Learning that you have diabetes may come with feelings of shame or guilt. Perhaps your friends and family members try to shame you by telling you that if you did not eat so much or did not eat sweets, then you would not have diabetes. The truth is that no certain food causes diabetes.

It is not too late to start eating right. You can learn to eat a healthy diet with foods that actually taste good.

You need to balance what you eat and how much you eat when you have diabetes. That does not mean that you have to eat tiny amounts of food. It is easy for you to learn to eat healthily with a few simple tips.

First, use the plate method. Start with an average-sized dinner plate, about nine inches in length. Fill one-half of the plate with non-starchy vegetables. Consider vegetables like salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, or green beans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explains that you should fill the next one-fourth of the plate with carb foods. Consider rice, beans, grains, starchy vegetables or fruit. Fill the final one-fourth of the plate with a lean protein such as eggs, chicken, fish, turkey or beans.

You do not have to follow a specific diet. Do not fall for foods that claim to be “diabetic” food items. They are often much more expensive than the same food at your local grocery store.