Type 2 Diabetes Diet: What to Eat for Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
DiabetesType 2 Diabetes

The Best and Worst Foods to Eat for a Type 2 Diabetes Diet

The Best and Worst Foods to Eat for a Type 2 Diabetes Diet
iStock; Canva
By
Updated on November 11, 2025
by
Living with type 2 diabetes doesn’t mean you have to give up all the foods you love. Although you’ll want to strike certain types of food from your diet, or at least limit them, you can enjoy a wide range of foods and still manage the condition well. An eating plan for type 2 diabetes doesn’t need to be strict, as long as it includes a variety of wholesome carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

When you’re eating with diabetes, you’ve got two major goals to juggle: keeping your blood sugar in a healthy range after meals, while also supporting your long-term health. To do that, you’ll want to choose nutrient-dense ingredients that keep you satisfied without provoking the urge to overload on simple carbohydrates or calories.

Eating well with diabetes means finding meals and snacks that keep you happy and full without increasing your risk of weight gain or of diabetes complications, like nerve damage, vision loss, and heart and blood vessel diseases.

Diabetes Diet Tips for The Balancer

Diabetes Diet Tips for The Balancer

Next up video playing in 10 seconds

Food, Blood Sugar, and Long-Term Health

To follow a healthy diet for type 2 diabetes, it’s important to first understand how different foods affect your blood sugar. High blood sugar levels are the defining sign of diabetes, and they’re the major cause of many of its dangerous and debilitating complications.

Carbohydrates are by far the parts of food that most strongly affect your blood sugar level. Your body breaks carbs down into sugar called glucose, which raises your blood sugar. That’s the case whether you take in carbs from healthier items like fresh fruit, whole grains, and legumes, or from junk food like soda, candy, and potato chips.

You’ll probably need to limit your portions of foods high in carbs, because they “have the most impact on blood sugar level,” says Alison Massey, RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.

But diabetes experts don’t recommend a single carbohydrate limit for people with type 2 diabetes, nor do they always recommend low-carb diets. Your own carb intake goal will vary based on things such as your preferences, weight, activity level, treatment plan, and blood sugar levels. So, work with your doctor, a diabetes educator, or a nutritionist to find out what’s right for you.

Also, be aware that all carbs aren’t created equal. Added sugar and refined grains, such as the white flour found in most breads and pastas, have outsized negative health effects. And they can easily trigger more hunger, which results in overeating and weight gain. Healthier carb-heavy ingredients like fruit and whole-grain bread can also raise your blood sugar levels in the short-term. But these foods strongly support weight control and good heart health, partly by slowing down your digestion and helping you feel full longer.

In short, there isn’t a perfect overlap between the foods that keep your blood sugar steady and the foods that promote long-term health. Fatty red meat and processed meats like bacon and hot dogs, for example, have very little blood sugar impact — but they’re linked with higher risks of weight gain, cancer, and heart and blood vessel diseases.

Eating lots of protein and fat can help lower your blood sugar, but there’s worry that it might raise your risks of heart attack and stroke. Also, most experts recommend against cutting out healthier carbs like beans, fruits, and whole grains.

For a general guide to making healthy meals, you can use the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Diabetes Plate method. Start with a standard 9-inch (in) dinner plate. Fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, a quarter with a lean protein, and a quarter with either a grain, a starchy vegetable, or another carbohydrate source. Finish it off with a water or another zero-calorie drink.

Eating for diabetes management is all about finding a balance that promotes steady blood sugar and good heart health, while also satisfying your own personal preferences and cravings.

The Best and Worst Meats and Proteins for Type 2 Diabetes

When you’re living with diabetes, aim to mainly eat proteins that are low in saturated fat, according to the ADA.

The best choices of meats for a diabetes-friendly diet include:

  • Fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, sardines, albacore tuna, mackerel, and rainbow trout
  • Leaner fish such as cod and catfish
  • Shellfish, including clams, crab, lobster, oysters, scallops, and shrimp
  • Skinless chicken and turkey
  • Game meats like buffalo or venison, which tend to be lean

Not everyone eats meat, of course, and especially not at every meal. Vegetarian proteins such as tofu and tempeh can be healthy options. Beans and lentils are sources of healthy carbs that can offer enough protein for a meal. Nuts and nut butters add healthy fat and fiber, though sweetened versions can be sugary. Whole eggs and cottage cheese are good choices for vegetarians who are not vegans.

