What you eat shapes your type 2 diabetes risk, no matter what you weigh. Cut out refined carbs such as white bread, pasta, rice, soda and snack foods. Build dinner around high-fiber, slow-release carbs, non-starchy vegetables, legumes and nuts.
It is said that if type 2 diabetes were an infectious disease, we would be in the midst of an epidemic. This disease is striking more and more adults. With childhood obesity on the rise, it has become more common in young people, especially in certain ethnic groups. The good news is that prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes can largely be prevented. About 9 in 10 cases in the U.S. can be avoided with lifestyle changes. These changes can also lower the chances of heart disease and some cancers. Here we look at diet as a way to prevent and control T2DM.
- How does what you eat affect you?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every three American adults has prediabetes. That is 86 million people. Without action, up to one-third of them will get type 2 diabetes within five years. Is all hope lost? Not at all! Lifestyle changes can help. Extra body fat is a known risk factor for diabetes, and weight loss is an important way to lower risk. But specific diet patterns and foods seem to lower or raise risk, no matter what you weigh. The latest research suggests that diabetes risk is largely shaped by specific foods and overall diet patterns, not by single nutrients. The same goes for the risk of heart disease and stroke. Poor diet quality may affect weight and metabolic risk regardless of calories. That is because different foods have different effects on many things. These include how full you feel, how your blood sugar and insulin respond, and how much fat your liver makes. They also include how fat cells work, cravings and reward signals in the brain, and the buildup of visceral fat (the fat packed around your organs).
- So, which foods lower the risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes?
Here we look in some detail at everyday foods that might either help prevent diabetes or speed you toward it. When you decide what to eat, choose wisely.
- Choose high-fiber, slow-release carbs
Carbs have a big impact on your blood sugar—more than fats and proteins do. So you need to be smart about which carbs you eat. Cut out refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice, as well as soda, candy, packaged meals, and snack foods. Focus on high-fiber complex carbs, also known as slow-release carbs. They are digested more slowly, so they keep your body from making too much insulin.
- Eat more plant foods. Plant foods that are barely processed, such as fruits, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and nuts/seeds, are consistently linked to better heart and metabolic health. That includes a lower risk of diabetes.
- How about proteins? They have been studied to different degrees. But meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy protein appear to affect diabetes risk in different ways.
Red meat and fish are good for the patients we treat. 4. Are fats bad for you? Most research on fats looks at their effect on heart disease risk, not diabetes risk. The association between fats and diabetes risk still needs to be made clear. Recent evidence suggests that the quality of the fats you eat matters more than the total amount. Some researchers point out that the source of fat is important. It may possibly muddy studies that look at total fat intake and health. Some results are disputed, but it is important to know about and keep an eye on new research. Some recent study findings include the following:
- A Mediterranean diet pattern, which is fairly high in monounsaturated fats, may help prevent type 2 diabetes.
- Vegetable (omega-6) oils are unhealthy in a population that is already metabolically sick, which is the population we treat.
- Intake of high-fat, but not low-fat, dairy products is associated with a decrease in type 2 diabetes risk.
- EPA+DHA seems to give neither harm nor benefit when it comes to getting diabetes. The omega-3 fatty acid ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) may be associated with a slightly lower risk.
Fat is packed with calories (9 kcal/g, compared with 4 kcal/g for protein or carbohydrate). So it is often the focus of weight-loss diets.
- Should you take beverages? We choose what to drink every day. It is important to build healthy drinking habits.
- 100% fruit juices are generally considered safe, as long as you keep it to one serving a day.
- Both coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) and tea are associated with a lower risk of diabetes.
- There is strong evidence that moderate alcohol use is associated with lower diabetes risk across many populations. But people who don’t drink now shouldn’t be pushed to start. Drinkers should limit themselves to up to two drinks per day for men and one to 1.5 for women.
- So, In Summary…..
Eat more
- Healthy fats from nuts, real olive oil, fish oils, flax seeds, or avocados
- Fruits and vegetables—ideally fresh, the more colorful the better; whole fruit rather than juices
- Red meat such as beef and lamb, in place of cereals and breads
- Fish and shellfish, organic chicken or turkey
- High-quality protein such as eggs, beans, full-fat dairy, and unsweetened yogurt
Eat less
- Trans fats from partially hydrogenated or deep-fried foods
- Packaged and fast foods, especially those high in sugar, baked goods, sweets, chips, desserts
- White bread, sugary cereals, refined pasta or rice
- Processed meat
- Low-fat products that have replaced fat with added sugar, such as fat-free yogurt
- How to eat healthy on a normal diet
It is easier to adopt a healthy way of eating than to go on a diet. A good diet pattern to lower diabetes risk would cut out refined grains and limit processed meats, sweets and soda. It would stress red meat, fish, nuts, fruits, and leafy green vegetables. Evidence supports including coffee, tea, yogurt, and possibly cheese. Vegetable (omega-6) oils and refined grains are both unhealthy in our already sick patients. Working with a diet pattern instead of focusing on single nutrients or “superfoods” (or attacking certain food groups) gives you more flexibility. It lets you choose foods you like at times that work for you. Plant foods like leafy greens have health benefits. They also have an association with lower diabetes risk. So make sure your diet pattern includes a healthy serving of them at all times.
Related reading
References:
- Today’s Dietitian (2017): Diabetes Management & Nutrition Guide: Foods and Eating Patterns for Diabetes Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/0717p40.shtml
- Harvard School of Public Health (2019): Simple Steps to Preventing Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/disease-prevention/diabetes-prevention/preventing-diabetes-full-story/
- HelpGuide (2018): The Diabetic Diet. Retrieved from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/diets/the-diabetes-diet.htm
Sources
- Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G, Lampousi AM, et al. Food groups and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2017. PMID 28397016
- Knowler WC, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, et al. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002. PMID 11832527
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
Interventional pain physician, addiction medicine specialist and obesity medicine diplomate.
Licensed in Missouri and Illinois.
Last reviewed June 18, 2026
