Healthy Eating Tips for Type 2 Diabetes

If you have type 2 diabetes, what you eat has a direct effect on your blood sugar. You do not need a complicated diet. A few steady habits, built up over time, can make a real difference.

What should a healthy plate look like?

The CDC suggests the plate method, which works without weighing or counting. Using a plate about 9 inches (23 cm) across:

• fill half with non-starchy vegetables
• fill one quarter with lean protein
• fill one quarter with carbohydrate foods

Have water or another unsweetened drink with your meal.

Which foods should you eat more of?

• Vegetables, especially non-starchy ones
• Fruit, as part of a balanced diet
• Wholegrain foods, such as wholemeal bread and oats, in place of refined grains
• Pulses, such as chickpeas and lentils, which are already part of many everyday meals in Pakistan

In general, choose whole, fresh foods over processed ones.

Which foods should you cut down on?

• Foods and drinks with added sugar, including sweets and biscuits
• Refined grains
• Processed foods high in salt and sugar, such as crisps and processed meats
• Sugary drinks. Swap them for water or unsweetened drinks

Does it matter when and how you eat?

Yes. Eating regular, balanced meals helps stop your blood sugar from swinging too high or too low. Eating carbohydrates together with foods that contain protein, fat or fibre slows down how fast your blood sugar rises.

Some people also learn carbohydrate counting, which means keeping track of the carbohydrates in each meal. Your doctor or diabetes team can tell you the right amount for you.

How can you make changes that last?

• Change your diet slowly. One small change each week is easier to keep up.
• If you are overweight and have been advised to lose weight, aim to do so steadily.
• Do not start a very strict, low-calorie diet without speaking to your doctor first, especially if you take insulin or other diabetes medicine.
• Be active for at least 2.5 hours across the week, for example walking or other activity that makes you out of breath.
• Stop smoking. Diabetes makes the harm from smoking worse.
• Have regular dental check-ups to help prevent gum disease.
• Ask your doctor about diabetes education or a dietitian for a meal plan that suits you.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if you notice signs that your blood sugar is running high, such as feeling very thirsty, passing urine a lot, feeling weak or tired, blurred vision or losing weight.

Blood sugar can also drop too low (usually below 4 mmol/L), especially after missing a meal, drinking alcohol, exercising hard or taking too much insulin. Warning signs include hunger, sweating, shaking, dizziness, a fast heartbeat, tingling lips and confusion. Follow the plan your doctor gave you, which usually means taking a sugary drink or glucose and rechecking after 10 to 15 minutes.

Get emergency help (call Rescue 1122) if someone with diabetes:

• becomes unconscious or has a seizure (fit)
• has high blood sugar with vomiting or stomach pain
• is breathing faster than usual or has a racing heartbeat
• is very drowsy or struggling to stay awake
• has breath that smells fruity