Diet control, you can do it!

Diet control is an important aspect of diabetic management. However, it is difficult to implement for most diabetic patients. A food pyramid or diet pyramid includes grains and starchy vegetables, meat, fish and alternative sources of protein, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and oil.

The food pyramid emphasizes from the six major food groups:

Grains and starchy vegetables: rice, pasta, bread, oatmeal, pumpkin, corn, sweet potato, potato…etc.

Meat, fish and alternative sources of protein: meat, egg, soy beans, green soy beans…etc.

Dairy products: milk and dairy products, such as cheese and yogurt.

Vegetables: leafy vegetables, mushrooms, white radish, carrot…etc.

Fruits: apple, orange, grapes, papaya, strawberry…etc.

Oil: cooking oil, butter, nuts…etc. – use sparingly!

Most foods affect blood sugar as a matter of time and degree. Of all food categories, the rate and level of impact are the greatest for staple food, dairy products, and fruits. Thus, for these particular foods, adequate control of intake is needed. As a reminder, although the rate of impact of meat, fish and alternative sources of protein, as well as oil, are less than the three types of food described above, excessive intake can still affect the blood sugar to a certain degree. Vegetables containing rich fibers and a few carbohydrates can stabilize the post-prandial blood sugar level.

Source: American Diabetes Association