The right diet can keep blood sugar levels in check, while the wrong foods can lead to dangerous complications. Learn tips and tricks for eating with diabetes.
Chef Daniel Green and Dr. Joseph Feuerstein prepare delicious and nutritious recipes for people living with diabetes, including Suzanne Sheridan, who discusses her emotional journey to finding foods that can be both flavorful and healthy.
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With type 2 diabetes, it is always important to eat a balanced diet and monitor your carbohydrate intake, since this macronutrient can have a direct effect on your blood sugar. How much you should limit the amount of carbs you eat depends on your personal health profile. “There is no blanket answer for the amount of carbs to eat, as that amount depends on many factors,” says Amy Gorin, RDN, a nutritionist in Stamford, Connecticut.
Factors that can affect how many carbs to aim for each day include your age, weight, level of activity, and whether you’re taking diabetes medication, including insulin. Gorin says you should check in with your healthcare team to see what adjustments you should make in what you eat, how you exercise, and how you take medication.
That being said, with a little flexibility and ingenuity, and an understanding of the basics of eating with diabetes, you can still enjoy healthy meals. Here are some healthy dietary tips to keep in mind if you have type 2 diabetes.
1. Understand Your Carbohydrate Needs and Proper Portion Sizes
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) backs up Gorin’s advice that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but it notes one method for meal-planning, the plate method, recommends that a quarter of a 9-inch dinner plate be allocated for carbohydrates.
Another quarter should come from lean protein, such as chicken (without the skin), fatty fish like salmon, and plant-based protein like tofu. Half the plate should be devoted to nonstarchy vegetables, such as salad, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots.
According to the CDC, carb portions are 15 grams each: 15 grams of carbohydrates equates to a small piece of fruit, such as an apple; a slice of whole-wheat bread; 1/3 cup cooked whole-wheat pasta or brown rice; or ½ cup black beans, says Gorin.
2. Know Which Foods Should Be Staples in Your Diabetes Diet
Abby McWaters, RDN, an outpatient diabetes dietitian in endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, recommends eating a variety of whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean protein, fruit, and nonstarchy vegetables, as well as steering clear of saturated fats.
Some foods to include in your diet if you have type 2 diabetes:
Unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, barley, oats, whole-wheat bread, and whole-wheat pasta
Legumes like lentils, kidney beans, and pinto beans, which are excellent sources of protein and fiber that both slow the absorption of carbohydrates and prevent fast rises in glucose
Fish
Lean pork and beef, as well as chicken and turkey with the skin removed
Nonfat or low-fat dairy like cheese, yogurt, and milk
Fruit, including berries, apples, and oranges, in moderation and according to your healthcare team's recommendations
3. Limit or Eliminate Certain Foods From Your Diet
Gina Wimmer, RDN, an outpatient diabetes dietitian in endocrinology at the Mayo Clinic, recommends cutting back on or avoiding sweets when you’re managing diabetes. These foods are low in nutrition and tend to contribute to weight gain, and they carry a higher glycemic load, meaning they can lead to a swift blood sugar spike.
Other foods to avoid:
Junk food, which tends to be high in saturated fat and sodium. Research has shown that regular consumption of highly processed ready-to-eat foods, especially those that contain monosodium glutamate, is linked to diabetes.
Soda, fruit punch, and other sugar-sweetened drinks. These are often chock-full of sugar — 12 ounces of fruit punch can contain as much as 43 g of sugar. While diet sodas may be considered a better alternative, some research has shown that these drinks may be associated with higher caloric intake and thus weight gain. Bottom line: When it comes to quenching your thirst, your best bet is plain or sparkling water.
Sugary snacks, including cookies, cakes, and ice cream, which fill you up with empty calories, as well as salty processed snacks, which can exacerbate insulin resistance. Choose healthier snack options, like bell peppers with hummus, instead.
4. Use Diabetes-Friendly Cooking Methods When Preparing Your Food
When trying to follow a healthy diet, how you cook your food makes a big difference in the end product. McWaters suggests these cooking tips:
Use small amounts of unsaturated fats like olive, canola, avocado, peanut, and sesame oils.
Use more herbs and spices to bring out the flavor of foods.
Don’t be afraid to use some partially prepared foods like frozen fruit and vegetables, preportioned hummus and guacamole, and vegetable and fruit trays.
You can find a list of delicious recipes for people with diabetes, including appetizers, drinks, breads, desserts, and main dishes, on the Mayo Clinic website.
Some other cooking tips to keep your cooking healthier:
Bake or broil instead of frying to reduce fat.
Avoid trans fats (found in some processed foods and foods cooked in oil, though they’re gradually being phased out) and limit saturated fats (found in meat and whole milk) to less than 20 g per day if possible.
Limit sodium to 2,000 g to 2,400 g per day, unless you’re on a sodium-restricted diet. In that case, you should follow your doctor’s recommendations.
Choose fresh or frozen foods, or canned foods with no salt.
Eating well is one of the pleasures of life. If you have type 2 diabetes, you don’t have to forgo the enjoyment of food. You just have to adapt and change your eating habits and, maybe, some of the foods you eat.
5. Limit Ordering Takeout, and Take These Precautions
Home-cooked meals are preferable to takeout orders because you have total control over portions and ingredients. However, if you’re craving a break from meal preparation, try to order the most diabetes-friendly options you can.
