Meal Planning

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The importance of meal planning in diabetes management:

Blood sugar levels can be controlled to a certain extent with proper diet, exercise, and healthy weight maintenance. A healthy lifestyle can also help control or lower blood pressure and control blood fats, thus reducing the risk for heart disease.

Proper meal planning should include spacing out smaller meals throughout the day to maintain steady blood sugar levels. Eating a big meal only once or twice a day can cause extreme high or low blood sugar levels. In addition, if the exercise regimen is changed, changes should be made to the diet accordingly, to maintain weight control and to control blood sugar levels.


What is the healthy food pyramid?

Food Guide Pyramid for Adults, USDA

Whether you do or do not have diabetes, following the food pyramid guidelines, created by the US Department of Agriculture, for proper nutrition is beneficial to your health. The food pyramid is constructed as a pyramid to demonstrate a foundation of grains - bread, cereal, rice, and pasta (which our bodies need the most of) - with fats, oils, and sweets at the peak of the pyramid, demonstrating our body's need for only limited quantities. According to the food pyramid, daily intake of food should include the following*:

  • 6 - 11 servings of starchy vegetables, grains, and beans
  • 3 - 5 servings of vegetables
  • 2 - 4 servings of fruits
  • 2 - 3 servings of milk and yogurt
  • 2 - 3 servings of protein foods
  • small amounts of fats and oils
  • small amounts of sugary foods

*The number of servings from each food grouping may differ for a person with diabetes, based on his/her recommended treatment plan, diabetic goals, calorie intake, and lifestyle. Always consult your physician or a registered dietitian (RD) for dietary recommendations.

Starches Starches provide the body with energy, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Although filled with carbohydrates that raise blood sugar levels quickly, starches are essential to a healthy diet. Examples of starches include:
  • bread
  • grains
  • pasta
  • cereal
  • certain vegetables
Vegetables Vegetables contain vitamins and minerals essential to the body. Some vegetables also contain fiber. Because they are low in calories when eaten raw or cooked, persons with diabetes are encouraged to eat plenty of vegetables. However, persons with diabetes still need to count carbohydrates when they eat vegetables, because even non-starchy vegetables contain some carbohydrates.
Fruits Fruit can provide energy, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. How and when to eat fruit or drink fruit juices for a person with diabetes is very specific to that individual. Certain fruits can affect blood sugar levels, and a person may need to experiment with various fruits to determine how fruit affects your body through regular blood sugar level monitoring.
Milk and yogurt Fat-free and low-fat milk and yogurt provide energy, protein, calcium, vitamins, and minerals. Fat-free milk or yogurts also are good foods to treat low blood sugar levels, since they contain the same amount of carbohydrates as one serving of fruit or starch.
Protein Foods that contain protein help build muscles and body tissue, in addition to providing vitamins and minerals. Due to the increased risk of heart disease in persons with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends that people cut down on animal protein foods. Animal protein foods such as meats, whole milk products, and high-fat cheeses contain saturated fat. Other examples of protein foods include poultry, eggs, fish, and tofu.
Fats and oils The American Diabetes Association recommends that saturated fat intake, for persons with diabetes, be kept to 10 percent of calories, because saturated fats raise blood cholesterol and increase the risk for heart disease. The total fat and oil intake should be based on the individual's cholesterol levels, blood sugar control, and lifestyle. Some examples of "healthier" fats and oils (lower in saturated fats and cholesterol and more monounsaturated fats) include olive oil, olives, nuts, canola oil, and avocado.
Sugary foods Because diabetes is associated with glucose (sugar) levels in the blood, some people think sugar should be avoided in their diet. However, table sugar and other sugars in a person's diet do not increase blood glucose levels any faster than carbohydrates, according to the American Diabetes Association.

How much sugar a person with diabetes can consume depends on that person's individual diabetes treatment and nutritional plan, and how well his/her blood sugar levels and blood fats are controlled. Always consult your physician for more specific recommendations.
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