Principles and suggestions for adult diabetes patients. Photo source: Adult diabetes Dietary Guidelines (2023) What should we eat to control blood sugar? How to eat scientifically? Recently, the National Health Commission issued the Dietary Guidelines for Adults with diabetes (2023). This guide gives full play to the advantages of modern nutrition and traditional Chinese and western medicine, integrates food and medicine into a reasonable diet, and helps prevent and improve diabetes. Diabetes is mostly related to unreasonable diet. "Unexpectedly, I got diabetes at my age." 35 year old Xiao Zhang found diabetes during his physical examination recently. He told reporters that due to his busy work and frequent overtime, his diet is very irregular, and his preference for heavy flavored foods such as high oil and sugar, spicy and sweet, he has gained 30 pounds in two years. "I also know that my lifestyle is very unhealthy, but I always take chances," said Xiao Zhang, who was alarmed by this physical examination and determined to correct his unhealthy lifestyle and control his blood sugar. According to the Report on Nutrition and Chronic Diseases of Chinese Residents (2020), the prevalence rate of diabetes among residents aged 18 and above in China is 11.9%, and the detection rate of diabetes in early stage is 35.2%. Type 2 diabetes is the main type, and the prevalence rate of adults aged 50 and above is higher. Chronic hyperglycemia can lead to damage to tissues and organs such as the eyes, nerves, kidneys, and cardiovascular system, resulting in a series of complications that seriously endanger human health. In order to help prevent and control the occurrence and development of diabetes among Chinese people, the National Health Commission has organized the preparation of the Adult diabetes Dietary Guidelines (2023 Edition) (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines). The guide is mainly aimed at adult type 2 diabetes patients and grass-roots health workers (including nutrition instructors) to provide dietary guidance for the auxiliary prevention and improvement of diabetes. The guideline emphasizes that the risk factors of diabetes are mostly related to unreasonable diet, including long-term high sugar, high fat, high energy diet, etc. Correcting bad lifestyle, practicing reasonable diet and active exercise, has always been an effective means to prevent and control the occurrence and development of diabetes. For the daily diet of diabetes patients, the guide puts forward 8 principles and suggestions: food diversity, develop and establish reasonable dietary habits; Appropriate energy, controlling overweight and obesity, and preventing weight loss; Quantitative staple foods, preferably whole grains and low glycemic index foods; Actively exercise to improve physical fitness and insulin sensitivity; Light diet, limit alcohol consumption, prevent and delay complications; Reasonable selection and application of food and drug substances; Regularly eat and reasonably add meals to promote the stability of blood sugar after meals; Self management, regular nutrition consultation, improve blood sugar control ability. The diet management and treatment of low GI food should account for more than 1/3 of the staple food is the core of blood sugar control in diabetes patients. The guidelines suggest that patients with diabetes should follow the principle of balanced diet, achieve diversified food, quantitative staple food, rich vegetables, fruits, milk and beans, less oil, less salt, and less sugar, and ensure adequate daily energy and nutrient intake while controlling blood sugar. How to achieve food diversity? The guide introduces that a diverse diet should consist of five major categories of food: cereals and potatoes (including cereals, potatoes, and miscellaneous beans), vegetables, and fruits