Eating right in order to stay healthy is difficult enough for most of us, I mean let's face the facts; most consumers simply don’t eat right. However, a healthy diet can be especially difficult for someone diagnosed with diabetes. The main reason is based on the fact that people with diabetes require a different dietary structure when compared to those without diabetic symptoms. This is because people diagnosed with diabetes have trouble breaking down and metabolizing sugar in their body. As it turns out, diabetes is a chronic disease that hinders an individual's capability of breaking down glucose in their body. This results in the rather dangerous situation of severely compromising a person's ability to produce insulin, which is an extremely important nutrient for normal bodily functions.

As y6ou can imagine individuals diagnosed with and suffering from diabetes have specific dietary needs and thus require a rather strict dietary plan. Fortunately, the medical community has come together in order to formulate a food pyramid specifically geared towards people with diabetes. This diabetic food pyramid outlines and prescribes what types of foods a person suffering from diabetes can safely eat and should eat in order to assist their body with coping from the effects of having diabetes.

The diabetic food pyramid works similar to the normal food pyramid but there is obviously more importance placed on following this pyramid's guidelines because it really does deal with the health of a diabetic person. The pyramid is shaped just like it sounds, in the form of a pyramid with the foods listed at the top as items that someone with diabetes should only eat in strict moderation. These food groups would include those foods that are sweet in nature or fatty foods. As the pyramid base expands more and more foods are added safely to the diabetic diet.

Foods that diabetics should eat on a more regular basis include milk with at least 2 or 3 servings or glasses a day as the standard and the nonfat variety as the recommended source. A person or individual who suffers from diabetes should only consume 2 or 3 standard servings of meat a day with the recommended sources coming from fish and chicken instead of red meat.

Perhaps the best foods that should be consumed regularly by diabetics include fruits, vegetables and grains. All of these food groups help a person with diabetes fight the disease. A diabetic's fruit consumption should involve 3or more servings of fruit every day with the high fiber fruits being the most sought after based on the fact that fiber helps to increase the body's natural ability to break down glucose.

Vegetables remain one of the best sources of food to help diabetics fight their disease and a healthy portion of 3 to 5 servings per day is recommended. Finally, grains should be consumed in quantities of 6 or more servings daily for diabetics due to their natural ability to provide fiber that is without question the most beneficial nutrient needed by a diabetic.