Try to limit red meat, which tends to be high in saturated fat, especially fattier cuts like rib-eye steak and beef brisket. The worst meat options tend to combine fatty protein with larger amounts of added sugar or salt, including:

  • Bacon
  • Deli meats such as bologna, ham, roast beef, and salami
  • Jerky
  • Processed meats such as hot dogs, pepperoni, and packaged sausages

The Best and Worst Carbs for Type 2 Diabetes

One of the most important ways to improve your health with diabetes is to limit the amount of unhealthy carbs you eat in processed and sugary foods, says Massey. Those include soda, candy, corn chips, and potato chips. But you’ll also want to slow down on refined starches like white bread, white rice, and white pasta.

Still, not all starches are off-limits. According to the ADA, whole grains are “superstar foods” in a healthy diabetes diet, because they have protein, tons of nutrients, and plenty of fiber.

The best options to eat in moderation include:

  • Barley
  • Brown or wild rice
  • Quinoa
  • Whole-grain breads
  • Whole-grain cereals such as steel-cut oats
  • Whole-wheat pasta
  • Buckwheat
  • Farro
  • Beans and legumes, such as lentils and peas

The Best and Worst Dairy for Type 2 Diabetes

Dairy products can be great choices when you’re living with diabetes, as long as you chose them well and enjoy them in moderation. Milk-based products are good sources of calcium, and they add protein to your diet with relatively few carbs.

But dairy products can be rich, salty, and high in calories. So it’s a good idea to limit how much you’re eating. That’s especially true when choosing full-fat cheeses like cheddar, which should probably be a treat or a topping rather than the main event of your snack or meal.

Whenever you can, opt for low-fat and low-salt versions. The best options include:

  • Cottage cheese
  • Plain yogurt and yogurt products like kefir
  • Milk, especially skim and reduced-fat
The worst dairy options are probably yogurt and milk products with added sugar, such as chocolate milk and sweetened yogurt, and processed-cheese products that include added fats, such as American cheese and nacho cheese.

The Best and Worst Vegetables for Type 2 Diabetes

Vegetables are extremely healthy and should be the bulk of what you eat.

 Massey says that non-starchy vegetables are a huge win for people with diabetes who want to regain control of their blood sugar. That’s because these veggies combine fiber and nutrients with a low carb count.

Still, how the vegetables are prepared matters. Those that are deep-fried or served with sugary sauce aren’t nearly as wholesome as veggies that are raw or have been simply boiled or roasted. Frozen veggies are just as nutritious as fresh, as long as they haven’t been packed with a sauce. Canned veggies can also be a good choice, but check the nutrition label first to make sure they haven’t been loaded with sodium.

The best veggie options include:

  • Artichoke hearts
  • Asparagus
  • Beets
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Cruciferous veggies, including broccoli and cauliflower
  • Cucumbers
  • Dark, leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and Swiss chard
  • Jicama
  • Onions
  • Peppers
Starchy veggies to enjoy in moderation include:

  • Corn
  • Peas
  • Sweet potatoes
  • White potatoes
  • Winter squashes such as pumpkin, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash
  • Yams
Finally, limit or avoid veggies that have been prepared in unhealthy ways. French fries, candied yams, and deep-fried onions may be vegetables, but they pack in massive amounts of added calories, sugar, starch, fat, or all of the above.

The Best and Worst Fruits for Type 2 Diabetes

Fruit often gets a bad rap due to its carb content, but this food group can be great in a diabetes diet when chosen wisely and eaten in moderation.

In particular, fruit can be an excellent replacement for unhealthy processed sweets, such as cakes, cookies, and pastries. It can also provide disease-fighting antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and filling fiber to boot. But, as with grains, it’s important to roll out your carb-counting skills when noshing on nature’s candy.

Fresh fruit is generally considered a healthy food for people with diabetes, even if it creates short-term blood sugar rises. But some fruits are naturally lower-carb. Berries, citrus like oranges, and fruits with edible peels like apples have extra fiber to help steady your blood sugar level after eating. Whichever fruit you choose, try to stick to just one serving. That will also help limit the blood sugar increase.

Beware of processed fruit products. Many dried fruits are sweetened with sugar, but even unsweetened dried fruit is easy to overeat, because so much water has been removed. Canned fruit often contains lots of sugary syrup, which should be avoided. Fruit juice may be less healthy than fresh fruit, because it’s stripped of the fiber that you’d find in whole fruit with the skin on.

