Diabetic Seniors

Plain and simple, healthy food choices promote a healthy diabetic lifestyle. And one of the simplest tools to ensure a well-balanced diet is the diabetes food exchange list.

What Are Diabetic Exchange Lists?

Diabetic exchange lists are a meal-planning system that divides foods into six groups called “exchanges.” You can trade, or exchange, foods from one list for any other food on the same list because they each have similar amounts of number of carbohydrates, fat, protein and calories.

For example, under starches on the diabetes exchange list, you’ll find that one slice of bread, one tortilla, three cups of popcorn and two squares of graham cracker all equal one starch exchange and contain about 15 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of protein and 80 calories.

The six diabetic exchange lists are:

• Bread/Starch Group
• Fruit Group
• Vegetable Group
• Milk Group
• Meat/Protein Group (meats are divided into very lean meats, lean meats, medium-fat meats and high-fat meats)
• Fat Group

In addition, a diabetes exchange list contains three other food categories for meal planning:

Free foods — A free food on the diabetes food exchange list includes things like diet soft drinks, sugar-free gelatin, catsup, soy sauce and spices. You don’t have to count these foods if you don’t have more than three servings a day.

Combination Foods — A diabetic diet exchange list also accounts for foods that contain items from several different groups. For example, one cup of lasagna = 2 carb exchanges and 2 medium-fat meat exchanges.

Foods for Occasional Use/Fast Foods — Many restaurant chains (e.g., McDonalds and KFC) provide printable diabetic exchange lists on their websites or at their restaurants for help when eating out.

Playing the Exchange Game

It is okay to exchange or substitute one food for another within a group on the diabetes food exchange list. At lunch, for example, you could exchange 1/4 cup of cottage cheese for one ounce of chicken, because they are both in the meat group. But exchanging foods from one group to another group is not allowed (exchanging the chicken for a piece of bread).

Where a diabetes exchange list can get confusing, though, is with starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn, beans, etc.). These are counted as bread (starch) exchanges rather than vegetable exchanges. Vegetables with less starch and a lot of fiber (carrots, broccoli, lettuce, etc.) are counted as traditional vegetables.

As you work on a healthy diabetic lifestyle, it is important that you don’t eliminate any complete group of foods from your diet. In fact, the American Diabetes Association recommends that you choose a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages from among all of the basic food groups.

Need help? A Registered Dietitian can help you plan how much food you should eat at each meal and teach you how to choose foods from the diabetic exchange lists. Contact the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org for more information. Or, you can purchase a diabetic diet exchange list from The American Diabetes Association?by calling? 1-800-342-2383.

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