- Have a healthy diet, with the right quantity of food, appropriate to your age, weight and height. Do discuss this with your doctor uncle/ aunty.
- Eat foods made of whole grain cereals instead of refined. For example, whole wheat flour instead of maida or brown rice instead of white rice.
- Eat plenty of vegetables and fruits, at least 5 servings a day. Green colored vegetables are the best. Add greens, sprouts or crushed vegetables in your parathas, puri, idli or dosa.
- Have less of fatty foods. Change to a cooking method that eliminates the need for cooking fat (boiling, roasting, poaching, steaming) when possible. But when it is necessary to maintain the character of the food, do use a cooking method that involves fat -- just use less of it (oven frying, sautéing or pan frying in less fat).
- Have chicken or fish and avoid red meat. Trim all the fat off meat before cooking.
- Having 6 small meals are better than 3 large meals. Try to avoid fasting and feasting.
- Eating meals and snacks at the same time each day helps regulate your blood sugar.
- A child or a person with type 1 diabetes can eat foods with sugar content like one piece of cake or laddu occasionally. Remember, when you have foods with sugar, do exchange it with other carbohydrates in the same meal or consult your doctor if you can take extra 1-2 units of insulin to avoid high blood glucose levels.
- Have your diet review done by the doctor or dietician at least once in a year. Food portions, exchange lists and carbohydrate counting are all part of systems designed to learn how every variety of food can be included in the diet and maintain good blood sugar levels.
- Maintain a food diary for at least 1 week. Write down food consumption patterns followed in the family along with types of food and then discuss what changes would you be able to do if required.
You can also make a list of your favourite food items and then discuss it with your doctor, diabetes educator or dietician, that how frequently and in what quantity you can have them.