3/3/2018 South Indian Diabetic Diet Plan > Living Smartly

South Indian Diabetic Diet Plan

South Indian diet is meant for the people of 5 states – Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamilnadu, Kerala, and Karnataka and one Union Territory – Pondicherry. People having
diabetes need to be more cautious with their diet plan especially south Indians because rice is
the staple food for them. So, it is important to have a personal meal plan that can help you to
control the calories intake with right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. By
planning your diet in a proper way, you can not only keep the blood sugar levels under
control but also enjoy different varieties of south Indian regional flavors.

Meal Pattern for the Traditional South Indian Client with Diabetes Type 2

Typical Modified
Total Calories : 3585 Total Calories : 1905
Meal CHO : 525 gm (59%) CHO : 269 gm (55%)
Protein : 128 gm (14%) Protein : 88 gm (18%)
Fat : 107 gm (27%) Fat : 58 gm (27%)
-1 cup of coffee with 1/2 cup fat free or 1%
milk
-2 Slices of whole wheat or multi grain bread
-1 cup coffee with whole milk 3
toast
Breakfast Idlis OR
-2 tsp. of Margarine
7:30 A.M. -1 plate of Upma
OR
-2 tbsp. of coconut chutney
-2 small Idlis OR
-1 cup of cracked wheat upma
with 2 Tbsp. of
tomato/veg or dhal Chutney
Snack None -1 Fresh fruit (a small apple)
10:30 -1Cup diluted buttermilk (1/2 cup low fat
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A.M yogurt and 1/2 cup water)

-3 cups of White rice
-1 ½ cups of Brown rice OR
-1 cup Sambhar
-2 small rotis with ½ cup of brown rice
-1 cup Rasam
-1 cup Sambhar or dhal
-1 cup green plantain curry
Lunch -1 Cup Rasam
-1 cup mixed veg. koottu
12:30 -1 cup green beans curry
-1 cup curds/whole milk yogurt
P.M. -Shredded Carrot Salad with lemon juice
-1 or 2 fried papadums or potato
-½ cup fat free yogurt
chips
-1 small roasted pappad/appalam
-2 tsp ghee,
-2 tsp oil in cooking
-Pickles
-½ Cup dry cereal mix (made with puffed
Afternoon -2 murukkus/chaklis (pretzel
rice, puffed wheat and 6 peanuts or 4
coffee like fried)
cashews)
4 P.M. -Coffee with whole milk
-1 Cup coffee with fat free milk
-3 cups of cooked white rice
-1 cup cooked brown rice or cracked wheat
-100 gm of fish, chicken, or
-3 oz fish or white meat chicken (Non-
lamb (Non-vegetarians)
vegetarians) OR
-1 cup sambhar or dhal based
Dinner -1 cup whole gram dhal or chick peas sundal
vegetables
7:30 P.M. -1 cup spinach curry (dry or wet)
-1 cup fried vegetables such as
-1 cup Raita with grated cucumber (½ cup low
Potato or Lady’s finger
fat yogurt and ½ cup cucumber)
-1 cup whole milk yogurt
-2 tsp oil in cooking
-Pickles/pappads etc
Snack -1 fresh fruit -1 Kiwi or small orange
9:30 P.M -1 cup ice cream -4 walnuts or 12 peanuts

Below is another table which holds a list of healthy foods which are recommended to use
regularly (on the left) and also the list of unhealthy things which should be preferred less
often.

