I. Salt
Salt is the greatest culprit for diabetics. You get enough salt from vegetables in inorganic form, so reduce the intake of inorganic salt.

ii. Sugar
Sucrose, a table sugar, provides nothing but calories and carbohydrates. Also, you need calcium to digest sucrose. Insufficient sucrose intake might lead to calcium being leached off the bones. Substitute sucrose with natural sugar, like honey, jaggery (gur), etc

iii. Fat
Excessive fat intake is definitely not a good habit. Try and exclude fried items from your diet totally. But, remember, you must have a small quantity of oil to absorb fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamin E.

Iv. For non-vegetarians
Try and stop the intake of red meat completely. Try to go in for a vegetarian diet. If you cannot, decrease the consumption of eggs and poultry. You can, however, eat lean fish two to three times a week.

 Whole milk and products
Try to switch to low fat milk and its products like yogurt (curd). Replace high fat cheese with low fat cottage cheese.

vi. Tea and coffee
Do not have than two cups of the conventional tea or decaffeinated coffee every day. Try to switch to herbal teas.

vii. White flour and its products
Replace these with whole grains, whole-wheat or Soya breads and unpolished rice.

viii. Foods with a high glycolic index
Avoid white rice, potatoes, carrots, breads and banana — they increase the blood-sugar levels.

Special food for diabetics

I. Bitter gourd (karela)
This vegetable contains a high dosage of 'plant insulin'. It lowers the blood-sugar levels effectively. Have the juice of three to four karelas early morning on an empty stomach. As a vegetable, too, it can be taken on a regular basis.

Powder the seeds of karela (measuring 1 teaspoon), mix with water and drink it. Fenugreek (methi) It is the most common food used to control diabetes. Gulp a teaspoonful of these seeds with a glass of water daily. Soak the seeds overnight. Have the water in which the seeds were soaked.

You can make a chutney with methi seeds. You can also eat them sprouted, dried and powdered, or mix them in wheat flour to make chapattis.

iv. Garlic
This is used to lower blood-sugar levels. Garlic is rich in potassium and replaces the potassium which gets lost in urine. It also contains zinc and sulphur, which are components of insulin. Take about three to four flakes of freshly crushed garlic daily.

v. Onion
Because of its diuretic and digestive properties, onion works against diabetes. Raw onion is more useful.

Cinnamon solution
Water extracts of cinnamon have been found to promote glucose metabolism and reduce cholesterol.
You can boil cinnamon sticks in water and drink this water.

~ Healthy tips for diabetics
1. Eat food at fixed hours.
2. Do not eat immediately after a workout.
3. Do not overeat.
4. If you are on insulin, make sure you have three proper meals with light snacks in between.
5. Do not eat fast; masticate and munch your food well before you swallow.
6. Drink a lot of water that will help flush the toxins off your system.
7. Make sure the gaps between your meals are short.
8. Avoid fried foods and sweetmeats.
9. Include fresh vegetable salad in every meal.
10. Have at least 20 to 25 grams of raw onion daily.
11. Add wheat bran to your wheat flour (50% wheat flour + 50% wheat bran). This helps increase fibre in your diet.
12. Exercise daily.