What Type of Diet Should I Follow if I Have Diabetes?
Takeaways
There is no one “magic diet” suitable for individuals with diabetes. Instead, the same guidelines for general healthy eating apply.
A good rule of thumb would be to fill ½ your plate with vegetables and fruit, ¼ with protein, and ¼ with whole grains.
Limit your consumption of refined carbohydrates, sweetened drinks, and foods high in fat, especially saturated fat.
Beyond consuming adequate protein, you should also eat more fruits—aim for 2 servings daily—and vegetables.
While low carbohydrate diets (e.g., keto diet) may be effective in blood sugar control, they are not easy to sustain and may increase your bad cholesterol levels. Therefore, it'll be wise for you to consult your doctor before embarking on such diets.
Figuring out what you can eat when you have diabetes can be tough. The foods you eat not only make a difference to how you manage your diabetes, but also to how well you feel and how much energy you have. Read on to find out more about what you can do to eat a well-balanced diet suitable for someone with diabetes.
How does the food we eat affect our blood sugar levels?
Carbohydrates in food such as rice, noodles, bread, oats, starchy vegetables, and sugary drinks, are broken down into glucose (sugar) before entering the bloodstream. This glucose is what causes a rise in blood glucose levels after meals.
With diabetes, it is important to control the amount of carbohydrate you consume. High carbohydrate intake could cause blood sugar levels to rise to unhealthy levels. The type of carbohydrate taken, simple/refined carbohydrates (e.g. sugary drinks and white rice) vs complex carbohydrates (e.g. brown rice and wholemeal bread) can also affect how blood sugar levels change after meals.
The presence of protein, fat and fibre in meals can also help to slow the breakdown of a meal into glucose, resulting in more stable blood sugar levels.
What type of diet is best for someone with diabetes?
There is no one magic diet that is suitable for all with diabetes. In general, eating healthily when you have diabetes is similar to general healthy eating. We outline some key principles below, with some points that are specific to persons with diabetes.
Good Mix of Protein, Vegetables and Carbohydrates
A simple way to ensure we have adequate proportions of macros will be to fill ½ our plate with vegetables and fruit, ¼ of our plate with protein, and ¼ of our plate with wholegrains like brown rice and wholemeal bread. This is a good general and easy to follow guide to how we can structure our meals.
Fewer refined carbohydrates, especially those with added sugars
Refined carbohydrates include white bread, white rice, noodles, pastries and drinks and foods with added sugars (e.g. soft drinks, juices, bubble tea, chocolate, ice-cream, cakes). These foods generally have a high glycemic index, and are broken down quickly in the body, causing blood sugar levels to spike after consumption.
Choose complex carbohydrates that have a lower glycemic index. Examples include wholemeal bread, brown rice, oats, quinoa and wholemeal spaghetti. Complex carbohydrates are digested and absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream, resulting in better blood sugar control.
More fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals which can lower the risk of developing heart disease and stroke. The fibre content also helps in blood sugar control by slowing the digestion and absorption of the meal into the bloodstream. They also keep you fuller longer after the meal, reducing the urge to snack.
Adequate protein
Consuming adequate protein is important for maintaining lean muscle mass, which also helps with blood sugar control. Pairing carbohydrates with protein also helps with lowering the post-meal rise in blood sugar levels, as the presence of protein causes the meal to be broken down more slowly. For example, instead of eating plain bread, adding tuna can help blood sugar levels to remain more stable after the meal.
Fewer calories and less saturated fat
Being overweight can decrease insulin sensitivity and worsen blood sugar control. Foods that are high in fat (especially saturated fat) should also be consumed on an occasional basis as fat is the most calorie-dense nutrient and can make maintaining a healthy weight more difficult. Foods high in saturated fat include fast food, fried foods, pastries, fatty meats, skin of poultry, curries and gravies. Limit consumption of these foods to 1-2 times a week.
Common Questions
What about low carbohydrate or ketogenic diets?
While low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets (which are very low in carbohydrate and high in fat) may be effective in blood sugar control, they are not easy to sustain and can lead to “yo-yo dieting”. With a low carbohydrate high fat diet such as the ketogenic diet, LDL-C (“bad” cholesterol) levels can increase, especially if saturated fat intake is high, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. One would need to consider taking more heart-healthy fats, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as part of your diet when embarking on such diets, and also discuss with one’s doctor on how best to manage the associated cardiovascular risk.
What types of food should I eat and what should I avoid?
For good blood sugar control, it would be best to avoid sweetened drinks (e.g. soft drinks, cordial, juices, packet drinks). These drinks are made up mostly of sugar and do not contain much (if any) protein, fat and fibre. They are broken down quickly in the body, causing blood sugar levels to spike.
Other than sweetened beverages, most other foods can be included in your meals, as long as they are included in the right amounts.
Are fruits good for persons with diabetes?
Fruit naturally contains sugar (fructose and glucose), which is why blood sugar levels can go high if a big portion of fruit is consumed. However, fruits are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and fibre and should be included as part of a healthy diet.
What is considered one serving of fruit varies depending on the carbohydrate content of the fruit. Some examples of what one serving of fruit looks like include: 1 fist size portion of apple/orange, 1 small banana, 1 handful of grapes, or 1 wedge of watermelon/honeydew.
As part of healthy eating, you can aim for 2 servings of fruit a day.
Be careful with dried fruit and juice. A mere 2 tablespoons of dried fruit contains the same carbohydrate content as a serving of fresh fruit. 1 cup of unsweetened fruit juice contains about 7 teaspoons of sugar, owing to the fact that you would need to use a few fruits to make 1 cup of juice - you are basically eating a lot more fruit than you would otherwise normally do in a single sitting. The beneficial fibre is also usually removed in the juicing process.
How to start improving your diet
For most, an easy way to gain better control over your blood sugar levels would be to start with adjusting carbohydrate portions and reducing foods or drinks with added sugar.
If your current carbohydrate (rice/noodles) portions are filling up more than ¼ of your plate, you can reduce your carbohydrate portions to ¼ of the plate and fill up the rest of your plate with non-starchy vegetables.
If you are currently consuming items with added sugar, look for sugar-free alternatives, or reduce the amount consumed and keep the frequency of consumption to 1-2 times a week. For a start, you may also consider adding non-nutritive sweeteners such as Stevia and gradually reduce the amount until you get used to the taste of a lower sugar alternative.
As you focus on making a few small changes at a time, you are able to continue enjoying most of your usual foods and thus are more likely to sustain this eating pattern in the long term.
Is there a specific diet that is good for diabetes?
The good and bad news is that there is no single diet that is better than the others for diabetes. It is possible to make modifications to most diets so that it is suitable for someone with diabetes.
Any diet that is balanced, low in simple carbohydrates, and that you can sustain in the long term is good for your diabetes. The principles we have discussed are a good starting point for anyone with diabetes.
As different people react differently to different foods, monitoring your blood sugar level to determine your response to different foods is useful in identifying suitable foods and combinations of foods for maintaining good blood sugar levels. The key to any good diet is personalization - for efficacy and in a manner that suits your needs and lifestyle.
Take Away
Just start somewhere! Pick a goal you can achieve and start working on it.
Ultimately, the best diet for you is one that you can stick to and that is personalized to your lifestyle, preferences and health status.
For more information about the management of diabetes, check out our diabetes resource hub and our health library for articles related to diabetes! If you require specific suggestions or a meal plan, speak to an accredited dietitian. Feel free to reach out to us if you need support or guidance.