You have many fruit choices at your disposal. The best fruit choices for diabetes include:

  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Berries such as blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries
  • Oranges
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Tart cherries

The worst fruits for diabetes are those that have been processed and sweetened, including:

  • Canned fruit in syrup
  • Dried fruit
  • Fruit juices, whether freshly-squeezed or packaged

The Best and Worst Fats for Type 2 Diabetes

Despite what you may have thought, fat isn’t always your enemy when it comes to healthy eating for diabetes. Fat is a necessary part of every diet; you just need to learn how to tell a good fat from a bad fat.

Fat doesn’t raise your blood sugar by itself, although it can alter the timing of your blood sugar spikes, as seen in the dreaded pizza effect. So the major concern here is with choosing fats that will help support your long-term heart and blood vessel health.

The best fats are usually unsaturated fats, like the kinds found in:

  • Avocados and avocado oil
  • Nuts, peanuts, and peanut butter or oil
  • Oily fish like salmon and mackerel
  • Sunflower and chia seeds
  • Olive oil
  • Vegetable oils like canola and flaxseed oil
The worst options, according to the ADA, include:

  • Coconut and palm oils
  • Butter and margarine
  • Shortening and lard
  • Fatty animal products, including meat and cheese
  • Full-fat dairy products

The Takeaway

  • A type 2 diabetes diet should combine a variety of wholesome carbohydrates, fats, and proteins while limiting refined sugars and unhealthy fats.
  • The healthiest ingredients, like non-starchy vegetables, can support both short-term blood sugar management and long-term heart and blood vessel health.
  • Lowering your carb intake can help you keep your blood sugar in range, but there’s no reason to take healthier carb sources like fruit and whole grains off the menu.
  • Diabetes experts don’t prefer any single eating plan. Instead, they recommend a flexible approach that prioritizes nutrient-dense ingredients and avoids processed foods with refined starches, added sugars, and added fats.

Resources We Trust

Additional reporting by Lauren Bedosky.

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Healthy Living With Diabetes. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. October 2023.
  2. Diabetes Diet: Create Your Healthy Eating Plan. Mayo Clinic. June 11, 2024.
  3. Diabetes Complications and Risks. American Heart Association. April 2, 2024.
  4. Understanding Carbs. American Diabetes Association.
  5. Carb Counting. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 15, 2024.
  6. Choosing Healthy Carbs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. May 15, 2024.
  7. Is Red Meat Bad for You? Cleveland Clinic. February 14, 2024.
  8. Here's the Deal With the Keto Diet and Type 2 Diabetes. Cleveland Clinic. July 25, 2022.
  9. What Is the Diabetes Plate? American Diabetes Association. January 15, 2025.
  10. Protein Food for Diabetes. American Diabetes Association.
  11. What Superstar Foods Are Good for Diabetes? American Diabetes Association.
  12. Get to Know Carbs. American Diabetes Association.
  13. Dairy and Diabetes. Diabetes UK. February 22, 2024.
  14. Non-Starchy Vegetables for Blood Glucose Control. American Diabetes Association.
  15. The Truth About Starchy Vegetables. The Johns Hopkins Patient Guide to Diabetes.
  16. Why Are Fried Foods So Bad for You? Cleveland Clinic. March 12, 2025.
  17. Fruit. American Diabetes Association.
  18. Fats. American Diabetes Association.
Meet Our Experts
See Our Editorial PolicyMeet Our Health Expert Network
Elise-M-Brett-bio

Elise M. Brett, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor
Elise M Brett, MD, is a board-certified adult endocrinologist. She received a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and her MD degree from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She completed her residency training in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism at The Mount Sinai Hospital. She has been in private practice in Manhattan since 1999.

Dr. Brett practices general endocrinology and diabetes and has additional certification in neck ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration biopsy, which she performs regularly in the office. She is voluntary faculty and associate clinical professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is a former member of the board of directors of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology. She has lectured nationally and published book chapters and peer reviewed articles on various topics, including thyroid cancer, neck ultrasound, parathyroid disease, obesity, diabetes, and nutrition support.
See full bio

Mikel Theobald

Author

Mikel Theobald is an Indianapolis-based freelance writer who covers a wide range of topics, including early childhood education, home and family, Olympic sports, nutrition, fitness, and health.

See full bio
See Our Editorial PolicyMeet Our Health Expert Network