The goal of any diabetes sufferer is the ability to keeping your blood sugar level. It does not matter if you are suffering from type-1 or type-2 diabetes, but it is the former that makes it a matter of life threatening necessity and failure to adhere to strictly regimented nutritional intake rules will have the potential for dire straits. Since there is no cure for type-2 diabetes or type-1 diabetes, it is vital you control it. Yet translating the need for keeping your blood sugar level to actually making sound nutritional choices in the grocery store and at the restaurant are two different matters altogether and it is wise to know ahead of time which choices are best!

For a concise guide to avoiding the onset of type-2 diabetes and hopefully keeping your blood sugar level if you suffer from type-1 diabetes, here are the best possible choices you can make:

1. Do not skip the fruits and the veggies. Additionally, do not fall for the oft propagated food myths that suggest you should pick one fruit or veggie and eat it ad nauseam. The goal is variety, and to achieve variety the heavy-handed reliance on one veggie or fruit as a miracle weight loss or health food item is misplaced.
2. Bid a fond farewell to fruits and vegetables that have been processed within an inch of their lives. Although frozen fruits and veggies have retained much of their nutritional values, those that have been canned are virtually devoid of their healthful properties and also taste.
3. Vegetables that are high in starch, such as potatoes, should be used sparingly when preparing meals. Do not eliminate them, but use them less often and in lesser quantities than those that are dark green or orange.
4. Legumes (beans) are your friend. Eat them often and experiment with the astounding varieties that are currently for sale in the supermarkets.
5. Whole grains make you whole. Processed grains that are bleached and stripped of much of their indigestible fiber are lousy substitutes and you will be wise to stay away from white flour, white bread and regular pasta and instead opt for the whole grain choices of bread, cereal and pasta that are available. The same is true for rice, bran, and oatmeal.
6. Red meat contains needed building blocks for a healthy life and while your blood sugar level will not be adversely affected by a juice steak, your midsection might indeed feel that effect and if you gain unhealthy amounts of weight, it is only a short step to type-2 diabetes, heart disease and a host of other ailments. If you do wish to eat red meat, stick with the cuts that are healthier and leaner; you will recognize them by their labeling of “loin.”

Poultry is a healthy meat alternative — but only if you remove the skin prior to eating. Fish has long since been known to be a very healthy alternative to meat, but with the recent heavy metal scares and governmental warnings pertaining to certain kinds of fish, you will be wise to exercise caution prior to ingesting too much.