It was amazingly disappointing to see that the American Diabetes Association refers diabetics to the food pyramid for dietary and cooking advice. This simplistic, and in recent times, often challenged accuracy of the food pyramid is not at all suitable as the be-all, end-all guide to a diabetic diet. There are important eating tips every diabetic should know in order to live a long healthy life with diabetes.

The basics of a diabetic diet are simple: AVOID SUGAR

This well known aspect of a diabetic diet is usually taken to mean avoid candy, desserts, chocolate and other sinful sweets.

The truth is that avoiding sugar is much more complicated than that.

Here are some things the good old food pyramid doesn't tell you:

Here is the best food pyramid for a diabetic:

More Vegetables and Proteins
Light on the Fats and Dairy
Even Less Sugars and Starches

Think all fruit and vegetable are created equal?

There are fruits and vegetables that are naturally higher in sugars than others. Eating more of the lower sugar fruits and vegetables as part of a diabetic diet is a healthier choice, especially as a long term habit.

High Sugar Fruits

There are fruits that are naturally more high in sugar than others.

These high sugar fruits include:
Bananas
Grapes
Mangos
Strawberries
Watermelon

Better fruits to eat are:
Cantaloupe
Honeydew
Apples
Berries - blueberries, raspberries and blackberries

Make sure to buy fresh fruit, organic is best. Never buy canned fruits or dried fruit. They are loaded with artificial sugars and syrups.

Sugary Vegetables, Really?
There are vegetables which are very high in sugar. Really. Please don't misunderstand that any vegetables are good and much better than candy, cakes and desserts, but there are better fruit choices than others.

These high sugar vegetables include:
Corn
Carrots
Beats
Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Red Peppers

Better vegetable choices are:
Green veggies - green beans, spinach, lettuce (anything but iceberg lettuce), zucchini
Squash
Asparagus
Broccoli
Cauliflower

Carbs are Secretly a Sugars

Most people are not aware that carbohydrates (carbs) are just as bad as "sugars". Carbohydrates when broken down in the body become sugars. So, is there really a difference. Not really. A diabetic must assimilate and process carbs just as he would need to process sugar, with insulin, which a diabetic is lacking.

Carbs have managed to work themselves into our daily diets too well. Consider the carbs "wrapping" on most foods you eat. Open up the wrapping and just eat what is inside.

For Example, remove "wrapping" such as:
Hamburger and hot bug buns
Tortillas
Sliced breads or rolls

Try to avoid complex carbs such as:
Chips
Crackers
Pretzels
Muffins, cakes, dounuts and sweet breads
Loafs of bread (Sprouted grain bread is OK)

Better carb choices are:
Potatoes (buy small red potatoes instead of large brown potatoes)
Rice (basmati rice is best, but brown rice is ok)
Sprouted grains (Ezekiel makes sprouted grain breads and cereals)

Education about the foods you eat and their real content and contribution to your diet is key to maintaining a long and healthy life.

Making smart food choices now and establishing healthy eating choices that become a lifestyle is the best thing a diabetic can do. So start making smart diabetic diet choices now!