List of Best Foods for Diabetics will help a person with diabetes which is extremely important. Diabetes controlled means a normal life for you, so please read this entire article because it’s going to give you all the foods that you should be eating and how much you should have daily.
The guidelines are according to myplate.gov and 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The best thing to do is to make sure that you have 1-2 servings of fruits and vegetables per meal.
How you Need to Follow Eating the Foods Listed
When you’re planning your meal time, you should aim for half of your plate or possibly up to 3/4, of non-starchy vegetables such as the leafy greens, mushroom, spinach, broccoli and 1/4 with starchy foods such as grains, beans, and starchy vegetables and you can even add some fruit as well. And finally the remaining 1/4 should be from the protein list.
Fiber is important and the best foods that you can eat are all listed here. Pay special attention to fruits and vegetables. Pair up carbs with a plant-based fat or source of protein. This helps to minimize your blood sugar lows and highs.
Elevated blood sugar creates inflammation, which causes secondary complications from diabetes. Protect your body by eating a lot of phytonutrients from brightly colored plant foods.
Having fruits and vegetables at each meal exposes our bodies to a range of beneficial nutrients throughout the day. Learn to mix and match.
1) Protein
- Salmon
- Eggs
- Skinless turkey
- Canned tuna in water
- Raw, unsalted nuts, like almonds and walnuts (in moderation)
- Skinless chicken
- Roasted chickpeas
- Trailmix
How much protein should a diabetic have each day?
The protein intake of 0.8-1 g/kg should be followed only for patients with chronic kidney disease and diabetes. Other patients who have type 2 diabetes are recommended to not reduce protein intake to less than 1 g/kg of their body weight.
2) Carbohydrates
- Brown rice
- Whole wheat bread
- Whole grain pasta
- Oatmeal
How many carbs should a diabetic have each day?
On average, people with diabetes should aim to get roughly 50% of their calories from carbohydrates. In other words, if you normally eat approximately 1,800 calories a day to maintain a healthy weight, then roughly 800 to 900 calories can come from carbohydrates. At 4 calories per gram, that’s 200–225 carb grams daily.
3) Fruits
- Avocado
- Apples
- Apple cider vinegar
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries
- Plums
- Peaches
- Oranges
- Pears
- Cherries
- Apricots
- Avocados
How much fruit should a diabetic have each day?
Currently, the nutritional guidelines recommend that folks with diabetes consume between 2–4 servings of fruit daily. Still, some people restrict the amount they eat because they are worried about the sugar content. But let me say this; many fruits do not contain a great deal of sugar, especially fruits in the berry family.
Fruit is high in fiber and that’s good! Your digestive tract will absorb less carbs than most other high-carb and low-fiber foods.
You can check out a list for low glycemic index of foods. (low sugar foods)
4) Vegetables
- Leafy Greens ( Spinach, Broccoli, String beans, kale, celery, zucchini, artichoke)
- Garlic
- Onions
- Squash
- Cauliflower
- Green beans
- Spinach
- Salad greens
- Romaine lettuce
- Kale
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Artichoke
- Carrots
- Brussel Sprouts
- Peppers- all colors
- Mushrooms
How many vegetables should a diabetic have each day?
For your best health, try to eat at least 3-5 servings of vegetables daily. This is a minimum and the more the better! A serving of vegetables can be:
- 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables or vegetable juice
- 1 cup of raw vegetables
Vegetables form the basis of a healthy diet. They offer excellent sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Fiber & complex carbs are present in many vegetables. This will help you to feel full and that’s what you want.
This will also help you with overeating This will lead you to gaining weight and spiking your blood sugar. This is what you want to avoid.
5) Fats & Oils
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Canola oil
- Corn
- Safflower
- Foods that give you omega-3 fatty acids, such as mackerel, tuna, or salmon
- Almond butter
How many fats and oils should a diabetic have each day?
The American Diabetes Association goes with the National Academy of Medicine’s guideline that between 20 & 35 percent of your total calories should be coming from fat. An example of eating 1,800 calories a day may be your breakfast: 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal, six almonds & a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese.
6) Fiber (Nuts & legumes)
- Chia seeds
- Black beans
- Lentils
- Beans
- Flaxseeds
- Raw, unsalted nuts, like almonds and walnuts (in moderation)
- White beans
- Chickpeas
- Pinto beans
- Kidney beans
How much fiber should a diabetic have each day?
You want to shoot for 20-35 grams of fiber daily.
The fact is that people with diabetes are at twice the risk for cardiovascular complications. You can improve your heart health by lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol by increasing your fiber intake.
