Recommendations on Diabetic Diet

Diabetes is one of the most common non-communicable diseases in Hong Kong. At present, about one in ten people in Hong Kong have diabetes. Appropriate dietary management not only effectively maintains blood glucose at or close to a normal level, but also helps prevent or delay the complications of diabetes, such as diabetic foot; diabetic eye disease and diabetic kidney disease.

The key of a diabetic diet is to properly distribute the amount of carbohydrate intake from main meals, soup, fruits and snacks. Our blood glucose level is affected by the carbohydrate intake, which can be properly spread throughout the day. This will help effectively control our blood sugar levels. Carbohydrate can be found in sugar and honey, grains and cereals, root vegetables and dried beans, as well as the fructose from fruits and the lactose from milk.

People with diabetes should follow the following dietary recommendations:

• Eat the recommended proportion according to the Healthy Food Pyramid.
• Maintain a balanced diet. Eat regular portions at regular times. Smaller-sized but more frequent meals will help stabilise blood glucose level.
• Avoid eating too much or too little in the same meal. Add one or two healthy snacks between meals if necessary.
• Ensure balanced nutrition and eat more high-fibre food items such as vegetables, fruits, whole wheat bread and brown rice.
• Adopt healthy cooking methods such as steaming, poaching or boiling.
• Reduce the intake of high-fat food items such as animal fats, fried foods, whole milk, cakes and coconut milk.
• Avoid food items that are high in sugar. People with a sweet tooth can use sweeteners for seasoning purpose. Reduce the use of cornstarch for thickening purpose. Avoid mixing gravy with rice.
• Choose food items that are low in fat and adopt low-fat cooking methods.
• Reduce the consumption of processed and pickled food items.
• Pay attention to the value of fats, sodium (or salt) and sugar on nutrition labels. Choose food items that are low in fats, sodium and sugars.

The diabetic diet is widely regarded as completely different from a regular diet, and is often mistaken as bland, boring and painful to follow. In fact, the diabetic diet is a healthy eating habit. It can be delicious and surprisingly imaginative rather than boring. As long as you understand the concept behind, you can easily modify your diet according to your health condition, lifestyle, work and social life.

One-week meal plan template (suitable for diabetics)

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Brown Bread Sandwich with Low-fat Cheese and Tuna	Whole Grain and Low-sugar Cereals with Skimmed Milk	Macaroni in Soup with Shredded Pork and Tomato	Steamed Wholemeal Chinese Bun	Pasta in Soup with Lettuce and Chicken	Brown Bread Sandwich with Tomato and Egg	Oatmeal in Skimmed Milk with Dried Cranberries and Plain Nuts
			Low-fat and Low-sugar Chocolate Milk	Low-sugar/Sugar-free Soy Milk (fortified with calcium)	Low-sugar/Sugar-free Soy Milk (fortified with calcium)	Low-sugar/Sugar-free Soy Milk (fortified with calcium)
Morning Tea	Apple	Pear	Orange	Grapes	Dragon Fruit	Watermelon	Plain Biscuits
Lunch (Assuming that you eat out)	Vermicelli in Soup with Wontons	Rice with Tomato and Beef	Pasta with Shrimp and Italian Herbs	Rice with Steamed Chicken (with no skin)	Ramen with Pork and Vegetables	Rice in Soup with Seafood and Winter Melon	Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumpling
	Blanched Vegetables (with no added oil)	Blanched Vegetables(with no added oil)	Salad Green (with less sauce)	Blanched Vegetables (with no added oil)			Steamed Stuffed Dumpling with Shrimp
							Steamed Rice-flour Roll with Beef
							Steamed Chicken Bun
							Blanched Vegetables (with no added oil)
Afternoon Tea	Kiwi Fruit	Papaya	Low-fat and Low-sugar Fruit-flavoured Yoghurt	Plain Biscuits	Roasted Plain Nuts	Strawberries	Mandarin
Dinner (Designed for a family with 4 members)	Tomato, Lemongrass and Shrimp Soup	Mixed Vegetable Chicken Soup	White Fungus and Chicken Soup	Mixed Vegetables and Tofu Soup	Winter Melon Soup	Mixed Vegetable Chicken Soup	Tomato, Lemongrass and Shrimp Soup
	Broccoli and Scallop Stir-Fry	Baked Chicken with Mushrooms	Pork and Vegetable Stew	Minced Pork with Pine Nuts and Water Chestnuts	Fish Fillets with Button Mushrooms and Corn	Pan-fried Fish with Carrots and Zucchini	Lettuce Wrap with Field Greens
	Stir-Fried Pork with Lemongrass	Pea Sprout and Shrimp Cakes	Basil Salmon Hash Browns	Pea Sprout and Shrimp Cakes	Baked Chicken with Lemongrass and Garlic	Fruity Pork Cubes	Stuffed Bell Peppers
	Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Vegetables	French Beans Stir-Fry	Stir-Fried Garlic Eggplants	Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Vegetables	French Beans Stir-Fry	Stir-Fried Garlic Eggplants	Stir-Fried Mushrooms and Vegetables
	Mixed Brown and White Rice	Mixed Red and White Rice	Rice with Mixed Grains	White Rice with Quinoa	Mixed Brown and White Rice	Mixed Red and White Rice	Rice with Mixed Grains
Dessert	Steamed Egg Custard	Red Bean Pudding with Chrysanthemum	Rice Dumpling with Red Bean Paste	Poached Pear with Osmanthus	Kiwi Fruit	Steamed Egg Custard	Papaya and Pear Jelly

Remarks:

The above meal plan is for reference only. The recommended daily intake of carbohydrate may vary among diabetic patients. Please seek professional advice from health care providers or dietitians in advance and adjust the portion size accordingly.