Diabetes is a chronic illness characterized by high blood sugars. If left uncontrolled, diabetes can lead to a number of complications, including eye disease, kidney disease, heart disease and limb loss.
Having a good understanding of diabetic serving sizes will help you manage your diabetes on the exchange diet. For example one starch serving is equal to 1 slice of bread or 3/4 cups of ready-to-eat cereal and one fruit serving is equal to a small apple or 1/2 cup of unsweetened canned fruit. Each breakfast meal on a diabetic exchange diet should consist of two to three servings of starch, one serving of meat, one serving of fruit, one serving of milk and one serving of fat. A sample breakfast meal may include 1 to 1-1/2 cups of hot cooked oatmeal with 1 tsp. of margarine, a small banana, 1 oz. of low-fat cheese and 1 cup of nonfat milk. Another sample breakfast may include a scrambled egg with two to three slices of toast, 1 tsp.





