Diabetes is a condition where your body is not able to control the levels of glucose (sugar) in your blood. Find out how eating well and being physically active can help prevent and manage diabetes.

Healthy eating plays a key part in managing all types of diabetes. Read about basic meal and snack planning:

• Just the Basics (PDF, 546KB, Diabetes Canada)
• Just the Basics South Asian (PDF, 8.3MB, Diabetes Canada)
• 7-day meal plans (Diabetes Canada)
• Recipes (Diabetes Canada)

Learn about other tools to plan your meals and snacks including carbohydrate counting and the glycemic index: 

• Basic Carbohydrate Counting for Diabetes Management (PDF, 1.9MB, Diabetes Canada)
• Diabetes: Counting carbs if you don't use insulin
• Understanding the glycemic index (Diabetes Canada)

Being physically active plays an important role in preventing and managing diabetes. Regular physical activity greatly reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in people of all body sizes. In people with diabetes, physical activity can improve blood glucose control, reduce risk factors that contribute to the progression of diabetes (such as high blood pressure and elevated hemoglobin A1c) and decrease the risk of other diseases (such as heart disease). Learn more:

• Active For Health: Persons with metabolic conditions
• Tips for exercising safely when you have diabetes
• Diabetic neuropathy: Exercising safely

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that happens during pregnancy. Learn how healthy eating and physical activity can help:

• Gestational Diabetes (PDF, 846KB, Diabetes Canada)
• Gestational diabetes: Counting carbs
• 2019 Canadian guideline for physical activity throughout pregnancy (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology)
• Get active questionnaire for pregnancy (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology)

Diabetes in children

Caring for a child with diabetes requires careful planning of meals and safe physical activities. Find helpful tips:

• Diabetes handouts for families (BC Children’s Hospital)
• Diabetes in children: Food issues at school
• Diabetes in children: Counting carbs
• Kids & physical activity (Diabetes Canada)
• Type 1 diabetes in children: Safe exercise

Prediabetes

Prediabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Find out how you can help prevent prediabetes from developing into type 2 diabetes:

• Prediabetes
• Being Active When You Have Prediabetes (PDF, 156KB, Exercise Is Medicine, USA)
• Prediabetes: Exercise tips

Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose)

Hypoglycemia can happen in people with or without diabetes. Learn about symptoms and how to treat it:

• Hypoglycemia Low Blood Sugar in Adults (PDF, 895KB, Diabetes Canada)
• Quick-sugar foods
• Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in people without diabetes