Dietary Guidelines for Diabetics

Whether you’re trying to prevent diabetes, better manage your disease or slow complications from developing, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has developed guidelines to help you choose the right meal plan to meet your goals.

Whether you’re trying to prevent diabetes, better manage your disease or slow complications from developing, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has developed guidelines to help you choose the right meal plan to meet your goals.

The guidelines, published in the September issue of Diabetes Care, offer nutrition advice based on a person’s medical condition.

“When you’re talking about diabetes, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ diet,” says Ann Albright, an ADA spokeswoman. “For people with diabetes and those at risk for type 2 diabetes, medical nutrition therapy should be tailored to a person’s specific health issues and personal preferences to help maintain optimum health.”

For people who are at risk for diabetes, the guidelines call for a diet high in fiber and nutrient-rich foods, with whole grains making up half of all grain consumed.

For people who already have diabetes, the guidelines recommend obtaining carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and low-fat milk; eating fiber-rich foods; keeping saturated fats to less than 7 percent of total caloric intake; eating at least two servings of non-fried fish per week; limiting trans fats; and restricting cholesterol intake.

Specific dietary recommendations also are included for people with type 1 diabetes, pregnant or nursing mothers with diabetes, older adults, and those living in long-term care facilities or managing acute illnesses. The recommendations note that altering a person’s diet cannot prevent type 1 diabetes.

The guidelines emphasize the importance of sustained, moderate weight loss for people who are overweight or obese and increased physical activity for all people at risk for or living with diabetes. In addition, they urge people with diabetes to avoid fad diets, such as those that promote extreme low-carbohydrate or high-protein intake.

“Fad diets come and go,” Albright says. “We want people to be provided with sound nutrition advice that will help them in making choices for maintaining good health for the long term.”

Visit www.diabetes.org or call (800) 342-2383 for more information.

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