For a diabetic a diabetic diet is very important to managing their condition, and in some cases even working towards reversing it. If you're a diabetic then it's wise to cut the amount of fats and carbohydrates you consume.

The diabetic diet can help people who suffer from both major types of diabetes. In general there are two types of this disease - type I diabetes which is generally diagnosed in children and young adults and was previously called juvenile diabetes, and type II diabetes which is a more common form of diabetes. With type I diabetes the body produces overly low levels of insulin, while with type II the problem is with cells that don't absorb insulin. Both forms of the disease respond well to a diabetic diet, although it is more likely that type II diabetes can actually be avoided or reversed in early stages.

The diabetic diet revolves around maintaining an ideal body weight. It's easy to calculate ideal body weight for men or women. For a woman begin with 100 pounds at 5 feet tall, at 5 pounds for every inch over 5 feet, while if under 5 feet subtract 5 pounds for each inch under 5 feet. At 5'6" a woman's ideal body weight is 130. Men add 6 pounds to 106 for every inch over 5 feet tall. A 5'11" man would ideally weigh 172 pounds.

Many people have different opinions on the perfect diabetic diet, however some general elements are in common. For type I diabetics, the ideal diet includes about 16 calories per pound. That means a 160 pound man should eat about 2500 calories per day. Type II diabetics eat about 1500 calories per day to lose weight, then differing amounts of calories to maintain ideal weight.

Carbohydrates account for about 50% of the calories consumed in a diabetic diet. It is often believed that even lower card-levels are healthier for Diabetic patients, but higher percentages of fat in the diet has its own problems. But if saturated fats are avoided, a little more fat in the diet is OK.