If you’re living with prediabetes or diabetes, you may find yourself asking, “What can I eat?” The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is here to help you understand the science of food and nutrition and support you in a way that keeps you safe and healthy. There isn’t an “ADA Diet” but there are eating patterns for managing diabetes that you can use to make an eating plan based on your needs and goals.
Healthy Eating
There are different eating patterns you can choose from to help you create an eating plan that helps you manage or prevent diabetes. The best eating plan for you is one that you can follow and stick to that helps you meet your health goals. If you need help, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) can assist you in creating your eating plan.
While you may think an eating plan is the same as a diet, it’s a bit different. Your eating plan should be made based on what you like, helps you reach your goals, and fits your lifestyle. It’s a guide to help you decide what, when, and how much to eat. What people usually describe as a diet often limits whole food groups, isn’t based on your needs, and tends to offer a quick fix that you can’t stick with overtime.
There are many eating patterns that have been proven to help manage or prevent diabetes. All of the patterns that work have these things in common. They:
- Include plenty of non-starchy vegetables like broccoli, green beans, and salad greens
- Have lean protein foods like meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, or plant-based protein foods like nuts, seeds, soy, and beans
- Focus on quality carbs like those:
- With fiber to help slow digestion
- That supports gut health
- That are less processed (choose fewer packaged foods and more whole foods)
- That give you more nutrition “bang for your calorie buck” with vitamins and minerals
- That contains less salt and saturated fat
When thinking about your likes, skills, and needs to decide which eating pattern will work you, think about if you:
- Prefer to use small amounts of added sugar instead of low- or no-calorie sweeteners
- Have the skills or time to cook each day or if you need to choose more pre-made foods
- Have other medical conditions you need to plan for when deciding what to eat
The Diabetes Plate
A great place to start is the Diabetes Plate. While most eating patterns focus on what to eat, the Diabetes Plate helps you figure out how much to eat. With no counting, calculating, weighing, or measuring, it helps you meet the goals of your specific eating pattern. Using a nine-inch plate, fill half with non-starchy vegetables, one-quarter with a lean protein, and the last quarter with a quality carbohydrate.
Making a change starts with you!
You know yourself best. Some people can completely change their habits, like what they eat, quickly. Others can only make small changes over time. Most of us are somewhere in between. There is no single way to approach nutrition that works for everyone.
As with any changes that will affect your treatment plan, it is important to monitor your blood glucose (blood sugar) to see how your body reacts. Check your blood glucose before you eat and two hours after eating to see how a particular food affects you.
We all have different coping skills, foods we like, cooking skills, and other factors like health conditions to consider. We all start our journey at different points, but you will develop skills along the way to help you reach your health goals.
Key Takeaways
- When you’re living with diabetes or prediabetes or have other health conditions to manage, like heart or chronic kidney disease, informed food choices are a key part of your treatment plan.
- An RDN can help you create an eating plan that will work for you.
- Your eating plan should be created so you can follow it long-term, fits your needs, and should help you meet your health goals.
- Your plan should be made based on your likes, skills, readiness to change, and other factors important to you.
Stay Connected
For more information on healthy eating success for diabetes, sign up for the Diabetes Food Hub’s e-newsletter from the ADA’s Nutrition & Wellness team.
