Quick notes on good and bad carbs

Bad carbs for diabetes are incredible sources of energy. They are absorbed fast and quickly raise your blood glucose. This is the kind of thing you want to eat before going up and down the mountain or doing real work like clearing a field with your bare hands (and that you should avoid if all you are doing is sitting in front of a computer):

Sweet stuff like

- Sugar

- Cookies

- Chocolates

- Syrups

Not sweet stuff like:

- Pizza and pasta

- Rice

- Potatoes, especially fried (chips, french fries, etc)

- Bread/pastry
- Alcohol

There is a simple advice for carbs - avoid white.

Good carbs for diabetics:

- Typically have 20g or less of carbs per serving

- Have low fat and sodium

- Are minimally processed - there are more whole grains in minimally processed foods

- Typically have more fiber dv% than total carb dv% when you read the nutritional label

- Are broken into sugar slower than bad carbs

Examples:

- Thin corn tortillas (not flour)
- Oatmeal or oatmeal based cereals (normal, yellow box cheerios)
- Wheat thins

- Whole grains (brown rice and quinoa for example)

Also while fruits in general are good for you, some fruits have way too much sugar:

- Oranges
- Grapes / raisins
- Bananas
- Pears
- Mangoes
- Pineapple

Other fruits will basically become your go-to snack, because you can eat a bunch without them being bad for you:

- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blackberries

There are a multitude of links out there and you should read them all, diabetic or not. I find I don't always agree with everyone, but I also find that variety is the spice of life - you can't eat the same things every day, but you can learn to adjust. This is a good one http://www.nutritionsecrets.com/good-carbs-bad-carbs-difference/