Eating right with diabetes is a complex topic. What is the best diet? Low carb, Vegan or the ADA recommended diet? It can be overwhelming for people to figure out what will work for them. That’s why I’m writing my next book, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Eating Right with Diabetes, What Will Work.  While you wait (summer 2012), here are some insights, according to a survey by the USNH report.

Here are the Top 5:

1. DASH Diet: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, edged out several other diets, in the judgment of our expert panelists. Its emphasis on whole grains, fruits, and veggies matches the sort of nutritional prescription that diabetics frequently hear their doctors recommend.
2. The Mayo Clinic Diet: eating guidelines and fitness advice are a compelling combination for preventing or controlling diabetes. Its focus is on coaching dieters to develop healthy, lasting habits around which foods they choose to eat and which to avoid.
3. The Ornish Diet: a good option for preventing or controlling diabetes, experts concluded. It’s low in saturated fat and cholesterol, which matches the guidelines of the American Diabetes Association, and it has been found to lower A1C level in diabetics, indicating a positive impact on their condition.
4. Vegan- As a diet for combating diabetes, veganism tied with the Ornish and Mayo Clinic diets. Some experts said the vegan diet is a smart option for managing diabetes. It could also help prevent the condition, since it helps dieters drop pounds—and being overweight is one of the greatest risk factors for developing diabetes.
5. Mediterranean-Experts gave this diet relatively high marks when it comes to preventing or controlling diabetes. Research suggests a healthy Mediterranean-style diet can reverse the metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that can lead to diabetes.

A nice round up of diet options. I’ve never heard of the Ornish diet before so here is a link to the Ornish cookbook and if you want to read the rest of the line up, go here.