Most people who have diabetes will find that with small changes to their diet they can manage short-term complications such as hypoglycemia and minimize or prevent long-term complications such as heart disease, nerve damage, eye damage, and kidney damage. People who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes who carefully follow the advice of their healthcare professionals regarding diet and exercise can prevent or delay the onset of true diabetes.

The main goals of following this type of diet are keeping your blood sugar as near to the normal range as possible; keeping your cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure levels as close to the normal range as possible; eating enough calories to maintain reasonable weight or growth and development (in children or pregnancy); preventing and treating short-term and long-term complications of diabetes; and improving overall health.

For more specifics on nutrition goals for people with diabetes, as recommended by the American Diabetes Association, see “Diabetes-Friendly” Defined.