarian Diet: Can It Help Me Control My Diabetes?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
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Health Check Tools
- MyFoodAdvisor(American Diabetes Association)
- Return to top
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Tutorials
- Diabetes - Meal Planning(Patient Education Institute)
- Also available in Spanish
- Return to top
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Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetic Diet(National Institutes of Health)
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetic Diet
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Research
- Access: Diabetes Research(American Diabetes Association)
- Effects of a Mediterranean Diet on the Need for Type 2 Diabetes Treatment(American College of Physicians) - PDF
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Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
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Dictionaries/Glossaries
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Diabetes Dictionary(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Also available in Spanish
- Fruit and Vegetable of the Month(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
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Diabetes Dictionary
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Directories
- Find a Diabetes Educator(American Association of Diabetes Educators)
- Find a Registered Dietitian(Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
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Organizations
- American Diabetes Association
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National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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Children
- About Recipes for Kids with Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
- Carbohydrates and Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Eating Out When Your Child Has Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Meal Plans and Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
- Meal Plans: What Kids with Diabetes Need to Know(Nemours Foundation)
- Weight and Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
- Also available in Spanish
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Teenagers
- Eating Out When You Have Diabetes(Nemours Foundation)
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Make Healthy Food Choices(National Diabetes Education Program)
- Also available in Spanish
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Stay at a Healthy Weight(National Diabetes Education Program)
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Patient Handouts
- Counting carbohydrates
- Also available in Spanish
- Diabetes diet - type 1
- Also available in Spanish
- Diabetes diet - type 2
- Also available in Spanish
- Snacking when you have diabetes
- Also available in Spanish
- Sweeteners - artificial
- Also available in Spanish
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You may also be interested in these related encyclopedia pages:
MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Diabetic Diet - Multiple Languages