Not-so heart healthy (use less

Healthy Foods (use often)
often)
Starches Starches
-Idli – steamed, low fat -Idlis topped with a lot of oil
-Dosa cooked with minimum oil -Dosa roasts using extra oil or butter

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-Upma made with cracked wheat -Uppuma with liberal amount of oil or
or Quinoa or Pohe ghee
Meat or meat alternatives Meat or meat alternatives
-Dhal or kootu or Sprouted mung
dhal -Dhal with excess ghee or oil
-Dhal Adais w/ controlled oil and -Dhal Adais with excess oil
veg.added -Fried chicken
-Chicken Tikka -Fried fish in coconut sauce
-Pan-fried fish w/masala
Vegetable dishes Vegetable dishes
-Stir-fried green vegetables such
as -Fried Potato curry with excess oil
-cabbage curry/pallya -Aviyal with a lot of coconut,

-Mixed Vegetable kootu with Potato/Plantain
-Minimal coconut
Dairy Dairy
-Buttermilk made w/ skim or low
fat milk -Buttermilk w/ whole or 2% milk
-Pal kootu or Majjiga pulusu -Pacchadi (Raita) w/fried boondi
w/low-fat curds
Fruit dishes Fruit dishes
-Banana Panchamritham w/jaggery,
-Plain fresh fruits
ghee&nuts
-Plain Jack fruit or mango
-Chhakkapradaman w/nuts/fruits

Additional tips for healthy changes in the food habits:

Don’t wash rice several times before cooking
Avoid excess portions of white rice and if possible replace it with brown rice which is
rich in fibre content and hence helps in controlling blood sugar.
You can also replace rice with a variety of grains such as cracked wheat, oats, barley,
quinoa, ragi, and other millets.
Use minimum amount of oil while cooking and it is healthy to use oils like olive,
canola or peanut oils, as they are high in monounsaturated fats.
Replace starchy vegetables like potato, green plantain with green vegetables.

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Use fat free, skim or 1% milk instead of whole milk.

Avoid deep fried snacks and prefer dry roasted and baked foods which are made with
less or no oil.
Prefer lean cuts of animal protein like meat and poultry and also make sure that you are
taking only appropriate portion sizes. Limit the consumption of eggs to 3 per week and
prefer egg whites to yolks.
Limit taking high salty foods like pickles, chutneys, papadams, etc. And for diabetics
with high blood pressure it is better to avoid those things.
Desserts must be made only with the recommended quantities of fresh fruits.
Artificially sweetened low fat desserts or desserts with minimal amount of real sugars
may be used but in control.
Drink plenty of water – at least 6-8 cups a day.
Learn to read the nutrition labels of the packaged foods and take them according to the
recommended intake.

Tips for party planning:

These tips tell you how to take a controlled diet in a party or any other social gathering
which includes food.

Even before leaving to the party take some light snack or a bowl of soup so that you
feel less hungry at the party.
At the party, try to avoid fried snacks. Also use small plates and fill them with healthy
snacks along with appetizers.
Prefer drinks like lemon seltzer and avoid sodas and alcohol
While having the main course try to fill your place with ½ salads and green vegetables,
¼ with rice, ¼ with chicken, fish or other protein foods.
In desserts try to choose fruits.

Source: The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI)

* Though the diet plans are specially designed for diabetes patients by the expert group, we suggest you to
check with your physician before practicing this diet, as the diet plans may vary based on the individual’s
medical conditions.

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4 comments on “South Indian Diabetic Diet Plan”

1.
sankararao says:
November 27th, 2014
11:52 am

Good food advise. It is more benefit to diabetics.

2.
narendra kumar says:
http://living-smartly.com/2012/07/diabetic-diet-plan-south-indian/ 5/11
3/3/2018 South Indian Diabetic Diet Plan > Living Smartly

March 29th, 2015

4:38 pm

Prevention is better than cure. More food more risk. We earn money in young age but save
for old age expenses not for medical expenses. Please note health is wealth….but if u give
important to wealth you may loose your health where your wealth will be first enemy to
your health.

I thank you sir for your health chart. Thanks for caring for healthy society..

3.
Devi RADHAKRISHNAN says:
January 5th, 2017
6:44 pm

Really of great help.thanks for the effort and time!

4.
M.s.n. murty says:
February 2nd, 2017
7:48 am

I like very much as it is very useful.thank you very much.I expect like this to bp also as it
is much useful not only to me but also so many others also who are suffering with the
same.

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