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What are the best diets for your diabetes?
November 08, 2024
By The Sun Life team
Your decisions about what, when and how you eat are key to managing diabetes. Here are some healthy eating options to consider.
Reviewed by Dr. Josep Iglesies-Grau
There’s no such thing as an anti-diabetes diet that works for everyone. But there are ways of eating that can reduce the risk and impacts. (It's even possible, in certain cases, to put type 2 diabetes into remission.)
Healthy eating can really help. So, it’s important to find the right diet for you.
The Diabetes College advises eating balanced meals with:
- Lots of vegetables; ideally, enough to fill half your plate.
- Foods that are high in fibre, with a low glycemic index – like brown rice and other whole grains – will not raise your blood sugar as much as their low-fibre counterparts.
- Protein, which helps shape and repair the body after injury or stress.
Certain diets (low-carb or ketogenic) and intermittent fasting can also help treat diabetes. But your first step should be to consult a healthcare professional before considering any diet or exercise program.
What’s the best diet for managing diabetes?
If you have diabetes, a dietician can advise you.
According to Canada’s Food Guide, a good diet can reduce blood sugar levels. It can potentially improve other health outcomes, too.
Canada’s Food Guide also gives tips on eating well. Basically, you need to:
- eat some of everything, but not too much,
- cook more often,
- take the time to eat,
- enjoy your meals with others,
- read nutrition labels,
- limit processed foods and
- choose good quality carbs.
The guide also tells you to eat with people you like. You can treat yourself once in a while.
If you have diabetes, you can check your blood sugar levels at home. A dietician will help you understand the results. They will tell you what to change in your diet to better manage your diabetes.
A snapshot of Canada’s Food Guide
Source: Health Canada
The food guide snapshot has two main images. The first image shows a glass of water and a plate with food. This statement appears at the top:
Eat a variety of healthy foods each day.
There are four messages around the plate. They are:
- have plenty of vegetables and fruits
- choose whole grain foods
- eat protein foods
- make water your drink of choice
On half of the plate are vegetables and fruits (broccoli, carrots, blueberries, strawberries, green and yellow bell peppers, apples, red cabbage, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, squash and green peas). On one-quarter of the plate are protein foods (lean meat, chicken, variety of nuts and seeds, lentils, eggs, tofu, yogurt, fish, beans). On the remaining one-quarter of the plate are whole grain foods (whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, wild rice, red quinoa, brown rice).
Courtesy of Health Canada
A healthy meal plan for managing diabetes
Your ideal diet for preventing or managing diabetes should be:
- healthy and balanced,
- tasty,
- varied and composed of plant-based, unprocessed, whole-grain foods, and
- interesting enough to follow for the rest of your life.
A healthy diet is not a fad diet. Your diet should reflect your values, culture and preferences, and be sustainable over the long term.
This article is meant to provide general information only. It’s not professional medical advice, or a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