Prioritize vegetables and choose whole grains in modest portions over processed ones, whether it’s opting for brown rice over white, or whole-wheat or chickpea pasta over regular. Opt for proteins that are leaner than red meat, such as skinless poultry and fish, or plant-based sources like beans and tofu. Scale back on dairy and sauces, which can be laden with calories. And avoid fried food, which is full of carbs, fat, and calories. Order steamed, baked, roasted, or grilled fare instead.
Most menus now have a healthy choice section that you can order from. Other work-arounds are to downsize your meal, swap out items for healthier ones, and order drinks without sugar or sweeteners, like sparkling water.
6. Fresh Food Is Best, But Some Packaged Options Can Be Good, Too
There are few yummier — or healthier — simple pleasures than fresh fare from your garden, a farmers market, or a roadside stand. But to get a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, you can also enjoy nutritional foods that are canned, frozen, or dried.
“Go for a combination of frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen lean protein such as seafood, canned beans, bagged brown rice, canned vegetables, spices, and healthy fats such as olive oil,” says Gorin. Among her favorite selections:
Canned Beans “Beans not only provide protein, they also provide fiber — and this combination of nutrients can help keep you fuller for longer,” Gorin says. “Purchase the no-salt-added variety if you have diabetes, and make sure to drain and rinse them.” One-half cup of boiled black beans without salt contains about 20.4 g of carbs.
Don’t like black beans? Other types, including kidney, pinto, and navy beans, are also rich in vitamins and minerals such as potassium and magnesium.
Frozen Fruit “Frozen fruit is great to have on hand for anything from an oatmeal topping to an ingredient in a wild blueberry–peanut butter smoothie,” says Gorin, suggesting her own recipe. To cut down on the possibility that your smoothie will spike your blood sugar, the London-based nonprofit Diabetes UK recommends preparing it with whole fruits rather than juice, and limiting your smoothie portion to 1 small glass, or 5 ounces per day. Increase the size of your smoothie by diluting it with water.
Dried Spices “It’s super easy to get bored when you’re cooking most or all of your meals,” Gorin says. “Spices can quickly jazz things up.” One review found that people with type 2 diabetes who took cinnamon saw improvements in glycemic and lipidemic indicators. It also had an anti-inflammatory effect and seemed to regulate glucose metabolism.
Other spices, including turmeric, black cumin, ginger, and saffron improved glucose levels in type 2 diabetes subjects. Regardless, sodium-free varieties of spice mixes are a good option to infuse food with new flavor without adding calories and carbs, Gorin explains.
7. Consider Exercising After Eating Your Healthy Meal
As you enjoy healthy meals at home, take time to consider what you’ll do once you get up from the table. Many people head straight to the couch after dinner, but try using this time to incorporate movement into your routine instead.
“Physical activity helps your body be more sensitive to insulin, which helps you manage your diabetes,” says Gorin. One study found that increased intensity of exercise can significantly reduce insulin levels. Check with your doctor before you begin exercise to ensure you are doing the right activities for your health condition.
The Takeaway
Healthy diet choices play an important role in monitoring your blood sugar when you have diabetes.
This may mean limiting or cutting out certain fare such as processed foods and opting for whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy, and other diabetes-friendly foods.
Other healthy tips, such as preparing food using small amounts of unsaturated fats and baking rather than frying; ordering healthier options when you do takeout; and moving after eating, can also make a difference and help improve type 2 diabetes management.
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Yunker A et al. Obesity and Sex-Related Associations With Differential Effects of Sucralose vs Sucrose on Appetite and Reward Processing A Randomized Crossover Trial. JAMA Network Open. September 28, 2021.
Silva ML et al. Cinnamon as a Complementary Therapeutic Approach for Dysglycemia and Dyslipidemia Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Its Molecular Mechanism of Action: A Review. Nutrients. July 5, 2022.
Garza MC et al. Effect of Aromatic Herbs and Spices Present in the Mediterranean Diet on the Glycemic Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Subjects: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients. March 7, 2024.
Lin Y et al. The Association Between Physical Activity and Insulin Level Under Different Levels of Lipid Indices and Serum Uric Acid. Frontiers in Physiology. February 1, 2022.
Sandy Bassin, MD, is an endocrinology fellow at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is passionate about incorporating lifestyle medicine and plant-based nutrition into endocrinology, particularly for diabetes and obesity management.
She trained at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, where she taught culinary medicine classes to patients and medical trainees. She continued her training at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Bassin has published reviews of nutrition education in medical training and physical activity in type 2 diabetes in Nutrition Reviews, Endocrine Practice, and the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. She has been featured on the Physician to Physician Plant-Based Nutrition podcast and given many presentations on lifestyle interventions in endocrine disorders.
She stays active through yoga and gardening, and loves to cook and be outdoors.
Sheryl Huggins Salomon has spent her career equipping people with information to help improve their well-being and prospects in life. She is a veteran journalist and editor who has covered topics as varied as health, politics, business, history, genealogy, lifestyle, and justice. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, she has written and edited for publications such as The Root, NewsOne.com, and AOL Black Voices. She was co-editor of The Nia Guide series of self-help books, including Choosing Health and Wellness and other titles about work-life balance and career success.
At Columbia Journalism School, Huggins Salomon received the Cowan Award for Excellence in the study of publishing. She is also a communicator in the field of poverty policy and research. Aside from journalism, her passions include running, fitness, and healthy living.