7) Sweets (Desserts)
- Graham crackers with nut butter
- Protein Cheesecake
- Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
- Raspberry & Banana Mousse
- Low-sugar cookies
- Ice cream with low calories sweeteners only
How many grams of sugar can a diabetic have a day?
We all love sweets, but these are the bad guys in your fight against obesity and diabetes. You shouldn’t have more than 5% of your daily calories coming from sugar. and then they lowered it down to 5%. For most women, that would equate to 25 grams of sugar per day.
8) Dairy
- Greek Yogurt
- String cheese
- Fat-free milk
- Low-fat cottage cheese
- 1% or skim milk
- Low-fat or nonfat sour cream
- Low-fat yogurt
How much milk can a diabetic have per day?
ADA recommends two to three servings of low-fat milk (or other low-fat dairy food such as cheese and yogurt) each day
Dairy products contain essential nutrients, including calcium and protein. Research suggests that dairy can have a positive effect on insulin secretions in some people who have type 2 diabetes.
9) Drinks
- Spring water or flavored sparkling water
- Unsweetened tea (a lemon slice is ok)
- Wine (in moderation), or non-fruity mixed drinks
- Black coffee, (you can add sugar substitute and/or low-fat milk)
- Sparkling water
- Low-fat or skimmed milk
How many alcoholic beverages should a diabetic have each day?
Water is the absolute best drink for your body. 6-9 glasses a day is recommended.
Guidelines recommend that those with diabetes limit consumption to 1 drink or less per day for women and 2 drinks or less per day for men
10) Whole Grains
- Wild rice
- Oatmeal
- Barley
- Millet
- Corn meal
- Whole wheat or legume pasta
- Whole wheat bread
- Quinoa
How many whole grains should a diabetic have each day?
U.S. dietary guidelines recommend 3-4 servings of whole grains a day. A serving is one slice of whole grain bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal or 1/2-cup cooked cereal, pasta, or rice.
Whole grains break down slowly where carbohydrates do not. This results in the less likelihood of causing blood sugar spikes the way that refined carbohydrates do. This makes it much simpler to manage your blood sugar levels.
In Conclusion
So now you have the List of Best Foods for Diabetics. You should stay away from refined carbohydrates, such as pasta & white bread.
Not only are whole grains more healthful, but they will also leave a person feeling full for longer, and they often have more flavor than processed carbs.
Many factors can affect your blood sugar and diabetes management. This is what you should focus on:
- Carbohydrate intake
- What you eat, how often you eat, and the amount that you eat
- The consistency & accuracy of your medication
- How often that you monitor your blood sugar
- How much you exercise
- The consistency & accuracy of your medication
- Your sleep duration & quality as well
Even the smallest changes in any one of these factors can affect your blood sugar management.
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Awesome food list for anybody looking for diabetic help OR just normal people. I think all people could do some good from this article not just diabetics. Solid list with all the nutrients and other goodies you would need. Thanks again for this article and you have become a good book marked site.
Hey Adam, Thank you so much. Yes these are the best foods for diabetics in 2020. This is an all-around west of every type of food that diabetics can and should be eating.
If you follow this list you will be a much healthier person with diabetes.
This article is something that is an excellent choice for printing out and or bookmarking or yourself.
I hope this helps all diabetics in becoming healthier.
Thank you for sharing! I appreciate your comments 🙂
Hello there, thanks a lot for sharing this wonderful piece of information here with us. I must say i really did enjoyed going through your review as it contains valuable informations one needs to be aware of. Protein is pretty essential in all of our meal so as the others though, great to know the amount to be taken a day by a diabetic patient.
Hi there! You are so very welcome. I wanted to provide the ultimate diabetic foods for 2020 because diabetes is running rampant in this world today.
each and every category that I listed is very important to be healthy especially for diabetics. You want to make sure that you’re eating the right foods and the proper amounts each and every day.
As you mentioned protein is an essential part of our daily meals, but you also need to know how much protein and which foods that contain protein that you should be eating. This is the same with all of the other categories.
I hope this helps you when it comes to diabetic foods to eat to be healthy.
I appreciate your feedback. Thank you so much 🙂
This would definitely come in handy and I value all that has been shared here. Honestly,this is a really good one that can make the whole difference and all. Honestly, what you shared here is great and I appreciate the fact that you have simplified all of these out here for us. I think I will beore thrilled to give a trial to all these here. Thank you so much for sharing with us
I believe that when you have diabetes it’s really important to know what you can eat. I wanted to provide a thoroughly detailed list of diabetic foods for the year 2020.
I did try to make this as simple as possible. The fact is that diabetes can be controlled and mostly through diet and exercise.
So the phrase is that you are what you eat is definitely true.
Start following foods on this list to a better controlled diabetes.
You’re welcome for me sharing this and I thank you for your thoughts.