Diabetes Diet Chart for Pakistani Patients: What to Eat and What to Avoid

A diabetes diet does not mean eating nothing. It means choosing the right foods, controlling portions and eating at regular times. The same food has a different effect on each person, so use this guide as a starting point and ask your doctor or dietitian for a plan that matches your weight, medicines and activity.

The plate method for Pakistani meals

• Half the plate: vegetables and salad, such as lauki, tori, palak, bhindi, gobi, karela, kheera and tamatar
• A quarter: protein, such as daal, chana, rajma, eggs, chicken or fish
• A quarter: carbohydrate, such as 1 to 2 small rotis (whole wheat atta) or a small portion of rice
• To drink: water, unsweetened tea or plain lassi (namkeen); skip sugary drinks

What to eat more of

• Vegetable dishes and salad with every lunch and dinner
• Daal, chana and other pulses, which fill you up and raise sugar slowly
• Eggs, chicken and fish, grilled or cooked with little oil
• Whole wheat atta roti rather than white flour naan or paratha
• Plain dahi (yoghurt)
• A small handful of unsalted nuts or roasted chana as a snack

What to limit

• Large portions of white rice: biryani and pulao are heavy in carbohydrate and oil
• Fried and oily foods: paratha, puri, samosa, pakora and halwa puri nashta
• Sweets: mithai, gulab jamun, halwa and kheer
• Sweet drinks: cold drinks, packaged juice, sharbat and chai with several spoons of sugar
• Bakery items: biscuits, rusk, cakes and white bread
• Gur and honey: they still raise blood sugar, so they are not “safe” sugar substitutes

Fruit: how much is okay?

Fruit is not banned, but portion matters. Eat whole fruit rather than juice, because juice raises sugar faster and removes fibre.

• Usually fine in small portions: a small apple, a guava (amrood), an orange, papaya, a small bowl of jamun
• Keep small or occasional: mango, banana, grapes, chikoo, dates and watermelon

Check your sugar 1 to 2 hours after a new fruit to see how your body reacts.

A sample day (example only)

Meal	Example
Breakfast	1 small roti or 1 slice whole wheat bread, vegetable omelette, sugar-free chai
Mid-morning	1 guava or small apple
Lunch	Salad, 1–2 small rotis, daal or sabzi, plain dahi
Evening	Sugar-free chai with a handful of roasted chana or nuts
Dinner	Grilled chicken or fish, or daal; sabzi; 1 small roti or a small portion of rice

Portion sizes depend on your weight, medicines and activity, so ask your doctor or dietitian to adjust this for you.

Habits that help

• Eat at regular times and do not skip meals, especially if you take insulin or sugar tablets, because skipping can cause low sugar (see the low blood sugar guide)
• Walk for 10 to 15 minutes after meals
• Cook with less oil and ghee; grill, bake or steam when you can
• Drink enough water through the day
• Reduce your weight gradually if you are overweight; see our weight management guide
• Fasting in Ramadan needs a medical plan: read our Ramadan guide

Common myths

• “Karela, methi or cinnamon will cure sugar.” They are fine as food, but the evidence that they control sugar is weak. They do not replace medicines.
• “Fruit is completely forbidden.” No. Small portions of whole fruit are usually fine.
• “I must stop rice and roti completely.” Not necessarily. Smaller portions and better choices usually work.
• “Skipping meals lowers sugar.” It can cause low sugar and then overeating later.
• “Sugar-free mithai is free to eat.” It can still contain flour, milk and fat, and raise your sugar.

Roman Urdu mein khulasa

Sugar ke mareez ki plate mein aadhi jagah sabzi ya salad, chauthai hissa protein (daal, chana, anda, murghi ya machli) aur chauthai hissa roti ya chawal hona chahiye. Aam tor par 1 se 2 chhoti roti kaafi hoti hain, magar sahi miqdar apne doctor se poochein. Chai bina cheeni ke piyen, cold drink, sharbat aur meetha kam karein. Phal chhoti miqdar mein khayein, jaise amrood ya seb, aur juice se bachein. Khane ke baad 10 se 15 minute chalein. Zyada maloomat: Sugar ki alamat aur ilaj.

Agar aap Muzaffargarh mein hain aur apne liye diet plan banwana chahte hain, to endocrinologist se mashwara kar sakte hain.

Frequently asked questions

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always speak to a qualified doctor about your own health.