Diabetic people need a special consultation with a dietician. Your dietician will evaluate the number of calories you need and the type of food items you need to consume or avoid.

Here are some general guidelines and slight modifications in diet that can help you manage diabetes in a better way.

• Limit sweets: Artificial low calorie sweeteners may be used in moderate amounts. Do not use artificial sweeteners if your doctor tells you that you are phenylketonuric.
• Eat often: Instead of 3 heavy meals go for 4-5 small frequent meals.
• Eat lots of whole-grain foods, fruits and vegetables. Fiber should be at least 41.5 grams / day. Fructose (sugar present in fruits) unlike glucose it does not require insulin to be used by the body. So you can have fresh fruits even if you are diabetic.
• Replace bakery products and fast foods by simple whole cooked cereals, and don’t eat carbohydrates 2 hours before bed time.
• Consume fresh fruit and vegetables at least 5 exchange/ day.
• Do not skip meals or medicines.
• Limit your use of alcohol: While moderate amounts of alcohol can cause blood sugar to rise, excess alcohol can actually decrease your blood sugar level – sometimes causing it to drop into dangerous levels. Beer and sweet wine contain carbohydrates and may raise blood sugar. Alcohol stimulates your appetite, which can cause you to overeat and may affect your blood sugar control. Alcohol can interfere with the positive effects of oral diabetes medicines or insulin.