Diabetic food exchange is a food categorizing system to make meal planning easier for people with diabetes. The system groups foods according to their nutritional values, helping diabetic individuals eat carbohydrate–consistent, nutritionally balanced meals to achieve glucose (blood sugar) control and overall heath.

The American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association devised the method. It categorizes foods into three groups based on carbohydrate content:

• Carbohydrate group
• Meat and meat substitute group
• Fat group

In addition, foods can be categorized into six groups based on their nutritional value:

• Starch/bread
• Fruit
• Milk
• Vegetables
• Meat and meat substitutes
• Fat

Each exchange (serving) of food within a food group has roughly the same amount of carbohydrates. The amounts of protein, fat and calories can vary. Patients on special diets can use these food groups to swap foods within the same list knowing that each food will have roughly the same effect on their glucose level.