Diabetic Diet Chart

Foods freely permitted

• Black coffee or tea
• Juices like tomato juice and lime juice
• Clear vegetable soup
• Dilute buttermilk
• Green Leafy vegetables
• Fresh green salads and other vegetables except roots and tubers

Foods in limited quantity

• Cereals and pulses
• Refined cereal products like refined wheat flour (maida) semolina (rava) etc.
• Fruits like guava, pears, oranges, papaya, apple, sweetlime etc. can be taken in limited quantity, either one in number, a few pieces per day. Allowance/day – 100gms
• Whole milk can be taken not more than 300ml/day including that needed in curd and other milk preparations. Skimmed milk is preferred and allowance – 400ml/day
• Non vegetarian items fish or chicken can be taken 4 times a week without frying. Allowance – 50 gram/day, fishes like Salmon, Mackerel and Herring, Sardine rich in Omega 3 fatty acid are preferable
• Egg whites can be taken frequently but whole egg should be restricted to 2 per week
• A combination of cooking oil preferably sunflower oil, safflower oil, mustard oil, sesame oil, olive oil, rice bran oil or soybean oil is advisable. Allowance per day – 3 to 5 teaspoon

Foods to be avoided

• Sugar, Honey, jaggery, glucose, jam etc.
• Sweets like laddu, barfi, payasum, desserts, chocolate and ice cream extra.
• Refined starch products like corn flour, custard powder, and arrow root powder, etc. Commercial jelly products as well
• Fried food items and foods cooked in too much oil like Puri, chips, bajji, papad, samosa, vada etc.
• Bakery products like cakes, pastries and cream biscuits
• Fats like dalda ghee, butter and coconut
• Root vegetables like potato, yam, colocasia, tapioca and sweet potato
• High calorie fruits like banana, pomegranate, mango, grapes, sapota/chiku, custard apple and jackfruit
• Dry fruits like dates, raisins, currents and nuts like cashew nut, coconuts groundnuts etc.
• Sweet and aerated drinks like Coke, Pepsi, Fanta etc., canned fruits and fruit juices, squashes, sharbat, which are loaded with sugar
• Proprietor/ drinks like Horlicks, boost, bournvita, complan etc.

Fiber the body’s broom

Fiber delays gastric emptying and glucose absorption thus lowering plasma glucose concentration

Fiber rich foods are

• Legumes and germinated pulses like chana and rajma
• Whole grain cereals like whole wheat, brown rice, barley oatmeal
• Green leafy vegetables like spinach, lettuce, cabbage
• Fruits with skin eg., Apple, Guava, Pears
• Salad and boiled vegetables

Dietary tips for diabetics

Equal spacing of meal is very important for diabetics. Free foods should be taken in between three main meals.

Golden rule – no feasting no fasting

• Achieve and maintain desirable body weight
• Regular exercise helps to improve blood glucose and lipid levels
• Fenugreek helps in the management of diabetic by lowering blood glucose level recommended dosage 6 gram per day
• Artificial sweeteners like sucralose is preferable over others and it can be used in moderation

Omission of any food item in the above list does not imply that it is freely allowed or prohibited.