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It's okay to have sweets once in a while. Try having sugar-free popsicles, diet soda, fat-free ice cream or frozen yogurt, or sugar-free hot cocoa mix.

Other tips:

Share desserts in restaurants.

Order small or child-size servings of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Divide homemade desserts into small servings and wrap each individually. Freeze extra servings.

Don't keep dishes of candy in the house or at work.

Remember, fat-free and low-sugar foods still have calories. Talk with your diabetes teacher about how to fit sweets into your meal plan.

Alcohol

Alcohol has calories but no nutrients. If you drink alcohol on an empty stomach, it can make your blood glucose level too low. Alcohol also can raise your blood fats. If you want to drink alcohol, talk with your doctor or diabetes teacher about how it fits into your meal plan.

Measuring Your Food

To make sure your food servings are the right size, use

measuring cups
measuring spoons
a food scale

Also, the Nutrition Facts label on food packages tells you how much of that food is in one serving.

Weigh or measure foods to make sure you eat the right amounts.

These tips will help you choose the right serving sizes.

Measure a serving size of dry cereal or hot cereal, pasta, or rice and pour it into a bowl or plate. The next time you eat that food, use the same bowl or plate and fill it to the same level.

For one serving of milk, measure 1 cup and pour it into a glass. See how high it fills the glass. Always drink milk out of that size glass.

Meat weighs more before it's cooked. For example, 4 ounces of raw meat will weigh about 3 ounces after cooking. For meat with a bone, like a pork chop or chicken leg, cook 5 ounces raw to get 3 ounces cooked.

One serving of meat or meat substitute is about the size and thickness of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards.

A small fist is equal to about 1/2 cup of fruit, vegetables, or starches like rice.

A small fist is equal to 1 small piece of fresh fruit.

A thumb is equal to about 1 ounce of meat or cheese.

The tip of a thumb is equal to about 1 teaspoon.

When You Are Sick

It's important to take care of your diabetes even when you're ill. Here are some tips on what to do:

Even if you can't keep food down, keep taking your diabetes medicine.

Drink at least one cup (8 ounces) of water or other calorie-free, caffeine-free liquid every hour while you're awake.

If you can't eat your usual food, try drinking juice or eating crackers, popsicles, or soup.

If you can't eat at all, drink clear liquids such as ginger ale. Eat or drink something with sugar in it if you have trouble keeping food down, because you still need calories. If you don't have enough calories, you increase your risk of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar).

Make sure that you check your blood glucose. Your blood glucose level may be high even if you're not eating.

Call your doctor right away if you throw up more than once or have diarrhoea for more than 6 hours.

Points to Remember

What, when, and how much you eat all affect your blood glucose level.
You can keep your blood glucose at a healthy level if you
- Eat about the same amount of food each day.
- Eat at about the same times each day.
- Take your medicines at the same times each day.
- Exercise at the same times each day.
Every day, choose foods from these food groups: starches, vegetables, fruit, meat and meat substitutes, and milk and yogurt. How much of each depends on how many calories you need a day.
Limit the amounts of fats and sweets you eat each day.

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