Grocery Shopping With Diabetes

Spend the majority of your time shopping on the outside of the store

• The outside of the grocery store is lined with fresh produce, meat, and dairy products whereas the center aisles tend to have processed foods loaded with fat, sugar and sodium. 
• Many items in the center aisles also contain preservatives, which are added chemicals into food to help it last longer.  To maintain a healthy diet, it is important to stay away from preservatives and to lean towards organic and natural products.

Make it a point to fill your grocery cart with fruits and vegetables.

• Always try to go for fresh, natural or organic fruits or vegetables
• Frozen vegetables and fruits are fine as well, just make sure to pay attention that there are no added ingredients such as cheese or cream sauce
• Always go for fresh or frozen rather than canned. Canned fruits and vegetables often have added sugars or sodium 

When choosing packaged foods pay attention to trans-fat and saturated fat.

• For prepared dinners, look for varieties with 0 grams of TRANS fat and less than 5 grams of SATURATED fat per serving.

• When choosing packaged snacks, look for 0 grams of TRANS fat and less than 2 grams of SATURATED fat per serving.

When buying meat:

• Ground round, tenderloin steak and sirloin tips are typically leaner cuts of beef
• Look for keywords such as "Loin" and "Round"
• Be sure to trim any visible fat too.

Other ingredients to look out for

• Make sure WHOLE GRAIN is the first ingredient when picking products like bread, crackers and cereal.
• Pick a cereal that has at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

At the UM Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology (UMCDE), our staff meets patients' educational needs via individual sessions with a diabetic educator and/or in small groups led by certified diabetes educators. To schedule an appointment, call 443-682-6800.