Starches: Forbidden Foods?
Starchy Vegetables
Many people with diabetes choose to avoid most foods containing carbohydrate such as fruit, starches and grains, dairy products and sweets. Is it necessary for managing diabetes? No, it isn’t. You don’t have to take a low-carb approach to managing diabetes unless you want to.
Research has shown that there are many ways to manage diabetes and one size does not fit all. Types of meal planning that have been researched and shown effective for managing diabetes include:
Low-fat (including vegetarian)
Moderate to low carbohydrate
Obviously, there are no hard and fast rules. Many diabetes nutrition experts are against meal plans that eliminate healthful foods such as legumes, whole grains, fruits and vegetables because these foods are associated with lower risk for developing chronic diseases such as heart disease and some cancers.
So what to do? The bottom line is to think about how you eat now and make improvements to make your diet more healthful. Everyone should eat as many non-starchy vegetables as possible for the nutrients they provide with only very small amounts of carbohydrate.
To manage diabetes while still enjoying starchy foods follow these tips:
For the plate method, limit starches to 1/4 of your plate. This is about 1/2 to 1 cup of a starchy food or 2 slices of bread.
For carb counters, stick to about 45-60 grams of total carbohydrate per meal (including fruits and dairy too).
Choose whole grain starches, starchy vegetables and legumes instead of refined carbohydrates and sweets.
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