The American Diabetes Association has published a list of Top 10 Diabetes Superfoods. They share a low glycemic index and provide key nutrients, according to the ADA. Click the link for details. Here they are in no particular order:
- beans
- dark green leafy vegetables
- citrus fruit
- sweet potatoes
- berries
- tomatoes
- fish high in omega-3 fatty acids
- whole grains
- nuts
- fat-free milk and yogurt
Regular readers here know I have no problem generally with regular or high-fat versions of dairy products. An exception would be for people trying to lose weight while still eating lots of carbohydrates; the low- and no-fat versions could have lower calorie counts, which might help with weight management.
But compare non-fat and whole milk versions of yogurt in the USDA nutrient database. One cup of non-fat fruit variety yogurt has 233 calories, compared to 149 calories in plain whole milk yogurt. The “non-fat” version reduced the fat from 8 to 2.6 g (not zero g) and replaced it with sugars (47 g versus 11 g).
Unfortunately, your typical supermarket yogurts are low-fat yet loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup that impede weight loss.
Nevertheless, this superfoods list may give us some guidance in design of a Diabetic Mediterranean Diet. Except for “fat-free,” everything else on the list is a component of the traditional healthy Mediterranean diet. “Fat-free” is a modern invention and not necessarily an improvement.
Diabetic Mediterranean Diet 
