What Is Diet Exchange?

The diet exchange system groups foods to make substitution and meal planning easier.

The diet exchange system is a tool that was developed to help diabetics eat properly. In the exchange system, foods are classified and listed by group. Any food can be exchanged, or traded, for another food within the same group.

The Groups

In the exchange diet, foods arranged into seven groups. These groups are starches, fruits, milk, meat, sweets, fat and free foods. A free food is one that has less than 20 calories or five grams of carbohydrate in a serving. Foods within a single group are similar to each other in both the nutrients they contain and how they affect blood sugar.

Serving Sizes

Diet exchange lists contain not only the names of foods but also serving sizes. Because the point of the list is to allow users to exchange one food for another that is similar in nutritional content, portion sizes may need to be adjusted to make sure that the total amounts of fat, calories, protein and carbohydrates remain the same from one choice to another.

History

According to FAQS.org, the diet exchange lists were first developed in 1950 when it was realized that diabetics were being given very complex and inconsistent diet recommendations. The lists were revised in 1976, 1986, 1995 and 2003.

References

• The Mayo Clinic: Your Diabetes Diet: Exchange Lists
• Diabetes Exchange Diet: Food Exchange Lists
• FAQS.org: Exchange System