Food & Nutrition

Eating for Diabetes Management

Informed food choices are essential to living well.

Happy African American couple looking at tablet and preparing dinner in kitchen

Have you heard that knowledge is power? This is true for eating healthy, too. Learning about meal patterns that have been proven to help manage diabetes will improve your wellbeing. Using meal patterns as a guide to create an eating plan is the first step in your diabetes journey.

Science-Based Nutrition Recommendations

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) publishes our Standards of Care in Diabetes (Standards of Care). The Standards of Care is a set of practice guidelines based on the latest scientific research and clinical trials. These guidelines are used by health care professionals to treat diabetes and its related health conditions.

Every five years, a group of experts come together for an in-depth review of the nutrition guidelines in the Standards of Care. The result of this review is called the Nutrition Consensus Report. This is the foundation for the ADA’s recommendations for nutrition.

The Nutrition Consensus Report identifies nutrition strategies that have been shown to help people reach or stay at their blood glucose (blood sugar) targets, reach weight management goals, and low risk for health conditions related to diabetes. The nutrition recommendations highlight that eating plans should be based on the needs of each person. Your own eating plan will be based on your own needs and preferences.

The current report outlines seven key meal patterns that have been shown to help manage diabetes. Work with your health care team to decide which meal pattern works best for you.

What is the best eating plan for diabetes?

“Diet” is a tricky word that can carry a lot of emotional baggage for some people. This four-letter word can trigger a lot of stressful thoughts and is often thought of as a more of a short-term approach to eating. Instead, health care professionals prefer to use terms like “meal” or “eating plans” and “meal patterns” to talk about when, what, and how much we eat to help offer a more long-term approach that can lead to reaching goals.

The short answer is that there isn’t one eating plan that prevents or manages diabetes that anyone can use. There are millions of people living with diabetes, and when you consider cultural backgrounds, personal preferences, other health conditions they may have, and elements like costs of food, living situations, and access to healthy foods—there are too many factors for a single approach to nutrition that will work for everyone.

The ADA focuses on meal patterns that are scientifically proven to help manage diabetes. These meal patterns are meant to be a way of eating that lasts and works with your needs and preferences. While fad diets may help you to lose weight quickly, it’s more important to focus on food choices you will want to stick with over time and that you can integrate into your lifestyle for long-lasting results.

Meal Patterns for Diabetes Management

A big part of managing diabetes is a healthy lifestyle, including what you eat. When considering what meal plan will work best for you, consider the types of foods you like to eat, the time you have to prepare food, your budget, and your family’s dietary needs. Consult with your health care team about what meal pattern might work well for you based on your particular health needs and goals.

Mediterranean-Style Meal Pattern

This pattern is great for people who are looking to reduce their risk of diabetes, reduce their A1C, lower their triglycerides, or reduce their risk of cardiovascular events.

Mediterranean-style meal pattern highlights:

Plant-based foods (vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, fruits, and whole grains)
Fish and other seafood
Olive oil as the main source of dietary fat
Dairy products (mainly yogurt and cheese) in low to moderate amounts
Fewer than four eggs/week
Red meat in low frequency and amounts
Wine in low to moderate amounts
Concentrated sugars or honey rarely

Vegetarian or Vegan Meal Patterns

For people who are looking to reduce their risk of diabetes, reduce their A1C, achieve weight loss, or reduce their LDL and non-HDL cholesterol values, one of these patterns would be a good choice.

Vegetarian or vegetarian meal pattern highlights:

Plant-based foods
Excludes all animal-based products (vegan)
Excludes meats, seafood, or poultry but includes eggs and/or dairy products (vegetarian)

Large array of vegan and vegetarian staples

Low-Fat Meal Pattern

The low-fat meal pattern is great for people who are looking to reduce their risk of diabetes or lose weight.

Low-fat meal pattern highlights:

Vegetables
Fruits
Carbohydrates (e.g., breads/crackers, pasta, whole grains, starchy vegetables)
Lean protein sources (including beans)
Low-fat dairy products

In this review of the nutrition consensus, it was defined as total fat intake less than 30% of total calories and saturated fat intake less than 10%.

Bright array of low-fat meats and vegetables

Very Low-Fat Meal Pattern

For people who are looking to lose weight or reduce their blood pressure, this meal pattern might be a good choice.

Very low-fat meal pattern highlights:

Fiber-rich vegetables
Beans
Fruits
Whole grains
Non-fat dairy
Fish
Egg whites

This pattern comprises 70–77% carbohydrate (including 30–60g fiber) and less than 10% total calories from fat.

Colorful array of very low fat fruits vegetables and meat

Low Carbohydrate Meal Pattern

This pattern is great for people who are looking to reduce their A1C, achieve weight loss, lower their blood pressure, lower triglycerides, or increase HDL cholesterol.

Low-carb meal pattern highlights:

Non-starchy vegetables
Healthy fats
Protein in the form of meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, nuts, and seeds
Quality carbohydrates are included but limited

In this review, a low-carbohydrate eating pattern is defined as reducing carbohydrates to 26–45% of total calories.

plan your portions plate with low-carb green beans, carrots, potatoes, and chicken breast

Very Low Carbohydrate Meal Pattern

For people who are looking to reduce their A1C, achieve weight loss, lower their blood pressure, lower triglycerides, or increase HDL cholesterol, this pattern might be a good choice.

This meal pattern is similar to the low-carbohydrate pattern but further limits carbohydrate-containing foods. Meals typically contain more than half of calories from fat. This pattern often has a goal of 20–50g of non-fiber carbohydrate per day. In this review, a very low-carbohydrate eating pattern is defined as reducing carbohydrate to less than 26% of total calories.

Mix of very low carb foods including nuts, cheese, and salmon

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Meal Pattern

This pattern is great for people who are looking to reduce their risk of diabetes, lose weight, or lower their blood pressure.

DASH meal pattern highlights:

Vegetables
Fruits
Low-fat dairy products
Whole grains
Poultry
Fish
Nuts
Reduced saturated fat, red meat, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages
May also be reduced in sodium

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Meal Pattern foods

Using the Diabetes Plate with Meal Patterns

The Diabetes Plate can be a framework for all the above meal patterns, but is currently a visual way to create a meal following the low-carbohydrate meal pattern. By using the specific strategies outlined in each of the meal patterns, the Diabetes Plate can be changed to become a visual tool for any eating occasion.

When you live with diabetes or prediabetes or have diabetes-related complications like heart or kidney disease, informed food choices are essential to managing your health. Work with your health care team to find the best meal pattern and management strategies that work for you. If you respond best to carbohydrate counting or limit certain foods that have more of an impact on your blood glucose (blood sugar), these are all ways you can master your diabetes management. Find what works best for you!